Advice On Ph Levels And Stocking Level

[elsamarie]

Hi,
My husband had a small tank with neon tetra, gourami, and a kuhli loach. Unfortunately, we kept losing fish then discovered our little boy had been secretly feeding them . We got a massive algae problem which just kept coming back and ended up with just one tetra and the kuhli loach .
We decided we wanted to go for a bigger tank and now have a fluval roma 125 litre (26 imperial gallon?). It has been set up 4 days. We have transferred the remaining one neon tetra and kuhli loach. It has dorset gravel substrate and silk plants.
I tested the water today with the API test kit and nitrite / ammonia were 0, nitrate was 2.5 and pH 7.6. (We had added nutrafin cycle). I also tested our tap water which was also pH 7.6.

I am hoping to add around 5 black phantom tetra, 5 lemon tetra, a pair of dwarf gourami and possibly 5 panda corydora.

Question 1: from what I have read, the tetra I am looking at prefer pH 6.0-7.0, the gourami 6.5-7.0 and the corydora 6.5-7.5.
Is pH 7.6 too alkaline for them??? From what I have read, there seems to be a consensus that adding a 'pH down' product would possibly be more harmful as the fish would struggle more in a varying pH. Can anyone advise me further??

Question 2: I chose the fish I wanted by size, compatability and also obviously a degree of personal taste. Is this a reasonable number for this size tank?

I look forward to your responses.

Elsa

 

[fluttermoth]

A pH of 7.6 is fine for most tropical fish (apart from a few delicate things like rams, or wild caught fish).

Your stocking is fine; you should be able to up the numbers in your shoals to 8 or 10 if you want to (the fish would be happier). You should really get some buddies for the neon and the kuhli as well.

I personally would never, ever keep any species of Corydoras on gravel (actually the kuhli should have sand too); part of their natural behaviour is digging in sand, and they should really have a sand substrate so they can express that

 

[elsamarie]

I personally would never, ever keep any species of Corydoras on gravel (actually the kuhli should have sand too); part of their natural behaviour is digging in sand, and they should really have a sand substrate so they can express that

Hi and thanks Fluttermoth. Yes, the kuhli loach had half gravel / half sand substrate in the old tank. We did not want to put any substrate from the old tank into the new incase we transferred the algae problem. We realised we had forgotten the sand once we had put kuhli into the new tank and noticed it was resting on the ledges of a log . We ordered some coral sand online on Sunday so are just waiting for it to arrive, then we plan to put a sand area into one end of the tank.

Thanks again

 

[fluttermoth]

Ah, that's great then; I have half sand/half gravel in most of my tanks; it does help hold the plants in, and looks more natural to me (plus I couldn't be bothered getting all the gravel out when I switched ).

 

[Rynofasho]

Correct me if I'm wrong but won't crushed coral sand raise the tank ph considerably?

 

[elsamarie]

A pH of 7.6 is fine for most tropical fish (apart from a few delicate things like rams, or wild caught fish).

I did another water test today ... this time i thought i ought to check against the high range pH ... pH is actually 8.2 Is this still ok for tetras, gourami and corydoras??
Nitrite was 0.25, nitrate 30 and ammonia 0.25ppm.

Rynofasho said that coral sand may raise the pH further If this is the case, what sandy substrate should I use for my kuhli loach and corydora?? The coral sand i ordered hasn't arrived yet so I wont put it in if it will cause problems

 

[ZoddyZod]

If this is the case, what sandy substrate should I use for my kuhli loach and corydora??

play sand! If you are in the UK you can get this from Argos or Homebase (amongst others) and it's very cheap.

You will need to wash it A LOT first though, as it can contain a lot of dust.

 

[coldcazzie]

I second play sand: £2.99 for 15kg from Argos

Builders sand (fine, not course) works too.

With those readings: ammonia and nitrite slightly elevated, you need to do a water change, around 60%-70% should be ok. Temperature match with your hand and use dechlor, and then test the levels again this evening

Your pH as it was originally is fine. Tank bred fish are a lot more tolerant of pH differences. The second reading is a little worrying though, what ornaments do you have in your tank? Maybe you could post a picture up? It's possible a piece of decor is acting to raise your pH...

 

[elsamarie]

Your pH as it was originally is fine. Tank bred fish are a lot more tolerant of pH differences. The second reading is a little worrying though, what ornaments do you have in your tank? Maybe you could post a picture up? It's possible a piece of decor is acting to raise your pH...

