I have horrible city water-how can I keep fish?

The water here used to be okay-up until a few yrs ago. After 15 yrs of being a fish hobbyist, I took a break for a few years and just recently decided to start back up. Since then, it has been a disaster. The first tank I bought, literally fell apart on me, forcing me to immediately move my fish to a new tank without cycling it first. Since then, I cannot get it to cycle properly( going on 6 weeks). My NO2 and NO3 levels consistently test at 0 (my nitrites should have spiked by now). I have tried everything. And I am not joking. My ammonia levels are at 5; also, my ph is too high, while the total alkalinity is too low (how the heck can this be?). My water is very hard and the chlorine levels are somewhat high. I have since done several water changes, tried using spring water (not as hard as tap, also more acidic), filtered water, half tap, half spring, half tap, half filtered, using a different test kit, waiting, etc. I have used Stress Coat, Stress Zyme, ammo lock...different filters, you name it. Never, had I had this kind of trouble. I cannot believe my fish are still hanging on (just barely). One has died and the others are showing moderate to severe signs of ammonia poisoning. I cannot (for some reason) get a handle on this. I have 15 yrs experience! I've also been through this before and everything was ok. Why not this time? I have some expensive fish!I have horrible city water-how can I keep fish?
Interesting problem. No nitrites after 6 weeks.. that's crazy. What size tank are we talking about and what's it stocked with?



What exactly are your pH, KH, GH, and Alkalinity levels at? If you can get a calcium test too that would be helpful.



I assume you're using water conditioner every water change right? Just making sure... Some people don't.



One problem I see off the bat is an ammonia level above 5 tend to slow or stop the cycling process. Too much ammonia is toxic to the bacteria that break it down. Learned that with fishless cycling.



The problem with using RO water for a fish tank is it contains no trace elements and no salts that fish need. It's also highly unstable and will likely have a pH crash. You'd have to find freshwater trace minerals in an additive, as well as a buffer suitable to your stock of fish. It means a lot of work balancing everything out. One thing I've done is a mix of RO plus tap water to get a more desirable environment. I don't know if that's a good idea though until I know more about your water chemistry.



If you want to send me a message with more details, I'd be happy to try to solve the problem with you.I have horrible city water-how can I keep fish?
go get country water
If you just cannot solve this problem, go to the store and buy jugs of water. I think that would really be your only option if it's that terrible. If you're still intent on figuring out how to solve the water issue, at least buy the water for the fish.
What are your alkalinity levels? If they are high i sure wouldnt be drinking that water!



Personally i would go to home depot and get a whole house water softner, you can have one put in for $300. If will pay for itself in 5 years with the amount of money it saves you on wear and tear to your plumbing. I would also get an under the sink ro because reverse osmosis is the only way you can clear such a horrible problem.



I know your pain i lived in the high plains of Texas right on the New Mexico line where the water was awful. My brother worked for our local Culligan franchise and taught me a lot about water (and we kept real nice corals in Culligan water in case you cant afford to buy a system you can always rent one from culligan for less than 20 a month)

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