Excited to be a new member!

[FintasticBubbles]

Hi! This is my first time to participate in any kind of forum. My husband recommended it because ever since I moved to Arizona I haven't had much luck keeping fish. I have had my 55 gallon since 2005 (lived in Colorado then Texas) and kept the same fish for almost seven years! They were so cool and SO big! Eventually, they died. I moved to Arizona in 2012 and haven't been as successful here. I am looking to learn new things from everyone, throw ideas around and most importantly figure out the best fish to keep given the {terrible} water here. I am excited to participate in this forum!

 

[fluttermoth]

Welcome to the forum.

I'm sure the members here will be able to help you

 

[FintasticBubbles]

Welcome to the forum.

I'm sure the members here will be able to help you

Thank you!

 

[thrujenseyes]

Hello and Welcome!
What are you trying to keep?
And what are your water parameters in your new place?

 

[FintasticBubbles]

Hello and Welcome!
What are you trying to keep?
And what are your water parameters in your new place?

Thanks for the welcome!

I have tried angelfish, tetras, cory cats, boesmani rainbows, peacock rainbows, rasboras, horse-head loach, black ghost knifefish and most disappointing, discus. The angelfish, rainbows, rasboras, loach and knifefish lived the longest. The discus died within a week despite following all instructions from a "mentor".

I am not sure of the water parameters exactly. Its hard water with a high pH and as far as I know nitrates and nitrites haven't been an issue BUT I read in a previous feed that the API "dipstick" testers aren't very accurate. I found a place that will test my water and give me a breakdown. We have a whole house water filtration system now (not "soft" water). I am going to take a sample of the tank water and a sample of the tap water and see what I can find out.

My "mentor" told me that with the plants, rocks and wood it would naturally balance/lower the pH. Also, I had more luck when I was living in Mesa, AZ which had no water filtration system, than where I live now in Tempe.

I have an older fluval 305 canister filter and I use chemi-pure elite and biochem-zorb in place of activated carbon, also I have an air stone. I avoid using any types of additives in the water other than dechlorinator and I use Aqua Gold with every water change. I typically do water changes 1 x month and regularly add fresh water due to evaporation. (when I had the discus I used a black water solution and a discus solution) Also, occasionally I used pro-plant when the plants looked like they needed nutrients. My filter and air stone are on a timer to turn off for 1 hour everyday in the middle of the light cycle, supposedly so they plants can absorb CO2.

 

[FintasticBubbles]

Thanks for the welcome!

I have tried angelfish, tetras, cory cats, boesmani rainbows, peacock rainbows, rasboras, horse-head loach, black ghost knifefish and most disappointing, discus. The angelfish, rainbows, rasboras, loach and knifefish lived the longest. The discus died within a week despite following all instructions from a "mentor".

I am not sure of the water parameters exactly. Its hard water with a high pH and as far as I know nitrates and nitrites haven't been an issue BUT I read in a previous feed that the API "dipstick" testers aren't very accurate. I found a place that will test my water and give me a breakdown. We have a whole house water filtration system now (not "soft" water). I am going to take a sample of the tank water and a sample of the tap water and see what I can find out.

My "mentor" told me that with the plants, rocks and wood it would naturally balance/lower the pH. Also, I had more luck when I was living in Mesa, AZ which had no water filtration system, than where I live now in Tempe.

I have an older fluval 305 canister filter and I use chemi-pure elite and biochem-zorb in place of activated carbon, also I have an air stone. I avoid using any types of additives in the water other than dechlorinator and I use Aqua Gold with every water change. I typically do water changes 1 x month and regularly add fresh water due to evaporation. (when I had the discus I used a black water solution and a discus solution) Also, occasionally I used pro-plant when the plants looked like they needed nutrients. My filter and air stone are on a timer to turn off for 1 hour everyday in the middle of the light cycle, supposedly so they plants can absorb CO2.

I forgot to mention that use a small amount of aquarium salt and a teeny tiny amount of marine salt. The amounts decrease with each water change then a month or two without salt and start the cycle over. (this was something my "mentor" told me to do)

 

[thrujenseyes]

Hello again!
I feel like you do way too much with your tank and water before having any real answers about your parameters.

You need to find these out before getting any fish.
You must have spent a fortune on fish so far and I feel that the ones you bought are not at all suited for your water if it is hard like you mention:

I am not sure of the water parameters exactly. Its hard water with a high pH

You purchased mostly very soft water fish which will suffer in hard water.

My "mentor" told me that with the plants, rocks and wood it would naturally balance/lower the pH.

It can depending on the types of wood and or rock you add. Plants however? Not sure there.
But unless you went out and specifically bought items to lower your ph...it probably hasn't changed. The wood and rocks that I've added in my tank have had no effects on my water, or my many plants.

Also, I had more luck when I was living in Mesa, AZ which had no water filtration system

You should definitely find out what it is thats "softening your water".
I had this issue when I first started as well.
I live on a private well and my water was on the harder side (well a higher PH) when I started but eventually became soft.
Long story short. My well is extremely acidic and soft. It has a zero KH (zero buffering power), so even after running thru my "softner" which is crushed coral and actually hardens my water bring my PH up....it eventually falls back down to a low PH GH because of the zero buffering abilities.

I forgot to mention that use a small amount of aquarium salt and a teeny tiny amount of marine salt. The amounts decrease with each water change then a month or two without salt and start the cycle over. (this was something my "mentor" told me to do)

I don't understand this reasoning at all...maybe someone else will.
But I'm pretty sure all of the soft water fish that you've chosen will not appreciate salt added at all.

If I were you my fist step would be to buy myself test kits (tubes, not strips) and learn the proper way to test and get yourself the correct numbers on your water.
Also learn about what's buffering your water (softner) and what exactly it's doing to your source water.

Then you can go from there

 

[FintasticBubbles]

Hello again!
I feel like you do way too much with your tank and water before having any real answers about your parameters.

You need to find these out before getting any fish.
You must have spent a fortune on fish so far and I feel that the ones you bought are not at all suited for your water if it is hard like you mention:

You purchased mostly very soft water fish which will suffer in hard water.


It can depending on the types of wood and or rock you add. Plants however? Not sure there.
But unless you went out and specifically bought items to lower your ph...it probably hasn't changed. The wood and rocks that I've added in my tank have had no effects on my water, or my many plants.


You should definitely find out what it is thats "softening your water".
I had this issue when I first started as well.
I live on a private well and my water was on the harder side (well a higher PH) when I started but eventually became soft.
Long story short. My well is extremely acidic and soft. It has a zero KH (zero buffering power), so even after running thru my "softner" which is crushed coral and actually hardens my water bring my PH up....it eventually falls back down to a low PH GH because of the zero buffering abilities.


I don't understand this reasoning at all...maybe someone else will.
But I'm pretty sure all of the soft water fish that you've chosen will not appreciate salt added at all.

If I were you my fist step would be to buy myself test kits (tubes, not strips) and learn the proper way to test and get yourself the correct numbers on your water.
Also learn about what's buffering your water (softner) and what exactly it's doing to your source water.

Then you can go from there

Thanks for the info. I will keep you posted. The purpose of the aquarium salt - it is supposedly effective in fighting disease, bad bacteria, promoting healthy gill function, replacement of electrolytes in freshwater animals, curbs some algae growth, helps to create vibrantly colored aquatic animals. This info came from my "mentor". It is added sporadically in small amounts.