The Monk
Aquarium Advice Newbie
Hello everyone. I have been looking in on these boards for a month now and really like the advice I have seen. Can someone help with advice on water for my tank?
Here's the detail for my tank:
3 months old
3 spotted corys
4 black neon tetras
20 gallon, 0-0.25 nitrites (it is in my tap water), 0-0.5 ammonia (also in tap water), pH over 8 (so is tap water), nitrates around 20, gH 120-140, kH 3
Aquarium gravel
Some driftwood (boiled and soaked, no noticeable tannins, etc)
Plastic/silk plants (don't tease me, I will add live ones gradually, but wanted to get the tank up and cycled, add fish, then plants)
I saw all the things you would want to see in a cycling tank - ammonia spike at first, a couple of weeks later a nitrite spike, then both levels going to (almost) zero and nitrates went up. I had been doing a 15-20% pwc every day while cycling, and now do 15-20% every other day. I started the tank using Tetra aqua safe plus, and switched to prime about a week ago.
I kept pulling my hair out that the ammonia and nitrites wouldn't go to zero. Read on the boards that it might be my tap water. I put some water out overnight, aerated it for a minute or two, and tested after 24 hours. My tap water has 0.5 ammonia and sometimes up to 1.0, trace nitrites between 0-0.25, pH around 8.2, kH 3, and gH 120-140.
My fish are growing and seem happy and healthy. However, I know that every time I change the water using my tap water I am adding ammonia and nitrite, and pushing the pH closer to 8.2. Here starts the questions:
Will the high pH hurt my fish? Long term?
Will my bio filter continue to grow to handle the ammonia and nitrite I am adding with the pwc's?
Will I need to stay with prime forever because of my local tap water?
I probably have room for another 3-4 inches of fish - suggestions for living with tetras, corys, and a high pH like mine?
Do I have to go to RO/DI water because of my local tap water? Hope not cause that's expensive...
Any other suggestions?
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!
Here's the detail for my tank:
3 months old
3 spotted corys
4 black neon tetras
20 gallon, 0-0.25 nitrites (it is in my tap water), 0-0.5 ammonia (also in tap water), pH over 8 (so is tap water), nitrates around 20, gH 120-140, kH 3
Aquarium gravel
Some driftwood (boiled and soaked, no noticeable tannins, etc)
Plastic/silk plants (don't tease me, I will add live ones gradually, but wanted to get the tank up and cycled, add fish, then plants)
I saw all the things you would want to see in a cycling tank - ammonia spike at first, a couple of weeks later a nitrite spike, then both levels going to (almost) zero and nitrates went up. I had been doing a 15-20% pwc every day while cycling, and now do 15-20% every other day. I started the tank using Tetra aqua safe plus, and switched to prime about a week ago.
I kept pulling my hair out that the ammonia and nitrites wouldn't go to zero. Read on the boards that it might be my tap water. I put some water out overnight, aerated it for a minute or two, and tested after 24 hours. My tap water has 0.5 ammonia and sometimes up to 1.0, trace nitrites between 0-0.25, pH around 8.2, kH 3, and gH 120-140.
My fish are growing and seem happy and healthy. However, I know that every time I change the water using my tap water I am adding ammonia and nitrite, and pushing the pH closer to 8.2. Here starts the questions:
Will the high pH hurt my fish? Long term?
Will my bio filter continue to grow to handle the ammonia and nitrite I am adding with the pwc's?
Will I need to stay with prime forever because of my local tap water?
I probably have room for another 3-4 inches of fish - suggestions for living with tetras, corys, and a high pH like mine?
Do I have to go to RO/DI water because of my local tap water? Hope not cause that's expensive...
Any other suggestions?
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!