New Set Up

[Gavilb]

Ive just bought a Juwel 180 and set it up with plants, gravel etc. Ive added tap water conditioner and ive added 'cycle' which seems to have worked fine after a nitrate test.

My problem is - the water is too hard and the pH level is very high - are there any products i could use to solve this??

Also - what hardy fish should i introduce first?

Thanks!

Barry

 

[ncjharris]

Hi and welcome.

First stop should be the pinned posts in here and dotted around the other topics.
Know you have added cycle, but read up on cycling first; your test will show nitrates as 'fine' as there has been nothing in the tank to make them 'bad' first!

There are products to bring down your pH, but most people recommend water chemistry experiments are for experts only - its one of those things where one mistake could cost you a tankfull of fish.
As for hard water, if you really need to soften it, look into a RO device -again, there are plenty of topics on them.

Your best bet though is to pick fish that are suited to your water - plenty of fish now-a-days are a lot more hardier and tollerant of water conditions than they used to be.

Hope you stick around and it all goes well!

 

[Gavilb]

Thanks! ive done some reading about cycling and it seems i need a few fish in there to start the process?? Are 4x zebra danios ok for this?

Do you recommend that I leave the pH and water hardness alone?

 

[Ethos]

Well, depends where you live. If you go to a petco in your area (I've been to 3 different ones, all are fantastic. But these are in my area, I haven't seen much anywhere else) and ask the person working the fish department for some PH lowerers. I was going to lower my PH, but My white clouds lowered it enought to where my Cichlids are fine - PH 8.

I dunno how many US gallons are in a jewl 180, but I should seeing so many people on here have em'.

Here's what I did.

10G: 3 danios
55G: 12 White clouds

Hope this helps at all.

And if I'm blind, and you live in the UK, ignore the comment about Petco...

 

[Amber]

Zebra Danios are a good starter fish but you can also cycle a tank with out fish heres a link about it:

http/www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/...?article_id=113

I personally wouldnt add any PH adjusters I found that as my tank matured my PH settled at a lower level than what comes out the tap anyway and has stayed consistent (sp?) ever since.

Good Luck and Have Fun

 

[spanishguy111]

Well, depends where you live. If you go to a petco in your area (I've been to 3 different ones, all are fantastic. But these are in my area, I haven't seen much anywhere else) and ask the person working the fish department for some PH lowerers. I was going to lower my PH, but My white clouds lowered it enought to where my Cichlids are fine - PH 8.

I dunno how many US gallons are in a jewl 180, but I should seeing so many people on here have em'.

Here's what I did.

10G: 3 danios
55G: 12 White clouds

Hope this helps at all.

And if I'm blind, and you live in the UK, ignore the comment about Petco...

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Dude... a five gallon can still hold more than 12 white clouds. What a waste of space...


As per your Juwel oh person who ran this post. You put Cycle into an empty tank with no fish in it and you have no nitrate? NO WAY DUDE! Wow!

 

[Annastasia]

I'd recommend you do a fishless cycle, instead of adding fish, as the cycling process can be hard on them. There's a couple great posts on fishless cycling...here are the links:

How to do a Fishless cycle

Another thread on fishless cycling

And as mentioned...you can't judge your cycling on your nitrates. They need something to make them rise in the first place. Also, you'll need to have an ammonia and nitrite test kit. Especially ammonia, because when you are adding it in at the beginning of the fishless cycle, you need to make sure you are adding the right amount. Nitrite is important too.

Best of luck with your tank and fish!

 

[Ethos]

Dude... a five gallon can still hold more than 12 white clouds. What a waste of space...

Whats that supposed to mean?

 

[ncjharris]

I think spanish guy thinks that your 55G still only has 12 WCMM in it, rather than just at cycling. NM.

Gav, don'y worry about sorting your pH out yet - start on getting your main params good - ammonia, nitrate, nitrite.
In some instances, pH can fluctuate wildly while a tank is cycling and only really settle when everything else is sorted.

 

[Gavilb]

Thanks harris. I will leave the pH alone for now and see what happens to it when the tank settles. And I guess I could try fish that are suited to harder water? instead of trying to suit the water to the fish...?

know where i can get an idea of which fish are suited to hard water and a higher pH?

thanks!!

 

[dwarfgourami]

Livebearers (platys, guppies, mollies) are happy in hard water. Danios don't mind either.
But lots more fish can take it these days: my corys are spawning happily in a ph that can't be far under 8. If your fish have been locally kept, that's what they'll be used to.

What most fish can't cope with is wild fluctuations of ph; that's why it's not a good idea to start trying to alter the ph, unless you really know what you're doing. You can however bring it down a little by simply keeping bogwood in the tank; most lfs sell it. This is a gentle method that won't get you dependent on chemicals- and the wood does look pretty and makes nice hiding places for the fish.

I'd definitely do the fishless cycle, though; it is kinder on the fish and gives you time to come to terms with the tank chemistry before your fish are in there.
I did it with the help of the members of the forum and found it really easy. Just read through the pinned topics and ask if anything seems unclear!

 

[rdd1952]

What are your actual pH and KH readings on your tap water?

 

[Ethos]

I think spanish guy thinks that your 55G still only has 12 WCMM in it, rather than just at cycling. NM.

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Hmhmh...too bad my profile says much the difference...

 

[Gavilb]

my pH is around 10 and hardness is 20ish......

 

[ncjharris]

my pH is around 10

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Are you sure?
Thats the highest I've ever seen!!
Where abouts are you?