Ok, so I'm at a loss here about what to do. I'm just going to lay everything out.
I have a 12 gallon tank (I know weird right?)
First off, here is the most recent pic of my tank.
Stocking:
Plants:
Lighting:
Tank Decor:
Filtration:
My Habits:
My most recent readings(as of Tuesday):
I wish I could test for phosphate and all the other stuff I'd love to know, but I can't. Are those tests in the API saltwater kit? Does the LFS test for those?
My Problems:
This all started when I began getting BGA. (Blue green algae, cyanobacteria). Yes, I know it doesn't LOOK like I have a lot of BGA, but look closer, see that green in the back, that's BGA, see the green on the rock, that's BGA. It's also on the left and right panes of glass, and all through the gravel and on my plants. I thought it was due to the fact that I have well water. Basically the water is put through a sediment filter, then through a Na water softener. So all of the nutrients that were in the water from outside, were going into my tank, as well as a ton of Na, which isn't good for the fish (or plants I believe). So, because of the uncertainty in my water, and the Na being put into the tank, I decided to buy a RO/DI unit. That didn't solve my problems.
Since I've been using the RO/DI water, the BGA hasn't gone away (although I vacuum it out twice a week), and now my pH is going CRAZY. (On a side note, the tank does not get hit with sun) I believe it's because there is no established buffer in my aquarium. There is also no... uh, I'm not sure how to say this, I think RO/DI water is very HARD? Nope I'm wrong. RO/DI is neither hard nor soft. Anyway, there's no hardness in my tank. I think that is causing my pH swings (again, not good for fish or plants).
Since I've had the tank set up, (about 3/4 of a year ago), my pH has been around 8. That's because the tap water I was using then had a pH of around 8. (I was at school.) When I brought the tank home, I thought the pH would slowly change (since I kept most of the water), since the pH out of MY tap is around 7.5. However, the pH in my tank (was) still around 8 before I started using RO/DI. I didn't mind the very stable pH, however I would have preferred it to have been closer to 7 (although I would never use products to reduce the pH). Now that I've been using RO/DI, I would CERTAINLY expect the pH to come down to close to 7. However, it has not. There HAS to be something in the tank that's causing my pH to be high. Since the red rock is the only unknown in my tank, I took it out today. I'm going to replace it with some shale. I know that a stable pH is better than a perfect one, and I'm fine with that, I just want to know what was causing my pH to be stable at 8, instead of 7.
Anyway, that's my story. Here's where I want the tank to go.
Ultimately, I would love to have a low maintenance/tech, planted aquarium. (Maintenance doesn't bother me, I just love planted aquariums). I would love to have the correct fish to plants ratio so that the plants use what the fish produce and I don't have to vacuum gravel. (Again, I'm not being lazy, I don't mind vacuuming gravel at all, but with plants, you're not supposed to vacuum hard around them anyway.) I don't want one of those "jungle" tanks that all you see is green, but I do love the contrast that plants bring. I also want a very STABLE tank. I don't want to have to worry about ANYTHING. If that means I have to add a little buffer chemical here and there, so be it. (I am a chemist after all.) Oh, and a very important thought... I don't want any nutrient imbalances so that I have to worry about algae. High phosphates cause this, low nitrates cause this... yada yada yada. I don't want to deal with it. Algae annoys me (obviously), so with a properly balanced tank, I wouldn't have to worry about it. I have a feeling my BGA is due to an imbalance somewhere.
Anyway, I'm done. I've written a book. It's called my tank and me, and I would like you to be the critics. Let me know how you guys think I could solve my problems/make my tank better/all that jazz. In case you didn't notice, I'm REALLY worried about the pH, I just want to get it stable again.
I have a 12 gallon tank (I know weird right?)
First off, here is the most recent pic of my tank.
Stocking:
- 3 Fancy Guppies
- 3 Zebra Danios
- 4 Bloodfins
Plants:
- Some Anacharis (or Egreia Densa, I know there's a whole debate there)
- A couple java ferns
- And... crud I just bought it... I even researched it... uh.. it's in the back left corner, it's leaves spiral and they look like giant pieces of grass
Lighting:
- One 14 W fluorescent Life Glo bulb
- Two 13 W CFL Daytime Bulbs (6700 K Temp)
Tank Decor:
- Normal white Aquarium Gravel you'd find at any pet store, not gravel made for a marine tank
- One red rock, I have no idea what it is...
