Hi,
I have been looking around for a decent pair of German Blue Rams for a while, and today have bought a beautiful pair that seem to be doing extremely well in my current water stats;
40 gallon tank
Ammonia & Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0.5ppm
Ph: 7.5/8
Kh: 110mg
Gh: 240mg
Pair of German Blue Rams
10 Harlequin Rasboras
2 Zebra Loaches
Breeding pair of bristlenose catfish
30+ mini bristlenose catfish
After reading many people's rants & raves about the fish on the net, I knew that a pair of farmed rams could quite possibly adapt to the more nuetral Ph. But after digging deeper after buying the fish, I've realised that Kh is whats important, not just Ph alone. So I measured the Kh and got a very high reading, higher than the chart said was 'hard water'.
On this note, I tried to find a cost-effective way of turning the tank water soft, but also maintaining a constant softness. I came across several methods, including; using RO water / rain water, using an 'earthy' substrate, resin, Co2 injection, adding bogwood [I have a tonne of the stuff], and using the chemical filtration of peat to add acidity to the water.
I read more about adding peat to the filter as this seems like a brilliant idea, people's reviews on the net seem very positive with good outcomes with this method. Does anyone here have any recommendations while using this method?
The other fish in the tank would benefit from softer water too, so I really feel this is a necessary step. I don't like messing with Ph, especially as this is a mature tank - does anyone have any advice on adding peat to a Fluval canister?
Any replies much appreciated,
Paul
I have been looking around for a decent pair of German Blue Rams for a while, and today have bought a beautiful pair that seem to be doing extremely well in my current water stats;
40 gallon tank
Ammonia & Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0.5ppm
Ph: 7.5/8
Kh: 110mg
Gh: 240mg
Pair of German Blue Rams
10 Harlequin Rasboras
2 Zebra Loaches
Breeding pair of bristlenose catfish
30+ mini bristlenose catfish
After reading many people's rants & raves about the fish on the net, I knew that a pair of farmed rams could quite possibly adapt to the more nuetral Ph. But after digging deeper after buying the fish, I've realised that Kh is whats important, not just Ph alone. So I measured the Kh and got a very high reading, higher than the chart said was 'hard water'.
On this note, I tried to find a cost-effective way of turning the tank water soft, but also maintaining a constant softness. I came across several methods, including; using RO water / rain water, using an 'earthy' substrate, resin, Co2 injection, adding bogwood [I have a tonne of the stuff], and using the chemical filtration of peat to add acidity to the water.
I read more about adding peat to the filter as this seems like a brilliant idea, people's reviews on the net seem very positive with good outcomes with this method. Does anyone here have any recommendations while using this method?
The other fish in the tank would benefit from softer water too, so I really feel this is a necessary step. I don't like messing with Ph, especially as this is a mature tank - does anyone have any advice on adding peat to a Fluval canister?
Any replies much appreciated,
Paul