Hello, I am having some trouble with my tank. First, I don't have enough CO2 for my plants. They are sluggish to grow and I am getting hair algae. As I read forums, I need to supplement with CO2? I have a Co2 Checker and it is true blue.
I am also having trouble keeping my ghost shrimp alive. The cherry shrimp seem to be a little more hardy, but I have no idea how many I have. Not that I usually find dead ones, I just can't seem to find them in the tank. The ghost shrimp occasionally molt, but several have turned blue/green so I wonder if they are having trouble molting. When I find dead ghost shrimp it is usually the morning after a water change. The fish seem to be happy. I do a small partial water change every week, usually vacuuming the bottom and replacing 4.5 gallons. The water I have been putting in has been an unscientific mix of hard city water, softened city water, and a little distilled water. I add the water slowly in an effort of not creating a parameter or temperature shock. Wondering if I should change to store bought RO water. The KH of my hard city water is about 15Dh and a GH of about 20.
Third, I have two ways of testing PH. An API Freshwater kit and and Seachem PH alert which hangs in the tank all the time. The Seachem PH alert seems to be trash.
KH = 13 Dh
GH = 10 Dh
PH = 7.6 (Seachem says 6.6)
Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = 0
Tank: 30 gallon
Filter: Fluval 50
Light: 32 Watt Fluval Fresh and Plant 3.0
Stock: 13 Cardinal tetras, 2 otos, 1 bristlenose placo, Ghost shrimp and cherry shrimp.
I am also having trouble keeping my ghost shrimp alive. The cherry shrimp seem to be a little more hardy, but I have no idea how many I have. Not that I usually find dead ones, I just can't seem to find them in the tank. The ghost shrimp occasionally molt, but several have turned blue/green so I wonder if they are having trouble molting. When I find dead ghost shrimp it is usually the morning after a water change. The fish seem to be happy. I do a small partial water change every week, usually vacuuming the bottom and replacing 4.5 gallons. The water I have been putting in has been an unscientific mix of hard city water, softened city water, and a little distilled water. I add the water slowly in an effort of not creating a parameter or temperature shock. Wondering if I should change to store bought RO water. The KH of my hard city water is about 15Dh and a GH of about 20.
Third, I have two ways of testing PH. An API Freshwater kit and and Seachem PH alert which hangs in the tank all the time. The Seachem PH alert seems to be trash.
KH = 13 Dh
GH = 10 Dh
PH = 7.6 (Seachem says 6.6)
Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = 0
Tank: 30 gallon
Filter: Fluval 50
Light: 32 Watt Fluval Fresh and Plant 3.0
Stock: 13 Cardinal tetras, 2 otos, 1 bristlenose placo, Ghost shrimp and cherry shrimp.
