New cardinal

[tomaquar]

I recently moved and broke down my reef. Not ready to do the investment of setting up a new reef so going to do FW.

I plan to make cardinals the main part of the tank. My water ph However is 7.5.

Is simple LFS acidic buffer sufficient ? I'm trying to have a low maintenance tank.

Also any suggestions on a nice show fish to offset the cardinal background. Thought of discus but those are way more work than I'm interested in right now.

 

[rlederer]

I have a tank with about 30 cardinals and 30 Harlequin rasboras that I find quite attractive. Amazon Sword plants as background and short plants as foreground. The pH is 6.5. I hesitate to use any chemicals to try to change the pH as that is a chancy proposition and requires constant recalibration. I use reverse osmosis water mixed with tap water to get a consistent pH. It's a bit of investment, but very well worth it.

 

[toolman]

I have a tank with about 30 cardinals and 30 Harlequin rasboras that I find quite attractive. Amazon Sword plants as background and short plants as foreground. The pH is 6.5. I hesitate to use any chemicals to try to change the pH as that is a chancy proposition and requires constant recalibration. I use reverse osmosis water mixed with tap water to get a consistent pH. It's a bit of investment, but very well worth it.

Agree with this 100%!
I use ro also and am able to get an adequate pH. Most fish are tank raised anyway and will adjust to your pH. If you use ro be sure to watch your gh & kh, I mix tap water to get the kh where I want it and seachem's equilibrium for gh.