Am I Ready To Add Fish Yet ?

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Faythee

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I went to 3 stores yesterday looking for Cichlid buffer and salt and couldn't find it so I will need to order it. I added some crushed coral substrate and rocks as well as a filter with some coral in it.

Today my yest results are a tad higher. PH is 7.8 and hardness is 10 (179)

Will these numbers continue to climb from the coral or is that about all the affect it will have ?

I'm wanting to start off with a Calvus and Yellow Lab.

Oh........should I also add some regular aquarium salt ?
 
You don't need salt , really. The coral should raise the pH a little more. If you wanted, you could add them now. But if you are still looking the raise the pH, add them after you add the buffer.
 
Thanks. I will not use a buffer if not needed. Maybe I will wait another day. Just worried about my beneficial bacteria dying off especially since I gave the tank a good cleaning.
 
IMO 7.8 is perfectly fine for what you are adding and with the crushed coral your KH should stay steady. Personally, I wouldn't add any buffers unless you start seeing fluctuations. :good:
 
Okay....so on my way home from work I picked up 2 small yellow Labs. When I got home the PH tested 8.0 so I turned off the filter with crushed coral in it as I didn't want it to raise much more.

When I added them it was fun watching them explore the tank, but they still haven't stopped. Are they just crazy really active fish ? Think he may have given me a M/F. One has a definite black line across his top fin and the other one is lighter. They are always together....can't say it is aggressive in any way. They take turns being the chaser. Maybe I should have picked up 3 ?
 
The only way to accurately sex yellow labs is to observe the spawning or vent them. It will take them a bit to get used to their new tank and that is likely one of the reasons they are so active, they also prefer to be in groups of 5 or more (m/f ratio doesn't matter with them) so I'm sure they'd love some friends.

Are you using the filter that you turned off as part of your regular filtration or just for circulation? If it's used for regular filtration you'll want to turn it back on as the beneficial bacteria need the oxygen provided by the water flow to survive. If your PH is getting too high you can just reduce the amount of coral you have in the filter until it remains steady where you want it. :good:
 
I have 2 filters on the tank. The one I shut off has only the coral bag in it. I use Aquaclear filters. The established one running is up to 70. My tank is 56 US gallon, but a deep tank, not long. So with that I am looking at it like it is actually 40 gal. as far as stocking.

I am thinking max fish would be 5 of ones that max at 5" and a lesser temperament. Plus, maybe a small pair of Tangs.

Fed the Labs some frozen brine and it eased things up. They spent time searching for leftovers. I see the more colorful one found his home in a small crevice :)

I'll keep on top of the water. The store I bought them used ph of 7.4-7.6 which seems low to me. They are looking good !
 

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