First timer questions

[Griffster]

Just got finished putting my wine(from a kit)into the secondary(carboy) and took a hydrometer reading. Instuctions say reading should be 1.010 or less. Mine is not even reading on the scale. The hydrometer sinks to the bottom of the tube. It fermented real good for 5 days then slowed way down. So I put it in the carboy with an airlock. Suppose to leave it there for 10 days. I guess I'm doing alright but the instuctions say not to top off the carboy at this stage.Don't I need to keep air off the wine so it won't get someting from the air? I actually only have about 4in of air before the wine would come in contact with the airlock and bung. Everything smells and looks good.
Also, I've heard you can top off the racked wine with wine of a similar type. Can you top off with brandy or a liqueur if it is only going to take a cup or so to top off the wine?
Also, how important is the water that is used? Is most city water ok to use or should I be using bottled water to make my wine. I used to make beer years ago and alot of brewers were real particular about the water they used.
Would appreciate any feed back. I'm new to this and would like to learn more. Thanks.

 

[Wade E]

If you find the water you drink is decent then dont worry about it. This wine should have been transferred much earlier but all is fine as another manufacturer has you ferment dry in primary. You definitely can not</font> top off with a liquor or brandy at theis point cause there is sugar in them which would start fermentation up again since you probably will not be adding enough to up your abv enough to kill off your yeast strain. At this point you are 1 step ahead of where you should be so you can add the stabilizer and sulfite, degas and then add the fining agent.