Fresh-Water Newbie

[KittyKat]

You can buy them online, if they are not available from your LFS.

 

[fluttermoth]

Kh is the amount of hardness (disolved minerals) in the water.

 

[King]

is the KH something important to have to watch??

 

[fluttermoth]

Not for most fish, as long as it's not too high; you'd know if your water was really hard because of all the limescale in your pipes and kettle etc.
It's useful to know because it's easier to match the kind of fish you want to the water you have, rather than change the water to suit the fish. Changing the hardness of water is not that easy, although it's easier to harden it than soften it.

 

[King]

my water is kind of mineral heavy i think, its not BAD but i get a little bit of white build up on shower heads and what not.

 

[fluttermoth]

Well, as long as you stay away from things like discus/rams and other very soft water or wild caught fish, you shouldn't have a problem

 

[King]

yeah i have mostly just little schooling fish. and a couple coy goldfish and angels. plecos.

 

[Miles_hot]

I'd not worry about. The ph or kh but HCD be very worried about being blind on the ammonia and nitrites :'(

 

[King]

ive had neons in the tank for almost a week and i guess the goldfish went on a ravenous eating streak overnight and 24 neons are gone. $50 down the drain. anyone close to roanoke, va and want 2 big coy goldfish? lol

 

[King]

also gotta change some water about everyday for a while, nitrate and nitrite are both a little high. PH, harshness, and alkalinity are all good for now.

 

[KittyKat]

ive had neons in the tank for almost a week and i guess the goldfish went on a ravenous eating streak overnight and 24 neons are gone. $50 down the drain. anyone close to roanoke, va and want 2 big coy goldfish? lol

Not trying to rub it in, but there was a good reason why I warned you about it. We have a LOT of collective experience. It's free. Use it to save the lives of your animals.

also gotta change some water about everyday for a while, nitrate and nitrite are both a little high. PH, harshness, and alkalinity are all good for now.

Please, please post the ammonia and nitrite readings. If either of those is anywhere near 0.25 ppm, do 50-95% water change immediately (using warm, dechlorinated water). Yes, you read that right. 0.25 ppm is danger zone for *both* ammonia and nitrIte. Please don't kill the rest of your fish.

 

[King]

these test strips i have show PH between 7.5 (idea), alkalinity of 120 (ideal), harshness 75 "soft", nitrite 1 (a little high), nitrate 35-40 (a little high), and i guess it just has a chart with colors to show ammonia? its got 0 "ideal" thats yellowish, then .2 "caution" thats neon green, then 1.0, 3.0, and 5.0 all darker greens. my water is perfectly clear. i also grabbed a heater today and a digital thermo to keep the tank at a constant temp.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

these test strips i have show PH between 7.5 (idea), alkalinity of 120 (ideal), harshness 75 "soft", nitrite 1 (a little high), nitrate 35-40 (a little high), and i guess it just has a chart with colors to show ammonia? its got 0 "ideal" thats yellowish, then .2 "caution" thats neon green, then 1.0, 3.0, and 5.0 all darker greens. my water is perfectly clear. i also grabbed a heater today and a digital thermo to keep the tank at a constant temp.

If your nitrite really is 1ppm then that is VERY HIGH! The ideal is 0ppm, and anything above that needs a massive water change. You need to do either a 80-90% water change or two or three 50% water changes... You need that value UNDER 0.25ppm. If there is no scale given for your strip, then it is basically worthless because it isn't giving you any real information.


Strips aren't really the way to go, many times.

 

[King]

yeah im kinda thinking these strips suck lol. it shows on this kit thing as 3 being "stress" then 10 being "danger"!

and you go by whatever color is closest to your strip color on the chart.

 

[This Old Spouse]

The strips are really worthless. Really. Go get yourself an API Master Test Kit, which you can pick up at Walmart or Petco or anywhere that carries fish.

Do NOT get any more fish just yet. Please.

When you set up this tank, what did you do with the filters? Did you put brand new media in the filters? Change out the cartridges? Or did you keep what was already there? *fingers crossed*

This is the time of year where you should be able to find someone who'd like a couple decent-sized goldfish for their pond. People who keep goldfish in ponds in Virginia usually have a setup to house them inside during the winter, so they should be fine.

Please keep posting to let us know how you're doing.