Water in the tank is the lifeblood to keeping your Guppies healthy.
The water quality must be maintained within set parameters.
In the early years, Guppies were resilient little fish, put them into a water vessel and they would find a way to survive and reproduce.
Today this has all changed and you now need to take much more care of your water quality to maintain top-quality Show Guppies.
This has not deterred me from keeping these fish more to the point, this has made the hobby more Interesting for me to take on the challenge.
Many books and Web site references have been written to give you all the data needed to understand water quality. What I offer is my experiences in overcoming these problems in the hope you can use this experience to improve the health of your fish.
I test my water approx. every six weeks to keep track of the pH levels that my local water company provides locally. It can fluctuate but it is usually within the 7.4 – 7.8 bracket. (pH refers to the potential for hydrogen).
7.0ph is a neutral more detailed reference link at the bottom of this page.
Previously I did not do Kh levels (Kh refers to the concentration of bicarbonate (HCO3) and carbonate (CO3) dissolved in the water. This helps to buffer the water in your tanks and helps maintain a stable pH level. The aim is to have a high Kh level above 50 ppm.
I try to avoid putting too many chemicals into my water system, but on some occasions, needs must.
I have decided to use Seachem Safe to De-Chlorine my water and use this product to remove both Ammonia and Chlorine including Chloramines. I had believed for many years that preconditioning the water first (Storing it in a clean Butt, heating it to the same temperature as the tanks, and aerating it for 24-48 hours would remove all gas and chemical). I was incorrect while this process is a good practice it will not fully complete the task. Chloramines remain during this process. I add Seachem stability to the water preparation.
Water changes are a must but without some preparation first, it could prove disastrous. Your local water company from time to time needs to add other chemicals into our drinking water to make it safe for us and in some instances will flush the pipe systems as a cleaning process. During this period if you complete a water change you can incur major losses. If you prepare your water first you just might be able to avoid this issue.
I complete some water changes every day completing 15%-50% daily.
If you have the time a 10% to 20% weekly water change would be the very minimum and more frequent for growing fry.
The temperature should be kept even, sharp fluctuations can distress the fish and bring on disease. The ideal temperature is 22 – 26 degrees Celsius.
My fish room is kept more at the upper level of 24-26 Celsius. I like to maintain good growth. I heat the fish room and use two wall heaters with a circulating fan to distribute the air evenly. You do not need two heaters I use one as a backup should the other break down.
Please see the link to Olaf Deter’s detailed website on filtration and filter biology. I found this very informative Link
