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Just a few questions...

That link on the cycle was really helpful, thanks! I am getting Ammonia from ACE hardware. However, I wanted to ask a question on keeping the fish together. It is stated that Black Neon Tetras need 4-8 KH but Neon Tetras need 1-2 KH. How am I going to keep them together comfortably?
 
Animallover😍 said:
That link on the cycle was really helpful, thanks! I am getting Ammonia from ACE hardware. However, I wanted to ask a question on keeping the fish together. It is stated that Black Neon Tetras need 4-8 KH but Neon Tetras need 1-2 KH. How am I going to keep them together comfortably?
Click to expand...
They'll be fine together, but I'd rather stock with cardinal tetras or green (false) neon tetras...the regular neons are overbred, and many times suffer from many health issues....the greens and cardinals are (usually) much more hardy and robust.

BTW, I had no idea there were Ace Hardwares in Malaysia....
 
KH is not important. It doesn't affect fish directly, all it does is stabilise pH.

GH is more important for fish.
Neon tetra - GH 18 to 215 ppm/1 to 12 dH (ppm and dH are the two hardness units used in fishkeeping). Temperature 21 to 25 deg C/70 to 77 deg F
Black neon tetras - GH 18 to 215 ppm/1 to 12 dH. Temperature 20 to 28 deg C/70 to 82 deg F.

Both tetras have the same hardness range. Neons need coolish water while black neons can cope with warmer. Ideally the temperature should be around 23 deg C/73 deg F.
 
This forum is so helpful! I would get Cardinal Tetras or Green Tetras if I could, but they are not available in pet stores around me because Neon Tetra is the more popular.
 
I have so many questions, sorry if I'm bothering you! So I found out I can get Cardinal Tetras but they need pH of 4.5 - 7, that doesn't promote good bacterial growth. Also, if I'm going to put a UV sterilizer in the aquarium, would it be too bright for them? I am planning to put carpet mini leaf grass on the floor of the aquarium, so I wouldn't need to change the substrate would I? If the fish are sick, would I need to have a hospital tank prepared for them already established? Or it'd be ok to not cycle the aquarium?
 
i don't know why you would need a uv sterilizer, but aquarium uv sterilizers are built so that the light never leaves the unit. i don't know what you're looking at when you say, "would it be too bright," but i assume that you're talking about just the bulb, which would be very harmful.

as for the "carpet mini leaf grass," i'm assuming that you're talking about dwarf baby tears or something similar. are you certain that your lighting is adequate, do you use a co2 system, and use fertilizers? if the answer is no to any of those, i highly advise against dwarf tears (or most any other carpeting plant, either). i imagine that co2 injection would be impractical, expensive, and hard to find in malaysia, too, although i don't really know. just, my point is, as a beginner, stay away from carpeting plants.

the quarantine tank would need to be cycled.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
realzalio said:
i don't know why you would need a uv sterilizer, but aquarium uv sterilizers are built so that the light never leaves the unit. i don't know what you're looking at when you say, "would it be too bright," but i assume that you're talking about just the bulb, which would be very harmful.

as for the "carpet mini leaf grass," i'm assuming that you're talking about dwarf baby tears or something similar. are you certain that your lighting is adequate, do you use a co2 system, and use fertilizers? if the answer is no to any of those, i highly advise against dwarf tears (or most any other carpeting plant, either). i imagine that co2 injection would be impractical, expensive, and hard to find in malaysia, too, although i don't really know. just, my point is, as a beginner, stay away from carpeting plants.

the quarantine tank would need to be cycled.
Click to expand...
There is a cheap, easy way to add CO2, assuming you can get or make it. You just upend a plastic bottle of tank water within the tank itself, add CO2 via tubing and a weight to the mouth of the bottle to keep it upside down. CO2 then gradually dissolves into the water as it is taken up by the plants.
 
realzalio said:
i don't know why you would need a uv sterilizer, but aquarium uv sterilizers are built so that the light never leaves the unit. i don't know what you're looking at when you say, "would it be too bright," but i assume that you're talking about just the bulb, which would be very harmful.

as for the "carpet mini leaf grass," i'm assuming that you're talking about dwarf baby tears or something similar. are you certain that your lighting is adequate, do you use a co2 system, and use fertilizers? if the answer is no to any of those, i highly advise against dwarf tears (or most any other carpeting plant, either). i imagine that co2 injection would be impractical, expensive, and hard to find in malaysia, too, although i don't really know. just, my point is, as a beginner, stay away from carpeting plants.

the quarantine tank would need to be cycled.
Click to expand...
Ok, I won't get carpet grass after all. As for the UV light, I wanted to use it to get rid of harmful bacteria in the tank, but now I know it's dangerous, I won't. Thank you anyway @Sunnyspots for the tip.
 
Pls answer my question on Cardinal Tetras. They need a ph of 4.5 - 7, but I fear an ammonia spike due to less beneficial bacteria. Is it ok to keep the pH around 6.8?
 
There are safe UV lights for an aquarium. There are two types. One is inside a filter, usually external/canister filters. The other is inside a tube and the water is pumped through the tube. In both of these, the UV bulb is inside a casing and the UV light is confined to the casing. The water had to pass through the casing to be exposed to the UV rays.
The type of UV light which is not safe would by any light not inside a casing - and those would be unsafe for us looking into the tank as well as the fish inside the tank.

With fishless cycling, the pH can be raised artificially during the cycle. Once the cycle is finished, a big water change is done and this will also remove any pH increasing chemical.
 
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