Need help with ph and kh

[TamDuncan]

Hello,

I have two German Blue Cichlids and two Angelfish and four cory catfish. My nitrate, Nitrite and Chlorine ppm are at 0. My hardness is at 75 (soft). Which from my reading is good, right?!

I added some rocks to my aquarium (yes I boiled them and did the vinegar test and they are safe) but my pH is Alkaline 8.4 and my Alkalinity is High 300. This is all according to my strip tests. So my question is how do I get my pH and Alkalinity down to a safe level for my fish? Is this going to kill them all, especially my cory? Please help

 

[treemanone2003]

Trying to get pH down is probably a poor choice. Fish are best with consistency rather than a constantly fluctuating accuracy. Also, boiling rocks is not necessarily smart as some have chemicals, gasses, etc, that when released while boiling could actually kill. As for the test strips, IMO and many others, highly inaccurate. Better off with your own liquid kit and not relying on strips or the LFS as they may "tell" you something's not right and try to separate you from your money by offering a useless chemical.

To have all readings of "0" is indicative of an uncycled tank. There should be nitrate readings of at least a few ppm to 20 and no more than 30.

 

[TamDuncan]

Thankyou, I've had my tank for about 6 months and do a 25% water change once a week. So are you saying that I should leave my pH alone? I use to have only four cory catfish and a Betta but he was a little boring to watch in a 10 gallon and he didn't like the filter so we moved him. I've had these current fish for about two weeks, and I redid my test strip (I will look into getting a liquid kit) and the nitrate might be at 20. The colors on this test are hard to tell but it's a color of 0 to 20.

 

[FishyBusiness]

It's best to use a liquid test kit such as API master FW kit. However, I have used strips before and I always keep some on hand (I'll test with both to compare results sometimes). But you should get a kit. You can get them off amazon or eBay for like $20.

As for the ph and your fish, most fish these days are tank bred unless your getting ottos or some other species. If they are acclimated properly, they'd be better off with your current water conditions. Stability is the most important thing in your aquarium.

 

[Hulka9]

I agree with fishybusiness, better to keep it constant. You also definitely will have some level of nitrates if your tank is cycled properly.

Also, are all of those fish in that 10G? ?

 

[treemanone2003]

Thankyou, I've had my tank for about 6 months and do a 25% water change once a week. So are you saying that I should leave my pH alone? I use to have only four cory catfish and a Betta but he was a little boring to watch in a 10 gallon and he didn't like the filter so we moved him. I've had these current fish for about two weeks, and I redid my test strip (I will look into getting a liquid kit) and the nitrate might be at 20. The colors on this test are hard to tell but it's a color of 0 to 20.

Yes definitely leave the pH alone. The fish are acclimated to it currently and the only thing it will do is harm them trying to get it "perfect". The colors are difficult to say the least and just not as reliable as the liquid kit. 25% WC's are acceptable for the fish you have.