Newbie with a new 25g tank.

[Bluegillfreak]

Another quick question when doing a PWC do I add enough water conditioner for just the amount of water I add or the whole tank capacity?

 

[smallfry53]

I think I have read that when you are doing a small pwc it's fine to dose per amount added, but for bigger pwc's it's better to dose the entire tank. I could be wrong on that though. I'm sure some do it differently then others too.

 

[Bluegillfreak]

Thats what I had been doing on my 10g just dosing each gallon as I used it.

 

[smallfry53]

If you are using prime or another water conditioner that detoxifies ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate it might be good to add a little extra since you are doing a fish in cycle, but again I'm not 100% on that. Just a thought.

 

[Bluegillfreak]

yeah I am using Aqueon which does all that i need to get a ammonia test kit but I ran out of money today somehow lol will pick one up tomorrow or monday.

 

[smallfry53]

It is kind of expensive (about $32), but I recommend getting the freshwater API Master Test Kit. That way you can test Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate and PH. In the long run it is probably cheaper, since you get so many tests out of it.

 

[Bluegillfreak]

From what I am seeing off my current tester my PH is around 6.0 in my tank and from my tap so what is a good way safe to get my PH up?

 

[Snowfire]

It's generally not a good idea to try to raise your pH as this can lead to fluctuations when you do a pwc and would be difficult to maintain longterm. If you want to add a buffer to maintain a stable pH, you could try a little crushed coral in a mesh bag inside your filter.

 

[Bluegillfreak]

It's generally not a good idea to try to raise your pH as this can lead to fluctuations when you do a pwc and would be difficult to maintain longterm. If you want to add a buffer to maintain a stable pH, you could try a little crushed coral in a mesh bag inside your filter.

True but I though that the tank wouldnt cylcle properly at a 6.0 PH?

 

[Snowfire]

Is the pH reading from the test strips? They aren't very accurate and only act as a guide IMO. If you're a bit short of cash, you could take a sample to your lfs to get an accurate reading.
PH 6 is quite acidic for tap water, are you in a soft water area? a buffer would definitely help for cycling purposes

 

[Bluegillfreak]

They are from test strips unfortunatly thats all I have for a couple weeks until I get some extra money again but even if they are off by .5 i would still have a 6.5 PH I will try to find some crushed coral to put in my filter and see if that helps.

I honestly don't know what kind of water area I have here as I am not native to this area lol I will call my LFS and see if they offer the water testing if not I know petsmart does but its farther away.

 

[smallfry53]

You could always add some distilled or RO water. That should be pure H2O and have a PH of 7.0, of course they lack the buffers that stabilize your PH though.

 

[Bluegillfreak]

Ok decided to heck with it some other stuff I was going to get for my car could wait and went and got a API Master test kit and im glad I did my API test strips were WAYYYYYY off. Here are the actual results from my tank. Tell me if I am reading this right but to me my PH is between 7.2 and 7.6 with everything else being close to 0 ppm am I correct in my readings?

 

[smallfry53]

That's about what it looks like to me. You could always use the high range ph test and compare the two to get a better estimate. If you haven't already make sure you read the instructions for each test because they do differ, and will effect results if not done properly.

 

[Bluegillfreak]

Yeah I followed the # of drops on each bottle used so they should be accurate.

 

[smallfry53]

There is more to it then that. Read the instructions that came with it.

 

[Bluegillfreak]

Read the instructions and will redo the tests in the morning to make sure. I have lost one fish today tho ;( I started out with three tiger barbs and one went from being find and swimming with the others to dead in about an hour hour and a half tops idk what happened.

 

[Bluegillfreak]

Well crap another Tiger Barb died last night water test this morning show ph of 7.2 .25 ppm ammonia no nitrites or nitrates. I'm not sure wether to go back and get another tiger barb not worry about it and just lose the $2.53.