The Puffer Forum

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

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

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.

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

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...

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

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?

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.