apollosmith
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2009
- Messages
- 15
My wife brought home a 20 gallon tank about a year ago. We did everything wrong. I'm surprised we've had as much luck as we have - considering the 'wonderful' advice we've received at PetSmart. We've had a year of struggles, fish losses, and buying way too much stuff to 'fix' our 'sick' fish. After my wife brought home the last load of new fish a while back, I decided I was going to make the aquarium work right from now on. I'm glad I've finally found this community. I've learned so much in the time I've been reading here. Thanks!
Over the last month or so, I've stopped all the chemicals (except Prime), gone through a mini-cycle, found a new home for our inherited Cichlids (good riddance!), got on a good PWC schedule, and now have Nitrites, Ammonia, and Nitrates at good and steady levels.
So here's the questions:
- I have GH and KH of 300 and pH of at least 8.4. My water is VERY hard out of the tap. I've considered driftwood (also good for Plecos, right?), but no pet store in town carries any and I'm a bit reluctant to pull some out of a lake and toss it in there. Any other recommendations? Or do I not worry about the pH?
- The PetSmart Boys had us using aquarium salt (1 TB/5 gal) and I now know this is not necessary and may be a problem for the Plecos. Am I OK to slowly get the salt out of the system through 20% PWCs?
- My month old Plecos (again, sold by Petsmart to 'fix' our algae problem) are glued to the same spot hiding on the back walls where we can never see them. I thought the recent removal of the aggressive cichlids would bring them out, but not so. Any way to encourage even a bit of exploring? A back wall covering? I wonder if they are getting enough food staying in one place - especially with the 2 hard working Ottos and snails in there. I do provide algae wafers on occasion, but they don't eat them directly - they never seem to move more than a few inches.
Sorry for so many questions. I'll keep reading and researching here, but appreciate your help.
Over the last month or so, I've stopped all the chemicals (except Prime), gone through a mini-cycle, found a new home for our inherited Cichlids (good riddance!), got on a good PWC schedule, and now have Nitrites, Ammonia, and Nitrates at good and steady levels.
So here's the questions:
- I have GH and KH of 300 and pH of at least 8.4. My water is VERY hard out of the tap. I've considered driftwood (also good for Plecos, right?), but no pet store in town carries any and I'm a bit reluctant to pull some out of a lake and toss it in there. Any other recommendations? Or do I not worry about the pH?
- The PetSmart Boys had us using aquarium salt (1 TB/5 gal) and I now know this is not necessary and may be a problem for the Plecos. Am I OK to slowly get the salt out of the system through 20% PWCs?
- My month old Plecos (again, sold by Petsmart to 'fix' our algae problem) are glued to the same spot hiding on the back walls where we can never see them. I thought the recent removal of the aggressive cichlids would bring them out, but not so. Any way to encourage even a bit of exploring? A back wall covering? I wonder if they are getting enough food staying in one place - especially with the 2 hard working Ottos and snails in there. I do provide algae wafers on occasion, but they don't eat them directly - they never seem to move more than a few inches.
Sorry for so many questions. I'll keep reading and researching here, but appreciate your help.