hi everyone
many years ago, started with a betta and a goldfish, managed to kill both of them quickly, water wasn't filtered, nor heated - lfs did not tell me how to keep them otherwise and i didn't research
this time I thought I will go about it better, but i'm having issues
I have a 12 gallon fluval edge, in my office, not in direct light.
Eco-complete fine substrate
tiger eye rocks and Malaysian driftwood in place.
rock was vinegar tested, did not flare, driftwood was boiled for 5 hours and tannis was pretty much removed completely.
planted:
1. anubias nana
2. Java fern
3. rosette sword
4. Christmas and phoenix moss
5. dhg (yet to be planted, just getting it ready)
all planted within the last week
the water was very cloudy for 3 days before it finally cleared up on its own.
no fish yet. my eventual plan is for 10 shrimps and 5-6 CPD (galaxy rasbora) that's it.
I have been feeding the tank fish food.
tested my tap water for all (pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrates) all were good, except pH was around 7.6-8.0
have been testing the tank for 5 days now (pH, ammonia only), decided to test for nitrite today
ammonia is stable around .25-.3 ppm
pH is getting really high 8.0-8.2 and what is really upsetting me is that my nitrites are testing super high 2.0 ppm +
i was under the impression my ammonia would first peak and then drop to 0 before the nitrites would spike & why is the nitrite spiking so badly - why is it so high
i also want to lower my pH but I don't want to use water conditioners, i have read that they mostly don't work.
what is happening? any help would be appreciated.
pic attached, tank is not full of water yet as I still have some planting to do.
many years ago, started with a betta and a goldfish, managed to kill both of them quickly, water wasn't filtered, nor heated - lfs did not tell me how to keep them otherwise and i didn't research
this time I thought I will go about it better, but i'm having issues
I have a 12 gallon fluval edge, in my office, not in direct light.
Eco-complete fine substrate
tiger eye rocks and Malaysian driftwood in place.
rock was vinegar tested, did not flare, driftwood was boiled for 5 hours and tannis was pretty much removed completely.
planted:
1. anubias nana
2. Java fern
3. rosette sword
4. Christmas and phoenix moss
5. dhg (yet to be planted, just getting it ready)
all planted within the last week
the water was very cloudy for 3 days before it finally cleared up on its own.
no fish yet. my eventual plan is for 10 shrimps and 5-6 CPD (galaxy rasbora) that's it.
I have been feeding the tank fish food.
tested my tap water for all (pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrates) all were good, except pH was around 7.6-8.0
have been testing the tank for 5 days now (pH, ammonia only), decided to test for nitrite today
ammonia is stable around .25-.3 ppm
pH is getting really high 8.0-8.2 and what is really upsetting me is that my nitrites are testing super high 2.0 ppm +
i was under the impression my ammonia would first peak and then drop to 0 before the nitrites would spike & why is the nitrite spiking so badly - why is it so high
i also want to lower my pH but I don't want to use water conditioners, i have read that they mostly don't work.
what is happening? any help would be appreciated.
pic attached, tank is not full of water yet as I still have some planting to do.