New 40 Gal Planted Tank - Advice?

[LadyAphrodite]

Hi,

I've been reading through these boards a lot for a while and I thought I'd get some advice. I have had a 40 gal for a while that I just planted heavily this weekend.

Plants

2 java ferns (that I'm gonna pull out 'cause the leaves are browning up)
2 baby tears
2 amazon swords
a bunch of grosso
a couple Ambulia
and some grass-like plant whose name I'm not real sure of but the undersides are reddish

Fish
2 Sailfin Dalmation Mollies
1 Sailfin Silver Molly
5 albino Cories
2 orange Neons (which I bought years ago before I knew about fish coloring)
1 zebra danio (a survivor from a few years ago)

The substrate is flourite with fine gravel on top. I have a few large rocks, left some open sand to the front of the tank and planted around it.

Lighting
Coralife with 65W 6700k and 65W 10000K
I'm running the 6700k about 10 hours per day. (I bought it 2 days ago, same night as the plants)

Filter
HOB Pengiun bio 200

Water parameters
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
The new testing kit doesn't have nitrate testing for some reason
pH - 5.0 / retested after 25% water change the following day between 6.0 and 6.5
GH - 7
KH - .5

I haven't added CO2 because the pH is so low. The tap water is 7.5 so I'm not sure why the tank water was only 5.0. I do have a commercial CO2 product (redsea maybe) that says it should be good for up to 40 but I'm thinking I should prolly have two. When should I start adding CO2, if at all?

I have noted that one of the Dalmations stays toward the top of the tank and looks like he's taking breaths but he's the only one exhibiting that behavior. I can't tell if he's following the bubbles from the HOB or needing O2.

I'm a little confused about fertilizing. I know some plants should have root tabs and other liquid nutrients, but I can't find any site that tells me which to use for which plants. Should I increase the # of fish? I was thinking a small school of neons would be nice, or maybe some danios?

Any advice on how to proceed futher would be extremely helpful.

 

[Themuleous]

You just running the the 6500k at the moment? If so then you've got a low light tank and CO2 isn't essential, although the plants would probably appreciate it. For a 40gal I would want a pressurized CO2 yeast based kids just won't do it, unless you've got say 5 or 6 and that'll cost more anyway. There is a link in my Sig to a cheap DIY pressurised CO2.

Re the pH, co2 will lower the pH of the tank, but that doesn't means to say it'll cause you problems. The KH/CO2/pH relationship is fixed. i.e for a given CO2 and kH level you get a fixed pH, so adding co2 to you tank will lower the pH but at the most by 1pH point.

If the tap water pH is higher than the tank there is probably something in the tank removing the KH, do you have lots of bog wood?

As for ferts, none of the plants you have are very demanding so they will probably get much of what they need from the fish waste. Two good ferts and seachem flourish and tropical plant nutrition. Adding a shoal of neons can't hurt I wouldn't think.

Sam

 

[LadyAphrodite]

You just running the the 6500k at the moment? If so then you've got a low light tank and CO2 isn't essential, although the plants would probably appreciate it.

I am running only the 6500k at this time. I thought about pressurized CO2 but I need to save up for a few months before I can even consider it.


If the tap water pH is higher than the tank there is probably something in the tank removing the KH, do you have lots of bog wood?

There is no bog wood, only stone from the LFS. The tap water has a higher pH but also a higher KH, about 1.5 higher than the tank water. After a couple of smallish water changes (5%-10%) over the past couple of days, the tank water is now pH 6.6 and KH of 1. I'm hoping the pH and KH will remain stable if I continue to do several small water changes per week

As for ferts, none of the plants you have are very demanding so they will probably get much of what they need from the fish waste. Two good ferts and seachem flourish and tropical plant nutrition. Adding a shoal of neons can't hurt I wouldn't think.

This morning I found one of my dalmations dead under the filter. I think it may have been the one that was constanly at the top, but I can't be sure as the one that is left is showing the same behavior. The cories appear as active as before and the other guys look good. I see no signs of fungus, ick or any other disease. I have no idea what killed him. I worry that putting in a bunch of new fish might be a bad idea until I figure out what killed this little guy.

Edit: I did notice that the tank was at 80 degrees this morning. I don't have a heater, but the tank does have a full plastic cover to keep the cats out. I suppose it is possible that having the cover on is heating up the water and decreasing the O2. I hadn't thought of that until just now. Could the temperature have killed the Molly?