LFS advice...

[Leebaker98]

Hi all,

New to the forum, come back into fish keeping after 3 or 4 years, been browsing the forums etc. just been to my LFS and received some advice I'm really not sure of and wanted your opinions please;
Asked for a JBL nitrate test kit to replace the depleted one in my jbl set, was told jbl are very inaccurate. Then asked if they have crushed coral as my KH is 1 - 2, I was told that's irrelevant and not worth bothering with on a community FW aquarium... Thoughts and opinions?

 

[TotallyCoral]

Hello and welcome! A lot of things have changed over the years so it's good you're asking these types of questions.

Sorry but I actually have no idea what JBL test kits are but I can tell you that API master test kits are the new thing now. You might want to look into those as that's what almost everyone uses. The liquid test kits are praised for being accurate.

Also, crushed coral isn't really needed unless you want to buffer your pH and not have any fluctuations. I used some in the beginning of my fishless cycle. But apart from that it really isn't needed in a freshwater community aquarium as fish can adapt to wide ranges of conditions.

Hope this helps!

 

[Leebaker98]

Thank you very much!

So really a fair chance his advice was bang on correct.
Will have a look at the API kits, a lot of things do seen to have changed lol.
Any advice on extremely low hardness levels as i live in an area where the water is very very soft? The hardness bein the reason i was advised to try the crushed coral is all

Cheers

 

[tamtam]

Thank you very much!

So really a fair chance his advice was bang on correct.
Will have a look at the API kits, a lot of things do seen to have changed lol.
Any advice on extremely low hardness levels as i live in an area where the water is very very soft? The hardness bein the reason i was advised to try the crushed coral is all

Cheers

what fish are you keeping? For the most part hardness and PH aren't a huge priority and you can get by without fussing with it. There are some fish though that need the fussing. lol.

Is your JLB kit liquid? I don't know the brand but I think the main thing is simply that it's not test strips. Those are horribly inaccurate.

Oh, and welcome to the forum!

 

[Leebaker98]

At the moment just a small plec, 6 assorted guppies, 6 assorted platys.

Yeah the JBL kit is liquid. Ph is a constant 7.5 - 8, plants and fish are thriving with the exception of 3 guppies that just died with no explanation a week ago, which was 3 days after they were added as part of a batch of 9, the remaining 6 being happy and healthy. Tank has been cycled for over 3 months...

 

[tamtam]

At the moment just a small plec, 6 assorted guppies, 6 assorted platys.

Yeah the JBL kit is liquid. Ph is a constant 7.5 - 8, plants and fish are thriving with the exception of 3 guppies that just died with no explanation a week ago, which was 3 days after they were added as part of a batch of 9, the remaining 6 being happy and healthy. Tank has been cycled for over 3 months...

I wouldn't be to concerned then with hardness. Those are all pretty hardy fish and should fair well, do you know what type of pleco it is?

 

[Leebaker98]

Thanks for that, will relax on stressing over the hardness then .
It an ancistrus, am I right in believing they grow to between 4 & 5 inches?

 

[tamtam]

Thanks for that, will relax on stressing over the hardness then .
It an ancistrus, am I right in believing they grow to between 4 & 5 inches?

I think it's generally between 4-6 is their adult size when given a proper space to grow as needed. I think tank size is recommended to be 30 or so gallons though I'm not certain on that so hopefully someone can chime in there.

 

[Leebaker98]

Sweet, shouldn't be an issue in his current home then at 190 litres.

 

[Cynic]

Soft water will only be an issue if you are unable to maintain water changes in which case you'll be more prone to PH crashes. In addition don't load your tank up heavily with driftwood as that will further amplify the risk.