Is my tank ready for fish?

[ColemAnthony1]

So my 25 gallon has been cycling for a month now and I'm heading to Portland next week and I want to stop by Wetspot Tropical Fish and get some new fish. I tested the water yesterday and it read:

pH: 8.2 (it was 7.8, but I added some Kordon Amquel plus in an attempt to reduce nitrates, but it spiked the pH. I'm doing small water changes every day until it's back to 7.8)
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 40ppm (my well water has about 40ppm of nitrate in it, so there's really no way around it)

I seeded the filter media with some bio rings from my established 60 gallon tank and the readings have pretty much been the same for a few weeks now. I'm wanting to get four Neo. multis. shell dwellers to start with. Would four, inch long fish be a good first introduction?

Just a picture of what the tank looks like



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[plantnoob]

Nice! Looks like you have their home all ready and good to go. I'm a fan of the multis. Good pH too, is your well water naturally that high? Fantastic if it is! Don't see a problem other than the nitrate. But the multis should be good to see how the nitrates increase. Although, I'd do it after you get back in town so you can monitor water quality carefully over the first few days. You said you have another tank too. How do you manage nitrates in that one?


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[ColemAnthony1]

My well water is naturally about 7.8, but like I said, I put some Kordon Amquel Plus in both of the tanks to try and help with the nitrate problem and it spiked the pH in both of my tanks. My 60 gallon is at about 8.0 right now. Before I bought a test kit and knew about the nitrate level, my fish were perfectly fine with the 40ppm nitrates. My angelfish bred regularly and everybody seemed happy. I think my trying to lower the nitrate level actually made things worse, but today I bought some Purigen beads and put two packs in my 60s filter and one pack in my 25s filter, so we'll see how that goes.


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[Fishobsessed7]

To help with the nitrate you can go to any store the sells house plants and ask for pothos. All you have to do is remove all the dirt, soak the plants in a bucket, and them put the roots in your filter! The plant should stay healthy as long as the leaves stay above water. Pothos is really good at removing excess nutrients water, so it should help you.


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[plantnoob]

Purigen should for most part help wth additional nitrates from forming. Although, if you want the nitrates in your water to go down I agree with the previous post. Plants are the only way. Rule of thumb is 40 ppm of nitrates is the upper end for a healthy tank. But it looks like the fish and your other tank have done OK. So with purigen, you might do just fine!


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[ColemAnthony1]

That plant idea sounds kinda cool! Where exactly could I find these pathos?


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[ColemAnthony1]

Wait, I may have one!

Is this a pathos plant?


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[TMaier]

I believe so.


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[plantnoob]

Definitely looks like pothos. The plants in my house have more white streaks on their leaves. And I grow them in water. They've been slow growing, but I reckon they'll grow much faster with the nitrates. Do tell us if you see a reduction in nitrates after starting to grow the plant.


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[ColemAnthony1]

Perfect. So I've got the plant, but how do I go about putting it in my filter. I can't just uproot the whole thing. My mom would not be too happy with that... ?


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[plantnoob]

This one is easy to grow and propagate. Just cut one of the growing stems and place it either I soil or water and presto, you'll see roots in a few days!


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[TMaier]

This one is easy to grow and propagate. Just cut one of the growing stems and place it either I soil or water and presto, you'll see roots in a few days!


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Moms plant is gonna get a trim. Lol


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[ColemAnthony1]

Sounds easy enough. So should I just put a stem in a mason jar full of tank water for a few days until I see roots and then put it in the filter?


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[TMaier]

Sounds easy enough. So should I just put a stem in a mason jar full of tank water for a few days until I see roots and then put it in the filter?


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Not needed. You can put it directly into the filter and tank water.


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[plantnoob]

Or directly in the tank. You could go for some cool looks with money plant roots in the tank.


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[ColemAnthony1]

So I went ahead and bought my own pothos plant because I don't want to have to explain to my mom why I cut up her plant and put it in my filter. So is there a specific place I need to cut it?

This one has more white like you said yours did.


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[TMaier]

This link will help explain cuttings. Or you can divide the plant at the roots and rinse some of the roots and put that in you filter.

http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/houseplants/pothos/propagating-pothos.htm


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[ColemAnthony1]

Thanks. That article was really helpful. I'll give it a go and let y'all know how it goes! How much nitrates do pothos remove? Is it a noticeable change?


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[ColemAnthony1]

This is them in the 25s filters.
I'm worried about putting them in my 60s HOB filter because it's in a dark corner so the plant would get very little light.


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[plantnoob]

These guys are very hardy. They thrive even at pretty low light. Mine are in a dark part of the house. I just place them by a window once a week.


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