11 replies to this topic

[Brett4Perth]

Recent posts have refered to "heavy metals" in Perth water that may cause problems with fish. Is there any evidence to support this?
I have never used water conditioners, but I do age my tap water for at least a week. It is cheap, and has worked. The chlorine evaporates in this time, but obviously heavy metals won't go.
I know that the Water Board irregularly flushes the system with higher doses of chlorine, particularly towards the end of summer. And I have heard reports of copper sulphate being used in the past, but would be surprised if this practise still goes on.
Can anyone clarify this.

[me]

My evidence is this ;
About 1 year ago a so called "Professional" came to clean my friends fish tank properly before he want away!
The day after the cleaning some of the fish died, i added up the hints and clues it came to em that most of the fish that died where bottom feeders or hugn around the bottom lots.
Electric yellows, red humps,clown loaches and kuhli loaches!
I asked a few people at the lfs and we came to the conclusion that a inappropriate usage was used or no water conditioner at all.
My friend rang the guy and had a chat, he said he use a water conditioner and the correct dosage...(Wont name conditioner). I told me friend to ask what the conditioner does and the "Professional" said it De-chloronates and removes chloramines. I made sure my friend said does it remove heavy Metals the guy said no you dont need to do it with tap water!

What other water could you use to fill up a tank?

Anyway me and the guy at the lfs came to the conclusion it wa sbecause of the extreme amoutn of heavy metals in the tank that thes eimperticulr fish died as the heavy metals r sure to sink towards the bottom.
IMO heavy metal binding is an essential factor when buying water conditioner but that is just my opinion!

[SLugg0]

So far I haven't seen 1 drop of evidence suggesting any heavy metals in our water effects fish. I suspect concentrations lethal enought to kill fish would not be allowed for human consumption as some heavy metals just accumulate in the body (lead, mercury for example) ? Easy fix to this is someone contact the water authority and get a print out of the water parameters.

Cheers
Jon

[mtchye]

Jon is right I too have not seen any concrete evidence of the existence of specific "heavy metals" in the water that could affect our fish. However, anecdotal accounts and my own experiences have convinced me that something in the water can cause bad symptoms/death in the fish after a water change, and that this substance, whether it be increased concentrations of some ion or even something else that we may not have thought about, is neutralised by water conditioners that claim to sequester heavy metals.

Before the current incident, I had gone many years without using a water conditioner at all. Those using other types of water conditioners may be having the same sort of luck that I did... Come to think of it I have had a couple of instances of unexplained fish deaths coinciding with water changes.

Some possible causes include the pipes that supply your part of the area (copper maybe?), any sediment built up in pipes..? These may not be included in any water corp analysis as I'm not sure if they measure water quality at the source or at our taps?

Also I was told 'alum' was still being used as a flocculant by the water corp, and though this results in only small levels of alum in the water, it can still be very toxic to our fish.

Remember also that contamination of our ground water is also not out of the question, as can be seen by some very publicised recent cases, and that our supplies of water are a mix of dam and ground water if I'm not mistaken? Where the ground water is drawn from / percentages mixed in / etc etc could all contribute to our aquariums receiving some harmful tap water... And this is why I will personally be using a good water conditioner from now on as insurance...

What others choose to do is of course their own choice, and I guess many will not be convinced until they experience 'Unexplained fish death after water change syndrome'..

Visit the:
Perth Cichlid Society Forums

[me]

i got soem info but i accidently made it a new post insted of replying..
the topic is caleld INFO!
i will just bump it to the top for you's!

[calvus75]

Hi folks,

the water quality and chemistry in Perth is highly variable depending on supply. In summer (as previously mentioned) you may encounter higher doses of chlorine - which can basicallly be removed by ageing for a couple of days aided by an airstone. Chloramine can also be added, which is more persistent and is better treated with a water conditioner of some description e.g. Prime etc.

IMO it is highly unlikely that you will encounter an acute heavy metal influx. Trace amounts of heavy metals may fixed in the sediments under oxic conditions. These accumulating trace elements may be released under specific conditions e.g an increased BOD, higher temperatures and low oxygen concentrations.

If you are encountering strange phenmenons associated with the 'water change syndrome' as Vince termed it probably worth investing in a water treatment.



p

[BengaBoy]

anyone else noticed that Sera Aqutan no longer states on its bottles that it removes chlorine and chloramine?

[Brett4Perth]

Nice to see such a lot of input to my question.
You can get a print out of water parameters for your area from the water board. You just have to ring up and ask.
I have a copy for my area from a couple of years ago (BullCreek).
It quotes ranges for Magnesium, Iron, Manganese and Aluminium. No numbers for Lead or Copper.
I too have experienced fish deaths associated with water changes, but not since I started aging the water for at least one week. I don't know what causes this, but am reluctant to attribute it to heavy metal toxicity or anything else until I have some more evidence.
I am nervous about water conditioners as most don't quote the chemicals used on the labels, and if I don't know whats in it I'm reluctant to put it in my tanks.

Brett

[Thalassic Park]

Hi,
Does anyone dechlorinate the water before it goes into the tank, or is the dechlorinator added to the tank after the addition of new water.

[calvus75]

Hi Thalassic,

Probably the best method available is to age some water in a drum with adding any conditioners, buffers etc and leaving an airstone in for at least 48hrs.

Hope this helps



p

[gamblet1987]

I put my water in a couple of buckets, add rift lake conditioner and Tri-Start, then leave it for about 5 hours so the pH can settle. So far I haven't had any problems with this method.

[BengaBoy]

I was told Aquasonic Rift Lake Salts is also a dechlorinator.
If you look at the list of ingredients, it includes sodium triosulphate (at least i think that is the one I was told does the job anyhow)
I used these salts in my Malawi tanks for ages with no other conditioner without any problems.

Steve