Stocking My 15.8 Gal (59.8L) Tank

[Ch4rlie]

Think most likely its the brick thats most likely raising the ph.
 
Would take this out, you do not know what the brick is leaching into the tank

 

[carmstrong]

ok, will do..
 
Another question.. 
 
I brought some rocks/coral back home from Mexico, is it safe to place in the tank?
 
I have it sitting in bleach right now, should I boil it too?

 

[Ch4rlie]

Do not boil rocks, risk of explosion.
 
Simply pour hot water over it to get rid of nasties and give it a scrub too.
 
Then do a vinegar test, if no reaction on rock from vinegar, should be ok, if reaction like fizzles, not safe for aquarium use.
 
Rinse the rock throughly a few times over to get rid of any bleach and then hot water over it last thing before adding to tank if passes tests.

 

[carmstrong]

Ah ok, perfect!
 
Thanks, i will do that

Here's the rocks, in case they are not useable let me know
 
HERE

 

[Ch4rlie]

Looks like type of coral skeleton rocks.
 
May have a few issues with these rocks, may affect ph levels, also may leach phosphates.
 
Hmm, would advise against using this until you know more about FW tank parameters and how things can be affected. 

 

[carmstrong]

took the brick out, will test tomorrow to see what the readings are and go from there
 
Thanks!

 

[Ch4rlie]

Sounds like a plan

 

[gmc1]

Zebra danios in a 4 ft.???

 

[Ch4rlie]

Zebra danios in a 4 ft.???

 
I agree with Zebras in a 4 ft tank, they are active fish and need quite a bit of swimming space.
 
Seriously Fish suggest absolute minimum of 3 ft tank size for a small group of Zebra Danios but i always like to go at least one size larger.
The bigger the tank, the better
 
http/www.seriouslyfish.com/species/danio-rerio/

 

[carmstrong]

So I took my readings today! Super excited
 
Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 0
NitrAte = 40ppm
pH = 8.0 - 8.2 (this came down since the removal of the brick so i'm happy about that)
 
I added another Ammonia dose today and i'm crossing fingers that tomorrow morning the readings will be 0 for both Ammonia and Nitrite
 
I'll keep you posted!

 

[Ch4rlie]

Looking good

 

[carmstrong]

So I did my reading this morning and everything is 0
 
So that means my tank is cycled!
 
However, i need to see if my pH is in fact 8.2
 
So I did a water change today and i'm going to wait three days before testing for pH again, lets hope it stays at 7.4 which is the tap water reading..
 
Fingers crossed!

 

[Ch4rlie]

Sounds good.

Do you have a reading for nitrAte or is this at zero as well?
Just checking

And a pH of 8.2 is ok, lots of stocking options and as long stocking is acclimatised well they will adapt to higher pH without too much problem usually. In fact if your store where you getting the fish is very local, chances are they'll have the same or similar tap water parameters as you.

 

[carmstrong]

NitrAte was at 40-80ppm
 
I did a water change yesterday and I am going to test my pH now.. 
 
Test results...its back up to 8.2
 
Now what?

Does this limit me to which fish I can get?
 
Or can the rasboras still acclimate to this type of pH?
what happens if fish are in a high pH tank?

 

[carmstrong]

Fish story has been moved to a new topic/thread
 
Read it here
 
Thanks everyone for all your help!