Electric Blue Rams

[Jebbwardo]

My ph needs to be low for my fish its at 6.5 now, is there any point in getting ammonia from the shop and put some in? Or should I jut get some media from a friend?

 

[fluttermoth]

Yes, get the ammonia.

This is what I'd do (I do the same when I set up new tanks); add enough ammonia to give a reading of 1 or 2 ppm. Add some mature media from your friend's filter, and leave the tank running overnight. If, when you test the next morning, there is no trace of either ammonia or nitrite, then you're ok to go and get fish.

That way you know, for certain, that the bacteria are alive and well and doing their job.

If there is any reading at all for ammonia or nitrite, then you have to add more ammonia and test again in 12 hours, as you obviously don't have enough bacteria to give you a properly cycled filter.

 

[Jebbwardo]

Thanks this is a lot of help and looks very simple! Thanks for the heads up. Ill reply if i need more help so follow this post please.

 

[fluttermoth]

No problem; I'll keep an eye out

 

[Jebbwardo]

I have added 2 peices of big wood to my tank to try keep the ph down in the low 6's do you think it will work?

 

[fluttermoth]

It might do, but it depends on the hardness of your water.

 

[Jebbwardo]

I think my water is soft I've done the washing up liquid test, how else would I check if it was?

 

[fluttermoth]

Your water supplier's website will tell you

 

[hrtattk73]

I agree.

Rams really are a very delicate little fish; many people, myself included, consider them much harder than discus, for example, and the electric blues even more so.

I really do think you should do a proper cycle before you get them.

agree 1000% with fluttermoth

 

[mark4785]

I currently have a heavily planted non-cycled aquarium containing 5 black neon tetras. The ammonia and nitrite levels are constantly zero and the fish are happy and shown no signs of irritation. I plan to add 2 GBR's to this tank in several months time under the following conditions:

• the ammonia and nitrite levels stay consistently at 0 ppm every week for several months; I have added a large piece of pond filtration sponge which has 5 years of nitrosomonas and nitrobacter bacteria on it which will be helping, alongside the plants, to remove ammonia and nitrite.
• The plants continue to grow well over this several month period so they don't contribute any ammonia to the water.

 
I think the route I am taking saves a lot of time and hassle and is a perfectly safe preparation for adding GBR's or EBR's.
 
If you do use liquid ammonia to cycle your aquarium you will still need to take into account the fact that GBR's / EBR's should only be added several months after you have completed your ammonia cycle because micro ammonia spikes will kill this fish out right. You will also, in my opinion, need to remove all of the substrate that you used during the cycle as this will contain trapped ammonia and nitrite. Simply disturbing ammonia/nitrite-contained substrate can kill Rams and even corydoras.
 
I think it's also important to note that a fishless ammonia cycle is most efficient when your PH is at 8.2. The bog wood you have added will be lowering the PH.