Here's the new Fluval edge 12g - live planted

[SMuenzner]

With an awesome piece of driftwood - time for some inhabitants, But first a couple of questions and observations...

1 - I want to start with just a couple of fish to "test the waters" (pun intended) - it was suggested of a couple of zebra danios - thoughts?

2 - haven't done all my water testing yet, but ph is real low - will additives simply bring it up to where it needs to be or do I need to something else?

3 - I seem to have a snail - notice it in a couple of the pics - I assume he came in with the plants and it's cool because I actually wanted a snail. Do I need to do anything special to keep him going and growing?

4 - live plants - looks like a lot of new growth already but do I need to trim stuff that has died off?

Had a tank about 15 years ago but wast't a diligent aquarist - will be very different this time. Thanks for any feedback!

 

[Rivercats]

Nice tank and I do like the DW. It looks like a common pond snail which may not be the greatest. Sometimes they will be nice and eat algae and other times they will just eat on the plants. You'll just have to watch. But beware you might get more, I "think" common pond snails are hermaphrodite (having both male and female organs). If you notice eggs then you'll know.

You need to get a PH test kit or preferably a API master test kit so you can monitor your ph, amnonia, nitrites, and nitrates as it cycles. Don't get any fish until you ph test, then see what adjustments might need to be made and go from there. Why do you think you have low ph. Most tap water is hard to med hard with a higher ph, unless your on well water or using RO.

 

[Majbarsalona]

With an awesome piece of driftwood - time for some inhabitants, But first a couple of questions and observations...

1 - I want to start with just a couple of fish to "test the waters" (pun intended) - it was suggested of a couple of zebra danios - thoughts?

Zebra danios are recommended for a 20 gallon, you could do some male guppies, betas, endlers live bearers or similar. If you tell me some fish you like i could tell you what would be a good choice

2 - haven't done all my water testing yet, but ph is real low - will additives simply bring it up to where it needs to be or do I need to something else?

Find out exact ph, most people believe that a steady ph is much for important that the actual number itself

3 - I seem to have a snail - notice it in a couple of the pics - I assume he came in with the plants and it's cool because I actually wanted a snail. Do I need to do anything special to keep him going and growing?

Just make sure you put a tiny bit of food every day or so

4 - live plants - looks like a lot of new growth already but do I need to trim stuff that has died off?

Yeah If it's dying off you should trim it by its stem.

Had a tank about 15 years ago but wast't a diligent aquarist - will be very different this time. Thanks for any feedback

Welcome back into the hobby!

 

[SMuenzner]

Hi rivercats - thanks for responding. I'll definitely keep an eye on my lone inhabitant.

Regarding the testing - I bought an API master kit and only had a few quick minutes to do a test and did the ph - it came back at 6.4 from what I could see by the color grid. I plan to do the rest tomorrow and see what everything's at.

 

[Rivercats]

Wow you do have low ph! My water is so hard with a ph of 9 I had to get a countertop RO unit so I could soften mine and lower the ph! There are several products out there that could raise your ph, but before you do anything to change your ph decide what fish you are going to cycle with, find out the best ph, then adjust accordingly. A neutral ph or 7.0 would work for most, not all, but most fish might want to cycle. Something else... if you want to keep that snail healthy or get any shrimp, you will have to have harder water, meaning a higher Ph and Kh, which is carbonate hardness. The calcium is what will keep the snails shell hard. We have a fancy goldfish tank here for my granddaughter and I have to use a alkaline buffer. I use Seachem alkaline buffer, which will raise Ph and Kh. I know there are other buffers out there but this is the only one I have personally used with sucess. Your on the right track so keep up the good work.