Everybody has really jumped on here! I won't say anything different, and yea, if your ammonia and nitrites are zero slow down with the water changes.

Brandon, I doubt with one little plant there is a problem with rotting roots, and anyway, tests reveal nothing abnormal except zero nitrate, which could be due to the frequent water changes.

I would leave it alone myself now for a week and then check the pH, amm, nitrites, nitrates. If all is good leave it for another week, but with good water it certianly wouldn't hurt to do small ones.

Those biweekly water changes were to reduce excess nitrite which you had before.

Sorry to hear about the dead fish. Just don't use Jungle Start dechlorinator. I heard it had sodium chloride in it which if it's dosed too often can cause problems. I like Prime myself. The guys at plantgeek like that stuff.

I don't know what r/o water is by the way. Whatever the others are saying about it is probably right though. The tap water is just keeping the pH high.

...Tetras are really touchy fish....I like what Spongbob said, things may be fine when you get back. A freshwater tank shouldn't require so much tinkering..

Good Luck!.....Peter

That water has trace elements in it right? If it's like distilled water constant water changes with that will be disasterous.

That's why I was being safe and suggesting spring water. No chance to mess it up, unless there's something I don't know about spring water.

I like the idea of topping off my planted tanks with r/o water though.

There's no guarantee of what "spring" the spring water may have come from or if it's not from a river or lake, but store bought spring water should be as close to the water the fish would have in their natural environment as you could find.

There may be a range in hardness between different spring waters, but if you change 30% or whatever I doubt there is anything to worry about in this regard. Actually, tap water is usually the water to worry about more IMO.

Just so I can guarantee the safe use of bought spring water I would simply do some water tests on it. pH should be somewhere between say 6.8 and 7.2, ammonia should be zero, nitrites should be zero, nitrate zero.

If you have other tests you want to try go ahead, but I would be confident to simply check pH and dump it in.

Actually, for myself, I'd just dump it in without doing any tests. I've actually done it to top my tanks off sometimes. I just want to cover my arse and I guess I'd rather be anal when giving advice than to miss any detail no matter how tiny.

I'm actually a respiratory therapist, and we're taught when we work with critically ill people to not be the one who kills the patient. The patient may be dying of multi-organ failure, be in a coma on a ventilator, and we have to make judgement calls like on whether to keep someone at 100% oxygen and have their lungs disintegrate from o2 toxicity, or to increace the pressure of the gas pumped into their lungs which also ruins the lungs over time. They're gona die, but you don't want to be the last person who treated the patient when they do.

You don't have to mix tap water or anything else with spring water, and it shouldn't need dechlorinator either.

Food products have to list additives, and some "filtered water have added minerals for flavor. Spring water should have nothing added.

If anyone disagrees speak up!! I'm not God and don't claim to know everything!!!

No problem. The whole point of forums is to get different options and then choose. I personally do not use spring water because, as you mention, there are such differences between the different brands. However, if you found a brand that worked and just stuck to it then I think it is a perfect choice. It really is just up to you Zambize. I think either method will work just fine and will definitely be better than your tap water.

Thanks, Peter, for the alternate suggestion.