I think my pH should of been 8.2 on my original tests - I only used the standard pH scale / test and they were they highest reading available of 7.6 .... then i read that the colour will only ever be within those limits, and if it is a high reading to use the high range pH test ... which then read 8.2. I again tested our tap water and that is 8.2. The only ornaments I have in are silk plants and a resin log.

 

[Miles_hot]

We also have a pH of 8.0 and decided to focus on fish which naturally like this sort of water - have a look at the list of fish which we worked through to end up where we are now going to have quite a boisterous tank or Tiger Barbs, Loaches and Kribs.
The shop did reassure us that their fish would be able to cope with our water however it did seem that their life span would be longer in soft water...
Miles

 

[Dieses Madchen]

You can add a mild water softener to the filter (you can find it at your LFS) and that will lower the pH some. Softer water has a lower pH.

 

[ZoddyZod]

You can add a mild water softener to the filter (you can find it at your LFS) and that will lower the pH some. Softer water has a lower pH.

I would not advocate using such products. The results are usually temporary and unstable at best.

 

[Dieses Madchen]

You can add a mild water softener to the filter (you can find it at your LFS) and that will lower the pH some. Softer water has a lower pH.

I would not advocate using such products. The results are usually temporary and unstable at best.

Thank you for that information. I have never personally had to use them as the pH in my tap water is around 7.4, which is good for my swordtails and platys. I have only seen them at the stores. I didn't know that the results could be unstable.

 

[elsamarie]

We also have a pH of 8.0 and decided to focus on fish which naturally like this sort of water - have a look at the list of fish which we worked through to end up where we are now going to have quite a boisterous tank or Tiger Barbs, Loaches and Kribs.
Miles

Thanks for the link ... i have had a good look and I am still a bit confused ... the tiger barbs are really pretty but it says pH 6.5 - 7, same with the kribs??
I really had my heart set on some Corydoras and the dwarf chain loaches have a similar look about them but again they have a lower pH.

I too really like gourami, but from what I read the tiger barbs would nip at them?

What is the main difference between the 5 banded barb and tiger barb other than tigers being more vicious?? Would either suit pH 8.2?

Can anyone suggest a good pretty mix of fish for a 125 litre tank with pH 8.2???

My husband suggested buying bottled water to fill the tank but I guess that would get expensive!

Thanks all for the info on the sand!

 

[Whitey_144]

We also have a pH of 8.0 and decided to focus on fish which naturally like this sort of water - have a look at the list of fish which we worked through to end up where we are now going to have quite a boisterous tank or Tiger Barbs, Loaches and Kribs.
Miles

Thanks for the link ... i have had a good look and I am still a bit confused ... the tiger barbs are really pretty but it says pH 6.5 - 7, same with the kribs??
I really had my heart set on some Corydoras and the dwarf chain loaches have a similar look about them but again they have a lower pH.

I too really like gourami, but from what I read the tiger barbs would nip at them?

What is the main difference between the 5 banded barb and tiger barb other than tigers being more vicious?? Would either suit pH 8.2?

Can anyone suggest a good pretty mix of fish for a 125 litre tank with pH 8.2???

My husband suggested buying bottled water to fill the tank but I guess that would get expensive!

Thanks all for the info on the sand!

Hi,

PH: my tap PH is the same as yours and the water is hard (lots of total dissolved solids - TDS). But i have kept the same community fish including bolivian rams, harlequin rasboras, plecos and they were fine, but now i have learnt more i assume it's not the ideal conditions, i would say african rift lake cichlids love high PH, but not good to mix and as you already have a few fish i'd try and find other community fish. I believe Mollies like a high PH? and perhaps Guppies? these are quite friendly fish.

Rather than buying bottled water, you could get an Reverse Osmosis unit (basically filters the water for solids to lower the TDS), i did this, cost about £100, but in the long run means i can mix with tap water and get the PH i want.

also, i wanted to say as you are starting again i would stock slowly and keep groups of fish that like to shoal, e.g. if you get more neons build their numbers up, then start on another specie rather than putting all fish in at once (means good bacteria has time to grow to new conditions of more dirt).

if you want dark sand, i just bought black limpopo sand, its £30 i think for 25Kg from greenmachine.com

hope this helps,
adam