Hello, I recently finished a fishless cycle in my 10g tank. When the cycle was over, my PH was pretty high (8-8.4). I have 3 live plants in the tank for the fishless cycle. I added some PH decreaser, and it worked a little bit (7.8ish). After that I added 4 fish, 2 angels and 2 plecos. Both of the angels died (I read they don't take well to higher PHs, I think that's why they died.. amm and ni/na levels are all 0). Anyway I added some of that "fix your PH at 7" stuff by Aquarium Pharmasuticals. That stuff seems to be taking a good bite out of my PH. I am wondering if anyone has any other hints to lowering my ph closer to 7? I think my main problem is a lack of O2.. with just 2 fish and 3 plants, i think my CO2 levels are fairly dropped. I also run an areator, and a pengine 125 bio-filter. The lack of CO2 would cause the PH to rise right? Do you guys think it would be alright to leave the areator off for a while, to allow the CO2 levels to rise? How could I tell if maybe the fish were having a hard time breathing? Thanks for any help!
PH levels
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fishstixs05
Aquarium Advice Freak
About the pH, check the pH and calcium levels. If there are calcium or mineral bildup, and just pH lowerers wont help much, you will have to remove the mineral. Because of this, you do have a choice. You can make do with the pH you have. Gouramies, barbs, some tetras, barbs, african chichliuds and brackish fish all do well with high pH, and this would save a lot of hassle.
loganj
Aquarium Advice Addict
What is the pH of your tap water? I think fishstixs05 was talking about carbonate hardness instead of calcium...calcium is something you check on a reef tank, but not so much on a FW. If your tap is hard and alkaline, which I think it probably will be, you can add distilled water to the tap water to achieve the desired hardness and pH. It's going to be difficult to keep the C02 levels up in a 10 with the Penguin running I think. You don't need the airstone. A 10 isn't really large enough for plecos or angels. The pleco you could keep for a while, but he'd need to be moved to a larger tank eventually...they can get up to a foot long. Some otocinclus cats or a peckoltia might be a better option. I wouldn't recommend angels in a 10 at all. You might look at the blue rams. Another option would be to stick with the hard, alkaline water you already have and get some of the dwarf african cichlids.
Voodoo Chilli
Aquarium Advice FINatic
I agree with loganj. A 10 gallon is way too small for angels. Most plecos aren't going to last long in a tank that size, either.
I would suggest you test your tap water and find out the pH, KH, and GH levels. It's true that you can "doctor" your water to make it more suitable to a certain species-- but in the long run it may be more enjoyable to find fish that match your water type. You spend more time watching the fish and less time playing "Mad Scientist" with chemicals, distilled water, etc.
I would suggest you test your tap water and find out the pH, KH, and GH levels. It's true that you can "doctor" your water to make it more suitable to a certain species-- but in the long run it may be more enjoyable to find fish that match your water type. You spend more time watching the fish and less time playing "Mad Scientist" with chemicals, distilled water, etc.
shawmutt
Aquarium Advice Addict
Aquarium pharm. sells a good test kit called the "freshwater master test kit". It's only about $20 (here anyway) and has all the tests you need to find your problem.
hmm alright i think i'm gonna go try and find that kit, thanks.
I guess I'm probably gonna just go with some chiliads or other things that do well in high-PH water. Thanks for the advice everyone!
Now i gotta look into a bigger tank for the pleco O_O
I got the penguin with the hope of getting a bigger tank, ditto for the air stones/heater. So hopefully I will be able to do that soon, the largest that will fit on my stand is a 29G, hopefully that will be big enough for him.
Thanks again for the comments!
I guess I'm probably gonna just go with some chiliads or other things that do well in high-PH water. Thanks for the advice everyone!
Now i gotta look into a bigger tank for the pleco O_O
I got the penguin with the hope of getting a bigger tank, ditto for the air stones/heater. So hopefully I will be able to do that soon, the largest that will fit on my stand is a 29G, hopefully that will be big enough for him.
Thanks again for the comments!
loganj
Aquarium Advice Addict
You can keep the pleco in a 29 for a while, but he will eventually outgrow it too. A full grown pleco should be in at least a 6' tank. They really can get huge. Perhaps you could trade at the LFS for a bristlenose cat (ancistrus, I think)? They don't get so large and are good algae eaters.
Vanilla Magilla
Aquarium Advice Regular
Can Not agree with loganj much more. I have a high Ph in my tap, the distilled worked well the first time and the next water change i hope will reach my goal Ph. I have also heard about drift wood lowering you Ph. My ph runs now at a 7.6 I have 2 Clown Loaches, 4 neons, 1 gourami, and 2 Blue rams. Blue rams is the way to go. Colorful, tolerant, and inquesitive. Good Luck
