I hate water

[KLKelly]

I have serious issues with my well water (newest aggravation - ph has spiked to above 8.4).

So I've been carting city water for the past year from my moms for my blue eyed rainbow tanks and my betta tank.

I just set up a qt tank two weeks ago and couldn't use cycled media so I put in a seachem ammonia alert card.  I've been using amquel as it detoxes more ammonia and was hoping it would help with ph.  Ammonia card is showing stress after water changes.  (I was mixing well water -ph 8.5/ammonia.25/kh 14 with tap water that in the past had tested at ph7.6/ammonia0/kh3)

My mom's water parameters changed...ammonia is not zero its .50!!!!  Why would this change???  She's in the east end - about 3 minutes from big al's on innes.

This is beyond frustrating!

Questions:
1.  anyone know why the change in ammonia?
1.  and if I add prime to the water before changing my bettas water (100% every five days) - will the one dose be okay or do I need to add some every day?

I seriously hate water!

[babblefish1960]

The reason for the change in ammonia in the city water is simply the time of year. The water is warmer than usual and rife with all manner of live stuff they have to treat.  As a result, the city uses not only chlorine and chloramine, but they add chlorine bleach in batches as well to be sure they catch all the nasty stuff. Why you can see it as ammonia is that your test kit, I'm sorry I cannot recall the reagent that detects it, sniffs ammonia when chloramine is present. Don't worry too much, just treat the water as you have been and your readings should be different once treated with any dechloraminator of course.

[KLKelly]

Thank you Babble .. I feel a bit better now.

[babblefish1960]

I do hope that you are finding some resolutions to your water woes, it is a shame really, it is a basic building block of chemistry and life as we know it to be.

With any luck, you will come to love your water and embrace it as a wild and varied thing to behold with the greatest of wonder.

You know, if you look at the behaviour of other similar elements, by rights, ice should sink, and if it did, there could be no life, as water would never warm enough for the cycle we know and adore.  It is a funny thing for sure.

[kennyman]

What are the requirements of your tanks that they need low PH? And why is it that you are reluctant to use your well water with the high ph and forgo the use of any municipal treated water?

[darkdep]

Have you considered purchasing an RO system?

[KLKelly]

I've considered RO and started a thread a while back.  I think one of my big problems is sulpher and no RO company would confirm that it removes sulpher. I found a number of sites that said it wouldn't. I ended up just getting frustrated with the conflicting information I gave up.  Even setting up a trickle tower to gas out my water change water with lots of filter floss I still have a non stop particle problem in my tanks with well water.

Yah the main reason I'm carting water is because of my ph.  I have the threadfin and blue eyed rainbows and a betta in the tanks that I cart water for.  The high ph and ammonia makes me nervous.  I'd be in trouble if a tank ever had a blip I would have very little leeway and can't do big water changes.

[darkdep]

Interesting issues.  Do you know the level of sulphur in your water? 

Sulphur can be a real hassle to remove; I think the only current method to deal with high levels is with specialty absorbing media.  These folks have something:  http://www.purtek.ca/treatment.html

How large are your tanks?  Would it be feasible to contact a company like Culligen or any other "water store" to arrange delivery of the large bottled waters to prevent you needing to cart it yourself?