Parameter Check

[Tyler LaZerte]

Hi everyone! Set up the first tank over the weekend! I got the parameters that are listed below. Would these be okay for cpds, corys, blue dream shrimp, nerites, a rabbit snail, and a wizard snail? The temp fluctuates from 75-80. 

[Solidus1833]

My first question is, is the tank cycled? Did you set this tank up then immediately add live animals or did the cycle complete? If this is the case, you are now going to go through a 'fish-in' cycle and need to treat the aquarium accordingly to save as much as possible. 

 

My second thought here is, 8.0ph is really high. Some species can live that high, but most like ph as close to 7 as you can get. You may need to remedy this. 

[RyanU]

I agree with @Solidus1833. I would make sure your tank is cycled. If your using fritz products already i belive there has a product to do a fish less cycle. If you already have the fish and snails in the tank all is not lost you are just going to have to do a lot more monitoring of your tank. I would make sure you have a good supply of prime to detoxify the ammonia and do water changes as necessary to keep ammonia and nitrite below 1ppm.

[Tyler LaZerte]

@Solidus1833 I have not added any livestock to the aquarium. I have a seeded sponge in there but I am still going to work out some things before I put any livestock in the aquarium. 

[Tyler LaZerte]

@RyanU I have a seeded sponge in the aquarium that I put in on Saturday. No livestock is in the aquarium yet. I need to figure out some things before stocking. 

[RyanU]

The seeded sponge is a good start but with nothing in the tank to feed them the bacteria will eventually die. I would put the sponge back in the tank you got it from until you are ready to stock the tank. 

[Tyler LaZerte]

@RyanU I put some flake food to put ammonia in the aquarium to feed the bacteria. I can put a rabbit snail in so the bacteria can eat. 

[Tyler LaZerte]

@Solidus1833 @RyanU Would you add Neutral Regulator 7.0 from Seachem to get the pH down?

[RyanU]

That should work. I think it's better to do that with out fish in the tank as the quick ph swing can have effects on the fish. Get your ph down to seven and monitor it for a couple days then start adding your fish slowly. Monitor your parameters closely and you should be OK

[Tyler LaZerte]

@RyanU No fish are in the aquarium and won't be going in until my pH is in check. Will the 7 pH help my kH go down as well?

[RyanU]

It actually works the other way. Higher KH means means less PH swing. So you know what your kh is? 

[Tyler LaZerte]

@RyanU Oh gotcha! My alkalinity is 210. What does that mean for my kH?

[RyanU]

Alkalinity is kh just measured differently. Alkalinity is measured in ppm and kh is measured in degrees. I degree of kh is equal to 17.9 ppm. So if you divide 210 by 17.9 you will get your degrees of hardness. Which is about 12 kh

[Tyler LaZerte]

Oh okay. So I have 6 gH and 12 kH

[RyanU]

Yea. And for snails and shrimp that will work. As the hard water will help their shells. The CPDs like harder water too. Cory's on the other hand don't like hard water. I remember something that cory said in one of his videos. Fish can adapt to one parameter that is out of tolerance if every thing else is in check. The Cory's may be OK but I would  do some more research on that. Maybe ask you source for the Cory's what the water parameters are and see how close it is to yours. You could also lower the kh with RO water and supplement the snails and shrimp with calcium for their shells

[Tyler LaZerte]

@RyanU Okay that is all great information! I will ask about what parameters the corys are in. All of the important parameters are being met but I am waiting for a week or so and testing daily to see how or if it fluctuates. 

[H.K.Luterman]

In most cases it's more important to keep a steady, stable Ph and let the fish adapt to it, than to chase numbers and cause your parameters to swing with chemical additives. 

[Eric R]

1 hour ago, Tyler LaZerte said:

@Solidus1833 @RyanU Would you add Neutral Regulator 7.0 from Seachem to get the pH down?

I personally wouldn't recommend any chemical additives to alter pH.

1 hour ago, RyanU said:

Get your ph down to seven

A pH of 7 isn't a particularly important number for keeping aquariums (as compared to say 6.8 or 7.3), though 8 is on the high side for fish that prefer a lower pH. However, if you are keeping captive bred fish instead of wild caught, they should more readily be able to handle it. 

 

Edited May 17, 2021 by Eric R

[Tyler LaZerte]

@H.K.Luterman That's what I have heard from other people as well. Thank you 

[Eric R]

1 hour ago, RyanU said:

Alkalinity is kh just measured differently. Alkalinity is measured in ppm and kh is measured in degrees. I degree of kh is equal to 17.9 ppm. So if you divide 210 by 17.9 you will get your degrees of hardness. Which is about 12 kh

In the aquarium hobby, we tend to use the terms alkalinity and KH (carbonate hardness) interchangeably, which, while not entirely accurate, for our purposes the two are close enough to be considered the same thing. Though both alkalinity and carbonate hardness can be expressed in either degrees of carbonate hardness (dKH) or as parts per million (ppm). Alkalinity is how well water resists acidification, and carbonate hardness is a measure of the amount of carbonate and bicarbonate in water. Carbonate and bicarbonate are what help water resist acidification, and the difference between measuring alkalinity and dKH is that they are calculated slightly differently.

Edited May 17, 2021 by Eric R

[Tyler LaZerte]

25 minutes ago, Eric R said:

I personally wouldn't recommend any chemical additives to alter pH.

A pH of 7 isn't a particularly important number for keeping aquariums, though 8 is on the high side for fish that prefer softer water. If you are keeping captive bred fish instead of wild caught, they should more readily be able to handle it. 

 

Okay. I appreciate it

[Tyler LaZerte]

@Eric R Oh wow. Thank you for that information. Good to know 

[Patrick_G]

What type of ADA soil did you use? According to ADA the more enriched soil will bring down the PH. This has been my experience using Fluval Stratum. It might take a little time because it’s buried under the sand. 

What are the parameters of your tap water? 

[Tyler LaZerte]

@Patrick_G ADA Amazonia, I believe. It is under the sand, yes. My tap parameters are 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrite, 0 Nitrite, 7.3 pH, 7 dgH, and 14 dkH. 

[Patrick_G]

@Tyler LaZerte, thanks. According to the ADA website original Amazonia leeches the most Ammonia of all their products. You shouldn’t have to add any extra to maintain your bacteria colony. 
 

What puzzles me is the high PH. ADA says Amazonia lowers ph through Humic acid so you should be seeing a PH lower than you tap water. Is there anything else you’ve added that might raise the PH? Are you injecting co2?

some good info from ADA. I think it explains your PH if you’re using co2 and have high KH. 

Note 2:
When tap water is left for a while, the water condition generally becomes mildly alkaline as CO2 dissolved in the water is released to the air and pH level goes up (Original pH level of the tap water fluctuates with carbonate hardness (KH) level of the water). By conducting aeration, CO2 dissolved in the aquarium water is also released to the air and pH level rises (usually the water becomes mildly alkaline). When using Amazonias with its own pH level from 6.6 to 6.8, the pH level of water does not get lower because they perform poorly on reducing the pH level, and depending on the usage condition of them, water may become mildly alkaline with pH level around 7.5 which is the same level when aeration was done with tap water left for a while. Therefore, in case of using tap water with high carbonate hardness (KH) or commercially available filtration media such as activated carbon which has a property of raising pH level, with the exception of ADA NA Carbon, please note that pH level of aquarium water may get even higher

 

https://www.adana.co.jp/en/release/detail?id=80