unclenedsfishfactory.com

Anyone know anything about Framingham, MA tap water?

Did my first 30% water change today on my new 55g african cichlid tank. Within an hour 10 of my 12 fish were dead. Brought a water sample to Ned for a test, and all my levels checked out within normal to safe ranges. Ned felt it may be something else in the tap water.

p.s. Ned - the 2 remaining fish (baby texas) are doing fine. Just a little lonely.

Looks like you get your water from the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA). These might help:

http://www.mwra.state.ma.us/annual/wate ... am2004.pdf
http://www.mwra.state.ma.us/04water/html/wat.htm

The gas bubbles in the water sound suspect.
I had that problem in Millis from December to February
for the first time ever.

I live in Reading, a town which is converting to the MWRA system in May. Anticipating a water chemistry change (particularly hard-to-soft) I'm preparing with H2O additives to maintain my very vibrant "Uncle Ned-sourced" chiclid comunity. Are there any additional words of advice? What are these "gas bubbles"? Should the water be aged to eliminate some problems? Are there any words of advice out there from other MWRA water-source aquarists? Thanks!

I'm guessing that you've thought of this, but just to cover all the bases.... did you dechlorinate the water with a water conditioner that detoxifies chloramines and ammonia as well as chlorine? These are toxins that might no longer be present when you brought your water sample to Ned. If you did use a dechlorinator, perhaps your water treatment facility had reason to use a higher than normal dosage of disinfectant and the levels exceeded the standard dosage of your conditioner.

Aging the water should allow dissolved gasses to dissipate, however, the its won’t work to deal with chloramines.

Another possibility is some other toxin that made its way in during the water change.... cleaning products, air fresheners, colognes, gasoline, etc... the list is endless. It is surprising how many otherwise conscientious fishkeepers have wiped out tanks due to these unknown toxins.

I used the "Ned recommended" dosages of malawi salt, buffer, and dechlorinator for a water change. No other contaminates were around the tank or the water source, and I'm extremely vigilant of keeping everything clear of the tank, so I doubt that is the cause.

I'm going to try aging the water before future water changes. The tiny "gas bubbles" present when I first added the water are gone now and the two survivors seem to be doing very well now, so I'm praying that will do the trick.

I think putting the water in a barrel for 2 hours should do it

the last time i tested my tap water,the p.h. was 8.7 and very soft
75ppm or so.i spoke to two diffrent people w/ the mwra about the
water.in a nut shell the p.h. and hardness are extreme due to the
additives they use to protect the pipes.this can vary some depending on when they treat the water etc.also the water
varies from city to city depending on how close you are to where the water is being treated.
the danger is the p.h. can drop out quick due to the water being so soft.with regular water changes and maintenence this should not be a problem.
i use tap water for water changes.after experimenting i add seachem p.h. 6.0,prime water conditioner,novaqua(the one that removes heavy metals etc,).i then stir the water in the bucket well and try to let it sit for an hour or two.also once a week or so i add
either seachem discus or tang. buffer to add minerals to harden up the water.

tom l

Hey Ned - want to keep you posted.

I did my first partial water change post-apoclypse and re-population. I followed your suggestion - I aged the water over night in a 10g barrel and treated the water in the barrel. After the water change, all the little cichlids are happily swimming around. No casualties. No injuries.

Thanks for the advice and thanks for your help in re-stocking the tank. I'll be back soon to add more.