High pH

[VulpuixScyther]

Yeah, I'm going to try not to tamper too much with it all unless I notice it's toxic for my fish and they start getting sick. I made the mistake of doing too much to my water with my last aquarium and it was a disaster.

I have read up on peat moss and driftwood lowering pH but when I do water changes I'll be adding more water with a pH of 8.4 and I feel like that would shock the bacteria in my tank, wouldn't it? Maybe I'm wrong.

I guess I could get like a couple 5 gallon water jugs and soak peat moss in there until the pH is leveled out. Would that work?

In any case, I'll just have to see what happens. As of right now, my water levels have remained pretty steady.



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[ImACoolguy]

I had crushed coral (pH up buffer) in one tank and driftwood (pH down buffer) in another tank. I do straight water changes and the fish don't care as long as it is not an extreme difference.


Caleb

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[VulpuixScyther]

I'll be looking into getting some peat moss or driftwood then, when I can.


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[ImACoolguy]

When looking for driftwood make sure you can't press your fingernail into it. If you can, it will eventually rot. Mopani wood is commonly used and commercially sold or you can visit a lake and give it a try.

2 thinks with driftwood that are very common and are harmless so don't freak out:

1. Discoloration of your water. Your water might eventually turn brown. This is due to tannins leaching from the wood. Water changes will help keep them at bay and they eventually go away over time.

2. White fuzzy stuff growing on the wood. It's like bacteria that lives in the wood and it eventually goes away. It can make quite a mess out of a tank. Taking it out and scrubbing it in tank water will help keep this at bay as well. This will also go away over time.


Caleb

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[VulpuixScyther]

Update: I got some driftwood today! It looks pretty cool in there.
I've been watching my water levels like a hawk though. I noticed that my ammonia levels spiked up about 4 days ago so I have been doing a lot of 20% water changes.
Also, my boyfriend surprised me with a set of 50 "easy to care for" plants. >.< I planted them, bought Seachem Flourish Tabs, Seachem Flourish Excel, and increased my lighting a little.
As for the ammonia, I haven't put it in my water yet, but the guy at the LFS I went to told me it would help. It's a bottle of the "Nite-out: Nitrifying bacteria". He told me to add it to the water every other day and my ammonia levels should go down.
I also have a couple questions. With all of the plants in my tank now, should I get a co2 system?
If so, what is the best kind?
I am a little nervous about my ammonia levels being really high (0.25 or less) and having all those plants in there.


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[VulpuixScyther]

Oh yeah! And here's the tank with everything in it.


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[Caliban07]

Oh yeah! And here's the tank with everything in it. View attachment 269848View attachment 269849


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Don't put ammonia in the tank while you have fish in there it will harm them.

Really what you need to do is try to figure out your exact stocking plan. What do you want to have in there?

Then we can help you through the fish in cycling process with hopefully no casualties.

When you say cichlids, that is such a broad term. There are many many types all with different requirements. For example, your water may be more geared towards beginner african cichlids but the tank decor is not.

Come back with what you want and we will help get you there. If you are not sure what you want (like lots of people) you can always start a stocking suggestions thread in the general forum and give all the same tank details you have here.

Good luck.,


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[ImACoolguy]

Update: I got some driftwood today! It looks pretty cool in there.
I've been watching my water levels like a hawk though. I noticed that my ammonia levels spiked up about 4 days ago so I have been doing a lot of 20% water changes.
Also, my boyfriend surprised me with a set of 50 "easy to care for" plants. >.< I planted them, bought Seachem Flourish Tabs, Seachem Flourish Excel, and increased my lighting a little.
As for the ammonia, I haven't put it in my water yet, but the guy at the LFS I went to told me it would help. It's a bottle of the "Nite-out: Nitrifying bacteria". He told me to add it to the water every other day and my ammonia levels should go down.
I also have a couple questions. With all of the plants in my tank now, should I get a co2 system?
If so, what is the best kind?
I am a little nervous about my ammonia levels being really high (0.25 or less) and having all those plants in there.


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Do you have the names of the plants? That should tell whether or not you need co2.

When you say increased your lighting, by how much? Almost all tanks shouldn't be on more than 8 hours a day, exception being a truly heavily planted tank.

Most of the little "bacteria in a bottle" are junk. But, a few people have gotten lucky with them and had success. Fish in cycle requires a lot of water changes to help the fish. If anything, try and find some seeded filter media to help give your cycle a boost.


Caleb

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[wildroseofky]

If you want to do CO2 a DIY yeast setup is a good start. I have been using it for a few years and it is working nicely. It also helps lower PH some. I recommend a small power head like this Azoo Powerheads or anythnig similiar. It works great with the low pressure of DIY CO2 and gives good dispersion of it. You can find a lot of instructions on here and in a Google search to show you how to set one up.

I have a ton of drifstwood, limestone, sea shells, snail shells and do DIY CO2 and my PH stays at 7.6. We have high PH water here in Eastern KY. I have never had a problem. I keep Mollies, Neon Tetras, Guppies, Danios and a Betta. For now I wold concentrate on getting your cycle established and not so much on PH. It can take several months for the cycle to stabilize. After that you can do less water change, once a week, and enjoy your tank.

