Bettababe1011
Aquarium Advice Addict
It's not very uncommon for the ph to lower after its been out of the tap for a while. I would let it set out for a while before your next water change, and see what happens there. Keep us updated.
Bettababe1011 said:It's not very uncommon for the ph to lower after its been out of the tap for a while. I would let it set out for a while before your next water change, and see what happens there. Keep us updated.
Those ph perfecters are what my dad was obsessed with, and also what killed his aquariums.
Do you have any high places to set the water, or closed containers? I know what you mean, my three year old nephew is always very curious about the fish, and asks me what the containers sitting next to it are. (My water containers, because I live where we have well water, and we decided to use the city water. So we have to take five gallon jugs to get water.)
You can use those if you have to, but IME it's not a good idea. They are only a temporary fix in most cases anyway. Even if you use those in the water before you add it, the other things would still be in there. You might end up making it worse. If your water really is that high you may need to find some way to age it before you add it.
Thanks for all of the help, I apologize for being ignorant but the tank has been up for 8 months or so and I didn't even know about the Nitrogen Cycle until about a month ago..
I used a spreadsheet I have that I have found to very good for this. When I entered the numbers for what you have in that tank, it appears that you have about twice the number of fish you should. Using an older system used by a noted aquarist (Dr. Innes) said that you were ok, but just barely. But I believe that you are overcrowded. It is just the type that takes a little time to manifest before you see problems begin.
In any case, if you are using a normal HOB filter, your biofilter is probably being stressed. If you have no other tank to place them in you may need to add another filter. A bigger tank would be better.
You also have too few neons, cardinals, glofish and serpaes. Each of those fish do better in groups of 5 at the very least, 6 is better. Corys prefer to have more of their own kind about. At least 3 or 4. It is also too small for your mollies.
The Neons and cardinals school together in the tank.. Does this mean i would only need to get one more of each and it would be ok? or do i need 5 - 6 of each specie?
They prefer larger groups of their own kind, but in your situation I wouldn't get any more fish for that tank. You have enough in there already. I believe that you will be OK for now, just keep it in mind if you plan to get a larger or even another tank. It is interesting to see that the cardinals and neons stick together. I thought that they might.