Ready to add

[allaboutfish]

they stay small and theyre really good cleaners

 

[GoneFishing]

Ok.. would the glass shrimp help with keeping plant leaves cleaner? My plants have brown algae all over the leaves and its becoming tedious work cleaning off the leaves

 

[allaboutfish]

if you've got algae you could do some ottos or sails or ghost shrimp or a small pleco

 

[GoneFishing]

Awesome thanks for the help! Hopefully I can het some stuff to make my tank more enjoyable lol

 

[eco23]

Hey guys good info but you shouldn't be jacking the OP's thread. Gone fishing I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure a rubber lip will get too big for a 30 Gal you might want to check into that because I think they grow to about a foot or so. I would go with a bristlenose instead I think they stay around 4". But I could be wrong.

Yeah, sorry. I got mixed up who the OP was.

 

[allaboutfish]

Awesome thanks for the help! Hopefully I can het some stuff to make my tank more enjoyable lol

no problem

 

[rain87]

Also red cherry shrimp would be great for helping clean up

 

[GoneFishing]

Ok in prep for adding a few fishes this Saturday I did my weekly water test,

pH 8.0
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 0ppm
Ammonia 0ppm

I know my pH is a bit high but my fish seem to be ok, my question is how do I properly acclimate my new fish Saturday? I heard a turkey baster works best adding a squirt every 10 min but how long do I do this? 1hr 2hr?

Edit: test results were off do to me nobbing it up..
pH 8.0
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 5.0-10ppm
Ammonia 0ppm

 

[eco23]

Ok in prep for adding a few fishes this Saturday I did my weekly water test,

pH 8.0
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 0ppm
Ammonia 0ppm

I know my pH is a bit high but my fish seem to be ok, my question is how do I properly acclimate my new fish Saturday? I heard a turkey baster works best adding a squirt every 10 min but how long do I do this? 1hr 2hr?

0 nitrAte? The tank is cycled? What test kit are you using? I'm not sure you've got enough plants in there to be keeping the nitrAte at 0...odd.

 

[GoneFishing]

I'm assuming the tank is cycled been established for 8 months and have had no issues with fish.. (unless it was my fault) I'm using the API master kit, I just finished testing before I added to this post.

 

[GoneFishing]

I'll do the test again real fast

 

[eco23]

I'm assuming the tank is cycled been established for 8 months and have had no issues with fish.. (unless it was my fault) I'm using the API master kit, I just finished testing before I added to this post.

Okay, still odd...but I would think it's gotta be cycled in that time. Just to make sure, are you 100% sure you're doing the nitrAte test right? I swear 90% of the population doesn't shake the #2 solution for a full 30 seconds, then shake the total test tube for a solid minute. I can't image the 0 nitrAte reading is correct with only 3 plants (unless you added a munch more).

 

[GoneFishing]

Okay, still odd...but I would think it's gotta be cycled in that time. Just to make sure, are you 100% sure you're doing the nitrAte test right? I swear 90% of the population doesn't shake the #2 solution for a full 30 seconds, then shake the total test tube for a solid minute. I can't image the 0 nitrAte reading is correct with only 3 plants (unless you added a munch more).

Nah in my noob expertise I forgot the shake vigorously for 1 min part. it's now reading 5.0-10 orange is slightly darker than 5.0 but much lighter than 10.

 

[eco23]

Nah in my noob expertise I forgot the shake vigorously for 1 min part. it's now reading 5.0-10 orange is slightly darker than 5.0 but much lighter than 10.

Haha...I can't tell you how many times that happens. I think every day I ask someone to retest and that's the problem, lol. You seem good to go.

 

[GoneFishing]

Lol ok, but what about acclimating the new fish to the higher pH?

 

[eco23]

I didn't take a close look at the fish you plan on adding, but in 99.9% of situations fish can adjust to most pH levels as long as it's stable. Trying to chemically alter your water is a slippery slope, and can cause stress in your fish. It's almost always better to choose fish that are suitable to your water...don't add water that you think is suitable for your fish.

As for initially adding them...the drip method is the safest way to acclimate them...but using the bag method where you slowly add more and more of your tank water to their bag is usually fine. Just take your time. There's lots of good articles on here with tips for acclimating fish.

 

[GoneFishing]

I'll look into a drip system for the later adds. All I'm getting Saturday is an Albino bristlenose pleco, and 10 shrimp.. is adding 10 shrimp bad? I know no more than 3 fish is ideal, but does that apply to inverts too?

 

[eco23]

I'll look into a drip system for the later adds. All I'm getting Saturday is an Albino bristlenose pleco, and 10 shrimp.. is adding 10 shrimp bad? I know no more than 3 fish is ideal, but does that apply to inverts too?

Shrimp have virtually no bio-load. You'd need to virtually fill your aquarium with them to have a noticeable impact on your bio-filter.

 

[GoneFishing]

Shrimp have virtually no bio-load. You'd need to virtually fill your aquarium with them to have a noticeable impact on your bio-filter.

awesome thanks for the help! I'm so glad my tank is doing well (other than the algae engulfing everything lol, thats why im getting a cleaning crew).

 

[eco23]

awesome thanks for the help! I'm so glad my tank is doing well (other than the algae engulfing everything lol, thats why im getting a cleaning crew).

Dude...Otos. They are the absolute most awesome algae destroyers on the planet. They also don't produce the waste a Pleco does. When I added 7 into my 48 gallon, they had the glass clean in 8 hours, then they broke into groups with half cleaning the plants and deco, and the others working on the gravel. I am in love with those fish.