 

[VulpuixScyther]

Don't put ammonia in the tank while you have fish in there it will harm them.

Really what you need to do is try to figure out your exact stocking plan. What do you want to have in there?

Then we can help you through the fish in cycling process with hopefully no casualties.

When you say cichlids, that is such a broad term. There are many many types all with different requirements. For example, your water may be more geared towards beginner african cichlids but the tank decor is not.

Come back with what you want and we will help get you there. If you are not sure what you want (like lots of people) you can always start a stocking suggestions thread in the general forum and give all the same tank details you have here.

Good luck.,


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No! Haha not ammonia. Bacteria. :b I reread that and realized that it sounded like I was going to put ammonia in my tank. As for what stock, I haven't figured that out yet. But you're right, no cichlids. I think I decided that I wanted a tank with school fish, but I'll probably end up posting another forum like you said. There's a book that someone recommended that I want to check out as well.


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[VulpuixScyther]

Do you have the names of the plants? That should tell whether or not you need co2.

When you say increased your lighting, by how much? Almost all tanks shouldn't be on more than 8 hours a day, exception being a truly heavily planted tank.

Most of the little "bacteria in a bottle" are junk. But, a few people have gotten lucky with them and had success. Fish in cycle requires a lot of water changes to help the fish. If anything, try and find some seeded filter media to help give your cycle a boost.


Caleb

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1 Red Amazon Sword, Echinodorus "Rubin"
2 Mature Amazon Swords,
Echinodorus muricatus
3 young Amazon Swords
2 Crypt Balansae, Cryptocoryne balansae
6 stems of Elodea (Anacharis, Egeria) najas
6 stems of Rotala rotundifolia
5 stems of Alternanthera reineckii
5 stems of Ammania senegalensis
5 stems of Bacopa monnieri
5 stems of Green Cabomba, Cabomba aquatica
5 stems of Ludwigia palustris "Green"
5 Green Crypts Cryptocoryne wendtii "Green"
And also some floating water lettuce.
This is the list of the plants that the seller placed on their add.

As for my increase in lighting, I just found these fluorescent bulbs at Walmart that were supposed to be for planted aquariums. Basically, I went from the bulbs that the tank comes with to those others. I keep the lights on for 12 hours a day right now.


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[ImACoolguy]

Bump the light down to 8 hours or you might see our best friend "algae" visiting soon.

None of those plants are high demanding which is good. Swords and crypts need root tabs. They are heavy root feeders. There's a thread on here called "Mebbid's DIY root tabs" if you want them for cheap and still be effective.


Caleb

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[VulpuixScyther]

Okay! Thanks I'll check those out. I bought some API Flourish root tabs already but if it's cheaper and just as effective I'm all for it.


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[ImACoolguy]

Okay! Thanks I'll check those out. I bought some API Flourish root tabs already but if it's cheaper and just as effective I'm all for it.


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I've not tried them myself, but many have found them to be very effective compared to store bought ones.


Caleb

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[VulpuixScyther]

I read some of the book "A Simple Guide to Freshwater Aquariums" and in part 4 of the book, he gives a list of stocking ideas. There are a couple that I liked a lot.

Kribs, Pelvicachromis pulcher [2 pairs]
One-lined African tetra, Nannaethiops unitaeniatus [12]
Synodontis nigriventris. one of the species called upside-down catfish [6]

Blue gourami, Trichogaster trichopterus [2 pair]
Pearl gourami, T. leerii [2 pair] Moonlight gourami, T. microlepis [2 pair]

White clouds, Tanichthys albonubes [10]
Gold barbs, Puntius sachsii [8] Trigonostigma heteromorpha [15] Dwarf gouramis, Colisa lalia, and/or honey dwarf gouramis, Trichogaster chuna [2 pair]

Those are three that I was looking at.
I'm not finished with the book, but it taught me a lot about fish. I was so caught up on water parameters that I didn't even think about compatibility or anything else for that matter. I'm gonna see about finding a new home for the three minnows, and either buying a 5 gallon for my betta or finding someone who can take good care of him. As for my danios, I'm not sure. Maybe I can just set up my 10 gallon and put the betta and danios in there. He doesn't bother them at all really. But danios are school fish so maybe that's not a good idea.

Any ideas on what would be best? ^_^ I'll end up doing a lot of research on all of these fish but it was nice to find a place to start.


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[ImACoolguy]

I would give the Betta a 10g kingdom rest just give away. Danios IMO would much prefer like a 20 long since they are so zippy.

If you plan on doing that, take a filter you are going to use in that tank and just run it in your main tank to help cycle that filter as well so you are not doing another cycle. 3 weeks is enough time to ensure it cycles the new filter.


Caleb

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[VulpuixScyther]

Good idea! Thanks. Gosh, I haven't even gotten my feet wet and I'll already end up having 2-3 tanks! o.o I can't imagine what it'll be like once I actually get the hang of it.

Thanks for all of the help. This definitely won't be my last post though. Hah


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[ImACoolguy]

Don't worry it's a fast addiction lol I have 6 tanks running right now.


Caleb

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