new tank PH probs

[Al-Ectrician]

16 Neons
2 silver sharks
3 penguins
3 danios

tank is 3ft long, 1.5 ft high, 1 foot depth(can someone tell me Gallons plz)

I am new to this so plz help asap..., I have lost 2 fish in the last 2 weeks, The tank is only 7 weeks old, I have sand at bottom and 3 whitish crumbly rocks, I cant get the PH to budge from 7.6(BLUE), I spoke with local shop, he said get rid of sand and rocks, because of calcium or something like that.

q1) should i remove sand and rocks ?

q2) Please give advice if u can ?

Thanx in Advance

NEWBIE AlanC

 

[Cian McLiam]

Hi,
The rock sounds like Tufa rock which will increase the PH and hardness of the water.
With the fish you have, I would remove it and replace with carved rainbow rock or bogwood (or both!)
Do you know if the sand is play-pit sand or builders sand or what? you should have pretty inert substrates in most tanks.
The tank is probably still in the process of cycling, you can find lots of info on this in the beginners forum below.

Good Luck

Ken