New Tank Questions

[supersuzie]

Hi all.

I've just completed my first fishless cycle and before I get my fish, I just wanted to ask a couple of questions, mainly related to the pH and softness of my water.

Now that the tank has cycled, should I just keep topping up with ammonia until I'm ready to buy fish?

The pH of my tap water is about 6. Is this really too low for most fish? I have added some bogwood which is leaching tannins (which I don't mind) but is this going to lower the pH even more over time? Does it need to come out and be replaced by something more inert like rock?

I need to buy a kit to measure my KH and GH but if our water is as soft as I suspect it is am I better just to try to up this rather than mess about trying to up the pH?

 

[OldMan47]

The pH will drop with the tannins coming from your wood. A pH of 6.0 is a bit low for almost any fish but some prefer their water at a lower pH than others. Do get the GH/KH kit and let us know what you are dealing with. It may be easy to make your water suitable for many fish but we won't know until we know what we have.

 

[supersuzie]

Ok, so bought a nutrafin test kit and got the following results:

GH: 3.5
KH: 1

It took 3 drops to change colour for GH and it changed colour on the first drop for KH.

What next? I kept a fish tank at my last property with no problems, kept glowlights, danios and corys. We've only moved a mile up the road but the new house has completely different water (apparently it comes from the lake district). Is there any hope for me to be able to keep fish without spending loads every month on chemicals? Ideally I wanted a betta, some Pygmy corys and possibly some endlers or microrasboras.

Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

 

[supersuzie]

Hmmmm, thought someone would have a suggestion for me.

I'm hoping to head off to the fish shop tomorrow for some supplies, should I just look for some sources of CaCO3 like cuttlefish, shells, limestone etc or should I look for a bottle of something I can add when I do a water change?

Also, with a ph this low, does it make sense to take the bogwood out, even though I want a Betta?

 

[Prime Ordeal]

You have to take the bogwood out as all it will do is lower the pH further. You've got the right idea about how to tackle the problem otherwise, just add some coral sand or crushed shells to your filter as you said. Ideally you want the KH at least at 4. At 1 you're always going to risk a pH crash. Bottled pH adjusters aren't necessary.