New Tank, New Keeper, Hard Water

[DaveInBracknell]

Hi,
I asked a couple of questions on a prior thread but realised I should have started this one as I was taking over the old thread

So here's my learning up to now.


My setup:

I have a 168 Fluval tank from maidenhead aquatics:
https://fluvalaquatics.com/uk/product/shaker-aquarium-kit-44-us-gal-168-l-hampshire-oak/ as it is both an aquarium and a feature.
Regarding the plants I planted the following (2 weeks in they are growing like mad) I purchased from https://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/ (again good service)
I did the research on the forum (fast/medium growing plants)
Vallisneria spiralis
Limnophila aquatica
Eleocharis vivipara
Brazillian pennywort
Ludwigia Repens Rubin
Cardamine lyrata
Cryptocoryne wendtii 12
Hygrophilia polysperma
Limnophila sessiflora

I am at Day 14 of the cycle, I put in 1ppm Ammonia 3 days ago. Ammonia is now zero and my Nitrite is now 0. (It was 5ppm 3 days ago). I have the dreaded diatoms just starting (light is on around 10hrs a day at 50%).

I was going to put in the following when its cycles (I used a fish calculator ) and add slowly. (2-3 weeks away I think)
Celestial Pearl Danio(Celestichthys margaritatus ) x6
Harlequin Danio (Trigonostigma heteromorpha) 6
Cory Catfish 3
Neon Tetra 8
Nerite Snails 2

I'll have to pass on the tetras and perhaps some of the others due to Hardness (Something I now think I know wayyy to much about ..)


My Calcium is 102mg/l -> 125mg/l (Mean 110 mg/l) using this calculator: https://www.svl.net/calcium-hardness-as-caco3/ gives me 254-312.
Using this calc here: https://www.waterhardness.net/calculator/show and plugging in 254-312 gives me 14.22 to 17.47.

Celestial Peral Danio's I have should be ok (Top End) they where breeding in the small tank I have with Java moss within 4-6 weeks...
Harlequins Out
Cory's might be out.
Tetras are out.

So question now is suggestion on Fishes?
@Wills you mentioned on other thread that you might have some species?
I was looking for smaller fish, some at the top (Tetra's) middle would have been harlequins and Celestial pearls are more bottom with some cleaners (Cory's etc)

Thanks again and apologies again to Sprizmo for jumping their thread.

Dave





Thanks
Dave

 

[Colin_T]

Do you have fish in the tank?
If you do have fish, do not add ammonia.

 

[DaveInBracknell]

Do you have fish in the tank?
If you do have fish, do not add ammonia.

Hi Colin,

No sorry wasn't clear. My celestials are in my existing smaller tank I need to transfer them when cycling complete..
Dave

 

[Colin_T]

If you have an established filter, just take half the media/ material and put it in the new filter for instant cycled tank

 

[DaveInBracknell]

If you have an established filter, just take half the media/ material and put it in the new filter for instant cycled tank

would love to its full of algae (blue green algae ) and its been a pain to remove so decided to reset with a new tank.

 

[Wills]

Hi Dave, thanks for starting a new thread keeps things simple

If you have hard water its nothing to fear or fight, I did for years and years and have only come around to working out how to make it work within that limitation. The great thing about hardwater fish is there are so many with stand out shouty colours, plenty of softwater fish are colourful but its often a highlight or an iridescence where as in hard water you find fish that are head to tail solid colour. You do need to shop around though and hunt out some species but for me that is part of the fun

In the other thread these are the fish I mentioned

Galaxy Rasbora, Emerald Rasbora, Rummy Nose Rasbora
Small Synodontis species like Lucipinis and Polli
Livebearers like Swordtails, Platies, Guppies would all do great as would some of the rarer species like Limia and Skiffia
Smaller Rainbowfish like Dwarf Neons, Kamaka and some of the Forktail species,
Amano Shrimp do great and so do some of the fancy snail species like Nerites, Rabbits and Cappuccino.

Some of the smallest Central American Cichlids like Nanoluteus or Cutteri would work in here too but you'd need to go with the bigger of the species I mentioned. Again with the bigger species Golden Wonder Killi would be a good option too.

Given you already have the Galaxy Rasboras I would ignore that last group as they are too small to go with these bigger fish. But the rest would probably be ok, though probably not the Synodontis with the Galaxy Rasbora too.

Based on your current fish choice the two species I would try and get are the Rummy Nose Rasboras and the Dwarf Neon Rainbows. Rummy Nose Rasboras are rare but are not impossible to find and some of your LFS may be able to order them in for you. Dwarf Neon Rainbows have become a bit over bred recently but there are still good specimens out there but make sure you find some good retailers and avoid some of the big pet stores like Pets at Home for them. That will give you three really good sized schools with loads of electric blue and red in the tank. I'd consider adding some Platys into this mix and go for something like a Red Wag or a Sunset for bright reds and oranges, start off with a trio 1 male 2 female (females are just as colourful as males which is great).

Bottom dwellers are tricky but I think there is one obvious choice for this tank for me which is Oil Catfish (Centromochlus Perugia) https://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/centromochlus-perugiae/ To quote Seriously Fish - "Has been caught in water with wildly varying pH over a range of 4.9-8.0 in nature. In aquaria it's probably best to aim for somewhere around neutral, although clearly this is a very adaptable species."

If you get these I would get a massive group of them and really densly decorate the lower levels of the tank to get them as confident as possible so you see them as much as possible. There are some other wood catfish species that could work but they are newer to the hobby so less information available but their common names are Orca and Ninja Catfish, closely related to the Oil Cats but different patterns. There are a couple of loach species that are worth checking out first is the Inle Loach Yunnanilus Brevis (all Lake Inle fish are hardwater fish as Lake Inle is very hard water. Dwarf Chain Loaches have some evidence of coming from hard water, certainly high ph (8) so may be a contender?

I would consider a stock list of something like

3 Platys
8 Dwarf Neon Rainbows
10 Galaxy Rasboras
10 Oil Catfish
10 Amano Shrimp

One other note to remember is that although keeping fish suited to your water has undeniable benefits every fish you see in your LFS is going to be going into the same water and its really important to bear in mind that the best tank for those fish is one owned by a dedicated aquarist, keeping up with maintenance, educating themselves so fish like the Oil Catfish whos exact needs are debatable and subjective are going to do better in your hard water than a badly kept neutral tank for example.

Wills

 

[DaveInBracknell]

Hi Wills,
Thank you so much for the post i really appreciate the insight and answer, and thank you to the others who responded as well its really helpful and insightful.
Dave