They're Dying ... Help!

[fort384]

Cardinals are a really bad fish to try and cycle a tank with. They are super sensitive to water changes / ammonia / nitrites. Definitely 1 of the more difficult tetras to keep.

I agree with most of what has been posted - you want to keep up on partial water changes while the fish are in until the tank is cycled. Change enough each day to keep ammonia and nitrites below .25.

I have had good luck recently with a product called seachem stability. It has done a great job in speeding up my cycle. After just about 1 week, my tank is just about through the cycle, with no fish loss, and only 1 partial water change.

What is the pH of your tap water? If your tank pH is below 6.0 I am guessing you have injected way too much CO2. If you post your pH and KH readings, we can tell you what CO2 concentration you are at. I don't think there is anything wrong with running the CO2 while you are cycling, but you want to aim for 25-50 or so PPM of CO2.

Your lighting ought to be adequate, maybe even too much. I would reduce your photo period to around 8-10 hrs a day to start or you may end up with a bad algae problem. You can always dial it up from there.

Also, your bulbs are not optimum for plant growth, though they will probably work. Research shows the best color temp to be between 6500K and 10000K for plant growth.
Plants need light that peaks in the red spectrum. As you go up temp scale, you tend to get more peaks in the blue spectrum. The optimum temp for aquatic plants is generally considered to be around 6700K. This is a close analogue to light on a sunny day. It is a good compromise of good red spectrum peaks, and still looks natural so your aquarium looks great. As you move up towards 10000K you are getting into light range analogous to an overcast day. Not optimum but still beneficial to plants. As you go above that you move more into the blue peaks of light... good for coral, not so much for FW plants.

[EasternCanuck]

Hi,

Thank you for your help with the lighting. I relied on my LFS telling me that these bulbs were what I needed. I'm learning that these guys know bits and pieces but that I should definitely not be relying on what they 'know'.

My PH is below 6.0 not sure as my test kit doesn't go below that but the colour is a brighter 'yellow' than the 6.0 PH on my test kit so I am assuming.

My KH looks to be between 0 and 3 (1 dKH=21,8 ppm according to the test kit, whatever that means). I have to admit I am not sure what this means.

My Nitrates (NO3) are at 10 mg and my Nitrites are in the "not OK" zone of my test kit. Looks like a pretty crappy test kit in hindsight.

How do I figure out CO2?

[fort384]

Measuring CO2 levels in a Planted Tank

Check out that link. About 3/4 of the way down the page there is a chart that will help you determine your co2 level. I would say that with those readings, your co2 concentration is too high. This is probably why your fish were swimming near the top.

KH is a measure of the alkalinity of your water based on the amount of carbonate and bicarbonate your water contains.

So you know, ammonia and nitrite are toxic to fish. You want to keep them both as low as possible. You can change 50%+ of your water every day to keep these numbers low.

The best test kit is the Freshwater master test kit by API. The liquid titration tests are far more accurate than the dip strips.

10ppm nitrate is ok. Nitrate doesnt start to become toxic to your fish until it gets to much higher levels. 50+ really, but 20+ is no good to be safe.

As far as the lighting... it is not ideal, but it will probably work. My concern with it would be that you may get algae that can use more of the light at that color temperature than your plants can. Ideally, you want to get the color temp a little lower to maximize plant absorption and minimize algae taking over. When you start getting into powerful lighting and co2 addition just be aware that you may need to start dosing fertilizers - some kind of trace, a nitrogen supplement, potassium supplement, and a phosphorus supplement. If you have too much light, too much co2, or too much fertilizer, it can really encourage algae growth. You really have to try to balance all of these, especially in a high tech setup like you are starting. These setups are great, it is just things can take a turn for the worse a lot faster than in a low light, low tech setup.

[jim692]

See if you can get an API freshwater master test kit. Most people who use them like them.
You may need daily or better water changes to get your levels down in the short term.

[EasternCanuck]

Thank you for that link and the information! It would seem my CO2 is massive, which is also leading to why my PH is so low.

Once the tank cycles and things are OK, what would you suggest to raise the PH and keep it stable? Coral chips seem to be mentioned a lot.

[fort384]

well, before you try to adjust pH... what does your tap water test out to? That will give us an idea of how much the co2 is causing it to drop. As a general rule, most community fish can be kept at a wide range of pH. It is better to have a stable pH, than try to dial in a specific number. The fish can adjust to a stable pH, but will not adjust to pH swings.

[EasternCanuck]

Hi,

My tap water PH is about 7.2, according to my Wardley Junior PH kit (it was cheaper, but maybe not very accurate?). My ammonium test kit is API.

I have not seen the API master test kit, though there are separate API kits here for just about everything.

[fort384]

You can pick up the separate API kits... same thing as the master kit, just will cost a little more to buy them individually.

A pH of 7.2... very good. No need to adjust your pH in the tank. How have you got your co2 setup? Is it on a selenoid with a timer, or a ph meter, or what? I would say that with your KH measurement, you want to set your CO2 so that your pH ends up at about 6.4-6.6 somewhere in that range. That will provide a good amount of CO2, but not be dangerous to your fish.

If you don't have a pH meter and selenoid for your co2 system I would suggest 1. It is a little pricey, but really makes it easy. You set the desired pH, and the meter will tell the selenoid to turn the co2 on and off to maintain that pH. I have the Milwaukee SMS122 model... very popular for planted tanks, and works wonderfully.

[EasternCanuck]

CO2 set up ... not sure of the technical terms. I've never used a CO2 tank before so I went with what my LFS told me.

I have a 5 lb tank. The CO2 goes to a 'bubble counter'? The guy told me to have 1 bubble per second. It then goes to a diffuser in my tank and turns into many little bubbles that get spread throughout the tank by the current from the filter.

Does that make sense?

[EasternCanuck]

Also, my temperature (with fan blowing on water) hovers between 27 and 28.5 degrees.