Water Quality Issues
Here is my issue -
From 2016-2023, I had some 10 aquariums running - all the fish did extremely well, so well in fact that I was breeding fish in summer tubs outside, raising fry. The species I kept and bred were
Pencil Fish - 3 different species
Ember Tetras
Danio Kyathits
Emerald Dwarf Danios
Glowlight Danio
Harlequin Rasboras
German Blue Rams
Issue - Live plants die, I could keep hornwart alive inside my tanks for about 14 days
Duck week dies in 3 days
Crypts, swords, and other similar species die and melt in 4-7 days
Stem Plants like - Water Siteria, Ludwigia, Rotala, melt and die in 3-5 days
All tanks were SHUT down in 2023 due to work, mandatory overtime, and keeping aquariums and fish went from fun to work.
I am looking to reset an aquarium -but I really want to have LIVE plants, and I am looking at several ways to do this... from a simple walstad method, to having a plenum, using gravel, sand, etc. This part has yet to be decided, as I need to solve my water issue first.
Here are my current test results as of 05/15/2026 12:00 EST
Well Water - RAW drawn before any water enters the Filtration System ( more on this below )
TDS: 269 - Known to be in the water Maganese not Magnesium, Iron
General Hardness 120ppm
Carbonate Hardness 40 ppm
pH 6.5
Nitrites: 0 Nitrates: 0
Odor - Strong Metallic Smell - Caused by the maganese and iron in my well. My area is well known for very high concentrations
Well water after it's passed through the following filtration chambers
Cylindar 1: Contains Calcium to raise the pH so that the Birm and the Resin tanks can operate properly
Birm Tank gets backwashed 2x a week
Resin Tank gets back-washed with a brine solution - High Grade Sodium Chloride
TDS: 307
General Hardness 30
Carbonate Harness 40
pH 7.0
Nitrites: 0 Nitrates: 0
Water has no Odor, and is very drinkable
Other than investing in an r/O water system any suggestions to make my water more suitable for plants?
I mean if my water kills duckweed in 3 then there is something definitely in the water that is very unkind. I have found that even growing
house plants and using just tap water kills plants within a two-week period.
I have had the water fully tested in a professional lab. There are other trace minerals like
Potassium, Nickel, Zinc, and Aluminum, the levels on the test sheet are so negligible that, although the lab said they were there
The values were like 0.0000001 ppm or not worth reporting at all, and they are on the report listed as NICKEL =>0.000001
So what I do know - the species of fish that I love to keep do EXTREMELY well in my water, evidenced by breeding and the fry growing to full adults
Plants hate my water.