I need help

[DeadlyAlliance]

Hey Guys i need some help in determining the right water conditions for my fish. Ok let me start by saying that i cycled the tank for 2 weeks with no fish then added a pair of black mollies and a pair of swordtails and 2 ghost shrimp. 3 weeks after adding the fish i added more fish like yesterday. i added a female black mollie and a pair of guppys and 2 ghost shrimp. My water conditions have always been around the same as they are now.

Ph= 7.6
Nitrate=40
Nitrite=0
Ammonia=0

I have read articles and differnt charts sayimg that the ideal ph for a community aquarium is 7.0 and other say different so can someone tell me where it should be. Also im worried about my Nitrate is always around there and i dont know if thats where it should be. Next thing is i was wondering what kind of live plants should i get that are not so hard to maintain i only keep the light on for an average of 10 hours. Thax in advance for your help!!

 

[littleme1969]

The PH seems ok to me.. 7.6 is pretty good and not worth trying to mess with. If you want to bring it down a little more try Mopani/bogwood, this will help over a long period so not cause any damage to you fish. Also a Co2 system will also bring down PH and will also benefit any plants that you put in..so its win win on that score. You Don't have to spend a fortune either, there are some good and easy to use systems out there that just need sugar plus the yeast and activater supplied in the pack. They last about 3 months and are cleaned out monthly.

Plants........ Java spears /fern / moss are pretty indistructable but slow growing. They don't need a lot of light or looking after. With plants always go for what suites your water conditions..i.e. hardness and PH. Most places who sell on line such as e.bay give a good description of what conditions best suit what plant so its not too hard. I always find best not to go too mad ...just buy a few to start off with...and the ones that do well...buy more of..lol that way you won't be throwing good money after bad

Nitrate... thats not too bad at 40... plants will help bring that down a little once they get established. The only way realy to treat nitrate is water changes. 20 - 30% once a week.. and twice if your getting higher readings. Some do more...some do less depends on size of tank and personal preferance. When adding new fish to a newly set up tank I always do twice weekly changes..that way things never get a chance to get out of hand.

Good luck with your new setup..and post some picks when you get sorted

 

[jams.alaskan]

You've got a really good reply already! You ph should be just fine for most fish - some prefer dif ph levels for breeding etc. but for the most part, your right in the range. My ph is 8 except for the planted tank with DIY co2 - that tank is around 7.6 or 7.4. As this is a fairly new set up, live plants that are growing should help to keep the nitrates down and weekly 25% water changes will not go amiss...

ALASKA

 

[yhbae]

Yup 7.6 is good for your fishes...

As for plants, you have a good suggestions already. How much light do you have? If they came with the tank, most likely you have less than 1w/g, so you should look into java moss and java fern first - they thrive even under this condition and requires minimal care...