Recent content by chrisnolan

Update: seems to be going well, I now have fish in and all seem to be doing well. I currently have 6 x cherry barbs, 10 x rummy nose tetra, 12 x cardinals, 6 x albino black widow tetras and 4 x ottos. Very active in upper and mid levels, wondering whether to add a few small corys to sift the...

I tested the tapwater after leaving it overnight in a glass when I first set up the tank and the pH has been constant for 3 weeks at 6.6 or 6.4. I was advised at the start that I didn't have enough plants to do the silent cycle and to follow the fishless route. Everything was going great until I...

added the bicarb yesterday as suggested, left overnight and retested this morning. My pH has now gone up to 7 which I am pleased about. I think the cycling is almost done, added dose 7 of ammonia this morning and fingers crossed should be ok tomorrow. One thing that has happened overnight is...

ahh, that makes sense, thank you for that. I will reconsider the shrimps and snails for this tank, was going to use them the help with algae but will look at suitable fish instead. Thanks for your help

thank you all it's really interesting and I am still learning about all this stuff. Test today shows the same reading of 6 so will get the bicarb tomorrow. Question though, since I am nearly at the end of the cycling, hopefully, and almost ready to get my first lot of fish, what will happen if...

Hi, is it normal for pH readings to fluctuate during cycling. My tap water is 6.4 and 2.24 Clarke so very soft. I am currently cycling and at day 23. Plants growing well and am up to dose 5 of ammonia. My test results have been pretty steady apart from last few days when my pH level has risen to...

thanks, am not normally known for my patience but am trying to do better. Intend to have a peaceful community tank with small tetras, cherry barbs, rasbora and corys. Looking for a couple of show fish - maybe rams or gouramis but not sure yet. Would also like to add a couple of the stripy...

hoping to get a few of my first fish at the weekend, wanted to get parameters right first, it's only been cycling for 3 weeks

Day 21 - all seems to be going in the right direction. Just added dose 4 of ammonia following the cycling article. One thing I have noticed this morning is that I removed a lot of the floating plants yesterday as they covered the whole of the surface (they seem to grow very fast) and this...

Day 18 - plants growing well today's testing shows 0 ammonia, less than 0.25 nitrite, 20 nitrate. Is it time to do the 3rd ammonia top up now. I have small amount of green algae growing on the sponge filter - is this normal please