- Some Mopani Driftwood
Filtration:
- One AquaClear 20
My Habits:
- 40% weekly water changes with untreated RO/DI water(that's now much it takes me to clean the tank, and the driftwood tannins annoy me)
- I vacuum the gravel, but I've been doing that less lately since I've gotten plants
- Every once in a while I'll rinse out some of the media in the filter?
- I feed twice a day, only enough that the fish can eat in a few mins
- Lights come on at...7:30 and go off at 7:30
- Thermostat is at 77 I believe, but it get's to about 80 during the day.
My most recent readings(as of Tuesday):
- Ammonia: 0
- Nitrite: 0
- Nitrate: 5
- pH: Well, I got 8.1 from an electronic pH tester, but off the charts (high) for the API kit, I took it to the LFS and they failed miserably at giving me a pH reading, the guy had no idea what he was doing)
I wish I could test for phosphate and all the other stuff I'd love to know, but I can't. Are those tests in the API saltwater kit? Does the LFS test for those?
My Problems:
This all started when I began getting BGA. (Blue green algae, cyanobacteria). Yes, I know it doesn't LOOK like I have a lot of BGA, but look closer, see that green in the back, that's BGA, see the green on the rock, that's BGA. It's also on the left and right panes of glass, and all through the gravel and on my plants. I thought it was due to the fact that I have well water. Basically the water is put through a sediment filter, then through a Na water softener. So all of the nutrients that were in the water from outside, were going into my tank, as well as a ton of Na, which isn't good for the fish (or plants I believe). So, because of the uncertainty in my water, and the Na being put into the tank, I decided to buy a RO/DI unit. That didn't solve my problems.
Since I've been using the RO/DI water, the BGA hasn't gone away (although I vacuum it out twice a week), and now my pH is going CRAZY. (On a side note, the tank does not get hit with sun) I believe it's because there is no established buffer in my aquarium. There is also no... uh, I'm not sure how to say this, I think RO/DI water is very HARD? Nope I'm wrong. RO/DI is neither hard nor soft. Anyway, there's no hardness in my tank. I think that is causing my pH swings (again, not good for fish or plants).
Since I've had the tank set up, (about 3/4 of a year ago), my pH has been around 8. That's because the tap water I was using then had a pH of around 8. (I was at school.) When I brought the tank home, I thought the pH would slowly change (since I kept most of the water), since the pH out of MY tap is around 7.5. However, the pH in my tank (was) still around 8 before I started using RO/DI. I didn't mind the very stable pH, however I would have preferred it to have been closer to 7 (although I would never use products to reduce the pH). Now that I've been using RO/DI, I would CERTAINLY expect the pH to come down to close to 7. However, it has not. There HAS to be something in the tank that's causing my pH to be high. Since the red rock is the only unknown in my tank, I took it out today. I'm going to replace it with some shale. I know that a stable pH is better than a perfect one, and I'm fine with that, I just want to know what was causing my pH to be stable at 8, instead of 7.
Anyway, that's my story. Here's where I want the tank to go.
Ultimately, I would love to have a low maintenance/tech, planted aquarium. (Maintenance doesn't bother me, I just love planted aquariums). I would love to have the correct fish to plants ratio so that the plants use what the fish produce and I don't have to vacuum gravel. (Again, I'm not being lazy, I don't mind vacuuming gravel at all, but with plants, you're not supposed to vacuum hard around them anyway.) I don't want one of those "jungle" tanks that all you see is green, but I do love the contrast that plants bring. I also want a very STABLE tank. I don't want to have to worry about ANYTHING. If that means I have to add a little buffer chemical here and there, so be it. (I am a chemist after all.) Oh, and a very important thought... I don't want any nutrient imbalances so that I have to worry about algae. High phosphates cause this, low nitrates cause this... yada yada yada. I don't want to deal with it. Algae annoys me (obviously), so with a properly balanced tank, I wouldn't have to worry about it. I have a feeling my BGA is due to an imbalance somewhere.
Anyway, I'm done. I've written a book. It's called my tank and me, and I would like you to be the critics. Let me know how you guys think I could solve my problems/make my tank better/all that jazz. In case you didn't notice, I'm REALLY worried about the pH, I just want to get it stable again.