duked512
Aquarium Advice Newbie
first of all, you can blame sati for me being here .
I have a 25 gallon freshwater tank that i'm having a very difficult time getting the ph to what i think should be "normal". for several months now, the ph in the tank reads about 6.0 or so (yellow on the ph tester i use). its not green and yellow its just yellow. i figure this is pretty low so i should do something about getting it back up to 7. i've been doing 10% changes every 4 or so days with fresh water and that's not seeming to help. the water i'm using is from our tap, and its a ph of about 8 or 9 (for whatever reason northern ohio tap water has a very high ph). i of course put some dechlorinating stuff in the water and let it sit before i put it in the tank.
ok, here's what's in the tank:
2 bela sharks (one is over 6" long, the other is like 3" or 4")
4 cory cats
1 pleco
5 head and tail light tetras
3 neon tetras
3 flame tetras
i use only an undergravel filter, one spout has carbon filter in it and the other spout has ammonia filter. i change these every 2 weeks or so. light in the tank is on about 8 hours a day. i have no live plants in the tank (i've had horrible luck with plants so i got plastic ones).
i've tried using those "instant ph" packets and they dont seem to do much of anything but waste my money lol.
the fish themselves seem in great condition. they are very active and have no problems with fin rot or anything. hell even the pleco comes out when the light is on!
any help you guys can offer is appreciated.
I have a 25 gallon freshwater tank that i'm having a very difficult time getting the ph to what i think should be "normal". for several months now, the ph in the tank reads about 6.0 or so (yellow on the ph tester i use). its not green and yellow its just yellow. i figure this is pretty low so i should do something about getting it back up to 7. i've been doing 10% changes every 4 or so days with fresh water and that's not seeming to help. the water i'm using is from our tap, and its a ph of about 8 or 9 (for whatever reason northern ohio tap water has a very high ph). i of course put some dechlorinating stuff in the water and let it sit before i put it in the tank.
ok, here's what's in the tank:
2 bela sharks (one is over 6" long, the other is like 3" or 4")
4 cory cats
1 pleco
5 head and tail light tetras
3 neon tetras
3 flame tetras
i use only an undergravel filter, one spout has carbon filter in it and the other spout has ammonia filter. i change these every 2 weeks or so. light in the tank is on about 8 hours a day. i have no live plants in the tank (i've had horrible luck with plants so i got plastic ones).
i've tried using those "instant ph" packets and they dont seem to do much of anything but waste my money lol.
the fish themselves seem in great condition. they are very active and have no problems with fin rot or anything. hell even the pleco comes out when the light is on!
any help you guys can offer is appreciated.