How To Use Bottled Water For Goldfish

Keeping goldfish is relaxing, soothing and aesthetically pleasing. Keeping an aquarium in the home with a few fish swimming about and with the soft bubbling sounds of the aerator is truly a therapeutic experience. Distilled, bottled, or soft water is the best water for goldfish.

Goldfish do not generally require much maintenance once the aquarium is up and running smoothly, but they do need clean, oxygen rich water in order to remain comfortable and healthy. For this reason, it's clear that good quality water is crucial in order to create a healthy ecosystem in the aquarium and be successful in keeping freshwater fish.

Estimate the water capacity of your aquarium so that you know how much bottled water to buy. To do this you may need to check the owner's manual that came with the aquarium, or you can fill up the empty aquarium with tap water using a gallon container, counting how many gallons it takes. This way you will know how many gallons it holds. Be sure to empty all the tap water. Once you know the capacity, you are ready to fill the aquarium to within two or three inches from the top with bottled water.

Note that whether you are using tap water or bottled water for goldfish, both have to be dechlorinated. Using commercial water conditioner for fish tanks is the best way to remove chlorine. Add it to the water 24 hours before you put the fish back into it. Chlorine kills both good and bad bacteria, and this can damage the natural flora of your tank.

Purchase bottled drinking water from a grocery store. Make sure the water is not distilled, demineralized, flavored, or ionized. The best water for goldfish should be bottled at the source, uncarbonated, natural spring water. Reverse osmosis water might not be safe for fish because it is filtered, and some of the mineral content will have been taken out in the process. Natural water contains minerals fish need but watch for chlorine.

Look for wholesale, bottled water suppliers. Buying the water wholesale will save you money in the long run. Look in your phone book or you may be able to order cases online and have it shipped to you. Find out shipping costs as this can be expensive. Alternatively, you can buy cases from your grocery store. Put in a special order for bottled water if they don't have enough in stock.

If you are just replacing some of your existing aquarium water, make sure you only change up to 25 percent of the existing water with the bottled water. Remove the water from the tank with a clean, soap and detergent-free bowl, and top off the aquarium with the bottled water. If you need to scrape hard water deposits along the tank glass, do so now when the water level is lowered.

If you are changing all the water, leave the water in the aquarium overnight before placing the fish in the tank. The temperature of the aquarium water should be the same or close to that of the water the fish are currently in to avoid shocking them. Top off the aquarium water by up to 25 percent once every two weeks with the bottled water because it's the best water for goldfish. Try to use the same brand if possible to ensure the same level of mineral content in the water. This is preferred but not necessary.