Water Changes for Dwarf Puffers?

[bartonct]

Hey I had a quick question i want to switch over to spring water instead of tap water because of the high phosphates in tap water so my question is can i just do 10% percent water changes every week when I get the puffers? My tank just recently got through cycling...i heard you were suppose to do 50% percent water changes but will 10% work to because that could get costly

[Christemo]

You can do a 10% water change 5 times every 1-2 weeks.

[edmlfc1]

I don't think I would use spring water or any distilled water from a watering company. If you want to do something like that you would need a ro/di system. IMO it would be much safer for your puffers. I can't remember where I saw it, but the post was a NO to bottled water. Maybe someone that knows more about it can inform you better than I.

[jimi]

people come in to my lfs for ro water and they give it to them at a fair deal maybe that would be better.

[bartonct]

I decided to stick with tap water lol alot cheaper...i have plenty of Seachem Prime anyways...

Hey do you guys use a Python siphon by any chance? I was just wondering do you fill your aquarium back up with it after a water change and add a water conditioner while its filling up? I'm just curious how safe that is for the aquarium...

[Nick]

I add the stuff right after draining, then go switch the python to fill mode, then add. Never had a problem.

[bartonct]

ok cool! and my PH is at like 7.8 i believe, is that to high? and what is the best product to use to get it back down to 7?

[Nick]

Do not drop your PH. Living at 7.8 nearly all the time didn't cause any problems I could find for my puffers. Almost anything that will drop your PH will create more problems than it's worth. Driftwood works for a time, as does peat, but unlike water hardeners, it's less predictable, and usually more trouble that it's worth.