[A Tale of Two Tanks]

On 5/22/2022 at 11:47 PM, Cory said:

I don't think a gradual increase is your problem. I think it's going down further that would be your problem. Gotta keep an eye on it so it doesn't crash the pH.

Interestingly it has risen over the last month. 3 weeks ago the pH was 6.6. Last week I was confident in my 6.8 reading and this evening I felt the color was borderline between the 6.8-7.0.

[A Tale of Two Tanks]

 

On 5/22/2022 at 11:30 PM, Cory said:

I think the larger thing to consider is, do you want to battle the lower pH because of the fluval stratum? Over time it'll hopefully leech less, but in the short term is drops pH as you're seeing.

Fair point. I know pH is important but for some reason this evening I keep ignoring it. I almost left it out of my table.

Do I need to be concerned about the gradual rise in pH that’s destined to occur? My LFS has RO water available for purchase, should I try to mix it with tap to lower the pH for water changes?

The ultimate goal for the 15g is a community tank with my betta, rasboras and maybe some Pygmy cories or other compatible bottom feeder.

On 5/22/2022 at 11:36 PM, Ken Burke said:

Daily water changes?  If you do 25% wc a day in both tanks.  (No gravel vac). Take water from the new tank to refill older tank.  After a couple days it should be close enough to move him easily. 

Exactly what I was contemplating but wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing a simpler process. Thanks!

[A Tale of Two Tanks]

I think my 15 gallon planted tank is cycled. My betta, Phinneas, has been hanging out in my 5 gallon quarantine tank for the last 4 weeks while I have been setting up his future home. I am wanting to move him to the larger tank this week but I don’t know how to accomplish that without causing him harm due to very different water parameters despite all of my water coming from the same source. The Fluval Stratum substrate and the plants have significantly altered the parameters of the larger tank. See the chart below for additional information.

Additionally, I noticed the water in the 5 gallon tank has been sitting at .5ppm ammonia every time I’ve tested it in the past week despite water changes. After a 50%ish water change last night to try to lower that number, then seeing the same number today I decided to test my tap water. Found the problem! My tap tests at .5ppm ammonia.

 

As a result of these numbers, I’m looking for advice for two questions:

1. How do I safely transfer Phinneas to his new home?

2. How concerned should I be and how do I combat the ammonia that occurs in my tap water?

Thanks in advance for any insight!

[New(ish) aquarist from Indiana]

On 5/22/2022 at 9:56 AM, Jawjagrrl said:

Love the name plate, and he is gorgeous! He isn't a fan of U. Of GA football by any chance, is he? Woof!

Haha! Nope! Maybe a Butler Bulldogs fan…

[New(ish) aquarist from Indiana]

On 5/21/2022 at 11:31 PM, Sunny said:

Welcome! I love that Dawg the Fish has his own name plate.

Of course he does! We had to make him an official member of the team! And our 19 year old apprentice was really excited to make it 🙂

[New(ish) aquarist from Indiana]

Hi! When I was a kid my dad had an angelfish tank he loved and hooked me into the hobby. I had a guppy tank in my bedroom that I now know was horribly stocked (1 albino Cory and 1 pleco of some sort or another 😬). In high school I had my guppy population well maintained but when I went off to college my dad started feeding them much more and I came back to 3x as many fish at Christmas! I do not recall the ultimate demise of the tank but I’m going to assume moving away from home played a roll. Since then I’ve always wanted another tank but just haven’t ever done it.

Recently a coworker decided we needed a shop “dog” and brought in a betta. I was rather horrified to see the tiny betta cube that was his new home. I never had bettas but I couldn’t understand how such big flow you fins could be comfortable in less than a 1/2 gallon of water. So I started doing research. And more research. And more research. Now our shop “dog” has a 3 gallon filtered and heated condo instead of a New York studio apartment! Does he need a bigger tank? Yes, but I have to also keep the bosses happy since he is technically unauthorized!

Since Dawg’s arrival in my life I have also started cycling a 15 gallon planted tank, added a 5 gallon quarantine tank that is also the home to my own betta Phinneas, because I’m impatient and couldn’t wait to get a tank cycled before buying a betta. And because I mistakenly thought bottled bacteria would speed up the process and not be cruel to my poor fish. Hey, we’re all beginners, right?