Water Quality for Fish

Water for pet ornamental fish can come from various sources, namely groundwater or well water, river water or swamp water or tap water.

1. Ground water or well water. Well water usually clean enough and contain gases and mineral. Beside depend on the depth of water source, the quality of well water also depend on the season. On the dry season the source water surface can down, while on wet season the surface arise, this surface affected by the environment. For this reason water can contain of organic and inorganic pollutant and bacteria. The pollutant concentration depend on the depth of the ground water. More depth of ground water surface, smaller pollutant on there. Using ground water for pet fish better let it one day, if possible by aeration or pump air into the water, in order incorporate free air into water. 
2. River Water. River water quality can change suddenly, using for pet fish need to be precipitated a night before use. This will make soil suspension will precipitated first. Use filter is very important before enter into precipitated pool, in order avoid from pest enter or fish diseases and other wastes. Because the quality can be guaranteed, people rare use river water for their pet fish.
3. Tap Water. Using tap water for pet fish is very good, beside clean, usually tap water already through filtration and bacterial killing. Unfortunately chlorine and other disinfectant can high, beside contain of little copper from water treatment like alum. To eliminate chlorine concentrate on tap water can use strong aeration for 12 hours. If using aeration still smell of chlorine can use potassium tiosulfate as much as one crystal for 30 liters of water. Beside of using potassium tiosulfate can use Sodium tiosulfate 10 %, with dose 1 - 2 drop for 10 liter of water.

Water Softener

A water softener is a device or a substance that removes, or renders inactive and isolates, ions such as calcium, magnesium, iron or manganese in hard water. Water containing dissolved calcium and magnesium salts, or ferrous iron, in amounts greater than 120 mg/l is considered hard. Hard water forms scale, a deposit of carbonate salts, on the inner surfaces of boilers, cooking utensils, and pipes that carry hot water or steam. Iron oxidizes, reddening the water. Mineral salts precipitate the fatty acids from soap in the form of a scum or a gelatinous curd.

Because of the problems created by hard water, both for industry and for domestic water users, various types of water softeners have been developed. Water passed through a polystyrene ion exchange filter gives up calcium and magnesium ions for sodium ions from zeolites in the filter. The addition of lime to hard water precipitates mineral salts. Borax and sodium carbonate are also precipitating softeners. Trisodium phosphate, once a major ingredient of detergent washing powders, is an efficient water softener but is no longer used of the pollution problem it creates.

Water Analyses

Water analyses to water treatment or to other water source is may have different parameter usually depend on the suspected contamination or prediction content on the water especially metal content. On the analyses are first test the pH of water, if the pH is not on normal range (6 - 8) then water is not fulfil to use for our drinking water and should be treated first. The second key parameter of water is TDS, if the TDS is higher than 100 it's mean that water content too many dissolved mineral or salt on it. This water can be dangerous to consume and need of further check of water content.

If the TDS of water is higher than 100 mg/liter, mean that water should be treated first before use for consumption. TDS content on the water can content hazardous mineral if we consume directly, and mineral dissolve on the water can be vary. To know the content of mineral dissolve on the water should be check in the laboratory. Many metal can check but if water smell like iron then can be check the iron content on the water, either are checked other metal content for example, sodium salt, zinc, mangan, copper, and other metals.

Other analyses to the water is the COD and BOD condition of water, this check will know if water still content enough oxygen in it and health to consume, if BOD or COD too high its mean on the water content microbe or chemicals that need more oxygen to convert this organism or chemicals on the water and as the consequences oxygen content on the water will finished be used by microbe or chemicals to react. The maximum BOD₅ allowed is 50.

Water heater Problem

Water heater much use in the household as the equipment to overcome the cold whether condition, but many people don’t know what the problem come on water heater. Water heater use gas on our house work like cooker pot that always use to heat water. More often we use water heater than more thick of sediment will much more on the bottom of our heater pot, this sediment come from water that contain of mineral dissolved in the water.

This sediment build very slow process because the mineral contain on the water also slight. This sediment stick on the base of heater pot and stick very strong, sometime we clean this pot actually can’t remove all the sediment on the base heater pot. The problem on the water heater also come after interval of time. We can’t clean this sediment but flushing using hot water in regular time, more often we clean this sediment we have longer life time of our water heater.

The best way to treat this equipment in order not easily build a sediment in hot water is just use demineralization water, but if hot water sometime use for drink this water is not good for health because less of mineral contain. Demineralized water may more expensive that usual water, because it should pass through an exchange resin. So other better solution is use water that contain less of calcium because this mineral easily to build a sediment when heating.