Low Tech Stocking And Ph?

[FTM22]

I am currently in the process of cycling a 40 gallon tank that I plan to make a low tech planted community tank. This will be my first planted tank so I will probably have a lot of questions about it in the future but just a few for now.
 
My proposed stocking is as follows:
10 neon tetras
8 harlequin rasboras
6 kuhli loaches
2 German blue rams
1 snowball pleco (L201)
 
I also want to add something for algae control (snowball plecos are primarily carnivorous). My options are red cherry shrimp, any of a number of snail types, a few otos, or a bulldog pleco. I can't decide which to get, but I want something that won't harm my plants. Keep in mind that I will have Amazon swords. I want my cleanup crew to have as low of a bioload as possible and any suggestions or help here is very welcome!
 
Also, my water has a high pH of about 8.2, which will hopefully go down as my tank matures, but I'm still worried about keeping these fish in it. Will they be able to survive? If not, what is the best way to lower my pH? I was considering using peat moss if necessary.
 
My plant stocking will be:
Java ferns (already in the tank)
Java moss
Amazon swords
Water sprites
Anubias
 
Any other ideas of easy to care for plants are welcome!
 
Thanks for the help in advance!
 

 

[daizeUK]

Also, my water has a high pH of about 8.2, which will hopefully go down as my tank matures, but I'm still worried about keeping these fish in it. Will they be able to survive? If not, what is the best way to lower my pH? I was considering using peat moss if necessary.

 
How hard/soft is your water?  High pH can sometimes be a sign that you have hard water, but not always.
I wouldn't keep the rams or kuhlis at pH 8.2 or in very hard water.
 
What is the natural pH of your tap water?  (leave to stand for 24 hours, then test)
If your natural tap pH is also 8.2 then I would not try to change it - just choose fishes that work with the water you've got.

 

[DerpPH]

for plants I can suggest some sagittaria subulata, dwarf chain sword or stauro repens for foreground or mid ground and some Cryptocoryne Albida for some background plants

 

[FTM22]

Ok thanks for the plant advice I'll look for those at my LFS! I think I have hard water and I'll test the tap pH as soon as I'm back from vacation. However, I just remembered that my Mom has this fancy water filter because she's oddly picky about the water she drinks. I know the filter makes the water very soft and it probably lowers the pH too, so even though it runs slowly, I'm plenty willing to use it. It's broken right now, but she says it's easy to fix and she will pick up what it needs as soon as possible!

 

[snazy]

As daize says the PH is not always an indicator of how hard your water is. Test the Kh and Gh and possibly the TDS if you can get a TDS meter(total dissolved solids) of the water. My TDS meter cost 20 quid. Or get the LFS to test it for you.
Peat moss may work to lower the Ph some but you will have to test if it has any effect on Gh and TDS which are the important ones for softer water fish.

I keep kuhli loaches in a Ph of 7.4, Kh 8 and Gh 12 and they are perfectly healthy and active.

As for keeping plants successfully without spending money and time on a CO2 artificially fertilized tank, I won't stop recommending this method:

http/www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/library/52554-how-mineralized-soil-substrate-aaron-talbot.html

With the right amount of light and proper flow you can grow almost anything.

 

[daizeUK]

You might need to check if you can use water that has been through a water softener.  I'm not sure but I think it might be unsuitable for aquariums.  Check with someone who can tell you for sure though.

 

[FTM22]

It turns out I can use the distilled water, but not exclusively because it lacks all minerals and buffers, so a mix of tap and distilled water would work. Would my LFS carry hardness testers? Also, does anybody have advice for which algae eater assuming I straighten out the hardness/pH issues?

 

[snazy]

For that I'd suggest a TDS meter(total dissolved solids).
The water you add to the tank after mixing the two sources has got to have the desired TDS reading in order not to shock the fish accidentally and also monitor that the Ph stays stable inside the tank after such a mixture.

Best algae eaters are ottocinclus in my opinion but I'd wait 6 months for the tank to establish first as they are sensitive to new tanks. They'd prefer to have buddies but they are small fish. No type of fish will eat any type of algae but ottos are great with tank glass and keeping the plants clean from most common algae and organic film that can prevent them from "breathing" properly.

You can add cherry shrimp too, they won't affect the bioload much. They are best at cleaning the substrate in my opinion rather than being algae eaters. They'll go for any food added to the tank first. The don't like the water too soft though.

 

[FTM22]

What would a good TDS reading be? I just found a nice little device on amazon that tests temperature, TDS, and pH all at once, so I'll probably order that.
 
If otos are the best cleaners I'll get them, plus I think they're cute little guys! How many should be kept together, would 3 be alright?

 

[rms]

Are you planning to buy your current stock list from your LFS? If so and they are very close, they might have the same parameters as you and these fish may have already acclimatised. Possibly have been bread in them and therefor very suitable.
 
It relies on the honesty and location of your LFS in the end...

 

[daizeUK]

Are you planning to buy your current stock list from your LFS? If so and they are very close, they might have the same parameters as you and these fish may have already acclimatised. Possibly have been bread in them and therefor very suitable.

 
Some LFS in hard water areas sell soft-water fish.  Mine does, we have pH 8.2 and 300mg/L CaCO3 hard water here.  Our LFS keeps a rack of tanks on RO water so that they can sell soft water fish, but you wouldn't realise they're doing it unless you ask them, like I did.

 

[rms]

 

Are you planning to buy your current stock list from your LFS? If so and they are very close, they might have the same parameters as you and these fish may have already acclimatised. Possibly have been bread in them and therefor very suitable.

 
Some LFS in hard water areas sell soft-water fish.  Mine does, we have pH 8.2 and 300mg/L CaCO3 hard water here.  Our LFS keeps a rack of tanks on RO water so that they can sell soft water fish, but you wouldn't realise they're doing it unless you ask them, like I did.
 

 
Yep, that's a valid point, but wasn't suggesting just to go ahead and buy. Hence relying on the honesty of the LFS

 

[FTM22]

My LFS is about 25 minutes away and carries soft water fish so I'll ask them what they're water parameters are and hope they are similar!
Also, I'm buying all of the fish at the close one in Waukesha, except for the snowball pleco. I'll have to go to
Milwaukee to find him/her.