Ph Results Etc. What's Most Suitable?

[gerryR]

Hi All

Very new here and very new to Aquarium's, haven't even got one yet (thinking about a Rekord 96) but just trying to get as much right before hand as I can

Just tested water using an API set, tested the tap water for everything (prob didn't need to test for nitrite or nitrates?) and here's the results, just in:

Low PH test 7.6
High PH test 7.4
Amonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5

As I say, I'm prob going to get a Rekord 96 tank (think the 120 would be a bit too big for my flat) so that's around 25 gallons. I was thinking of some plants, definetly a shoal (10+) of some small/ very small fish, maybe another shoal of 5-10 small fish and perhaps a few slightly larger fish but nothing too big. Maybe I've gone over my quota here?

Anyway, excuse all the questions but I'd love to hear any feedback/ suggestions from some of you experts! There's some amazing pics of some setups here, I hope I can acheive something 1/2 as good!

I'm in Dublin/ Ireland if that makes a difference (water quality? LFS quality etc)

TIA
gerryR

 

[Jazee B]

Hi gerryR



i know where you are coming from i was in your shoes in may. My fella bought me a rekord 96 for my birthday at first I thought what the heck do I do with that!! But after much reading on here and lots of questions and answers later i have 10 tetras a bredding pair of blue rams and 2 bristlenoses. I would definatley look at miss wiggles profile she has some great links about fishless cycling and the stickies on the top of "new to hobby" are great as well, you will always get great advice here and everyone is so supportive.

Good luck with whatever you decide on but I love my rekord it was easy to set up and it's easy to maintain.

 

[rhostog]

Just tested water using an API set, tested the tap water for everything (prob didn't need to test for nitrite or nitrates?)

Welcome gerryR - very good idea to test your tap water for everything before starting! You're lucky, your tap water sounds fine for most fish. I puzzled over the traces of nitrite in my tank for ages before thinking to test the tap water, and finding that was where it was coming from. It's useful to have a baseline from the start, makes it easier to work out what's happening if things ever start to go wrong.

Once your tank is cycled, and after it's had a few weeks to stabilise, you could consider corys - a group of 5 or 6 will keep busy at the bottom of your tank, while you can have a shoal of something colourful at the middle/top levels. If you're limited for space, you could try pygmy/dwarf corys. Corys are really cute, very active and full of character. Make sure your substrate isn't large/sharp gravel.

Good luck with the tank!

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, Jazee has pointed you in the right direction. Its very unusual to have a newcomer here early testing their tap water and interacting before even buying equipment - unusual in the sense of being very good! It even looks that you have the api liquid tests, whch is a great start.

Also good that you have a good starter size in mind (25g) and appropriate ideas about stocking. Its always good to begin that dialog and give the members an idea of what you are thinking of as they can help you better over time. The dialog about what and how many fish can be ongoing.

Meanwhile, in many ways, the core value of the "New to the Hobby" forum is the whole set of skills Jazee is pointing you to. Learning what your test results mean and what to be thinking about with respect to the water. Its really interesting and important to learn about the nitrogen cycle and the fishless cycling process. You can begin to learn the cycle and ask questions about it and become familiar with our working document, usually the Add&Wait portion of rdd1952's fishless cycling article. It still takes interaction with the members usually to proceed smoothly through the process.

The fishless cycling process is all tied in with how filters work and sometimes it also helps to realize that you want to understand your filter and the media in it as part of the things you are reading about. Another skill that needs to be studied early on is that of water changes. Seems obvious, but its good to pull together the details of how we think about water changes and the process we take for that. Also you'll want to think about where to put the tank and those details of course.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Miss Wiggle]

Hi there Gerry,

Yes I agree great to see someone taking such an interest in research before setting things up. You can rest assured if you take this approach you'll be able to have a lovely tank without too much work!

For a first port of call I'd read the link in my sig 'step by step guide to setting up an aquarium' it talks through choosing your tank and equipment, physically how to set it up, the cycling process, fish selection and all sorts of bits and bobs. It's quite a long read and it's got a lot of links to other things to read but I think it'd be of a lot of value to you.

Looks like you have great water to start out with, the pH is not far off neutral and will be fine for a wide selection of species, good to see ammonia and nitrite at 0 and you've only a little bit of nitrate (less than a lot of people have) so that shouldn't cause any problems either.

If you're not sure what all the different levels mean then have a read of the link in my sig 'whats cycling' which explains some more about it.

So yeah basically read away through the links in my sig and through the pinned topics at the top of the page and let us know when you've got more specific questions.

 

[gerryR]

Thanks for the information and kind words folks

I'll be sure to read those guides and will ask more questions as they crop up!

Rgds
gerryR