New 110 Litre (Uk) Tank..

[The Taffy Apple]

Good day to you all, hope this message finds you all well..

I have recently (4 days ago) set-up my new (second hand) 110 UK litre tropical fish tank (Fluval 305 filter, sand substrate, very lightly planted, 50cm long bogwood-soaked and cleaned, heater set at 28 degress) and i'm hoping to start my fishless cycle once this water clears (it was VERY cloudy for 2 days after initial set-up, but has dramatically cleared since then).

Anyway, my problem is (as was with my 30L corner tank), my PH. I understand the bog-wood can lower the PH of my tank water and i am looking at adding some crushed coral into my filter unit to possibly raise it during my cycle. I learnt during the fishless cycle of my 30L that the beneficial bacteria do not like low PH (my PH would crash from 7.2 down to 6.0 overnight, once a week)...do you think crushed coral would be the correct avenue to take? Or is there some sort of other way?

As always, any help highly appreciated.
Terry.

 

[Embrace]

To be honest, if it goes to the point of stopping the cycle then I cant help you. But if you are worried about fish, a stable PH is better than a fluctuating one.

 

[The Taffy Apple]

To be honest, if it goes to the point of stopping the cycle then I cant help you. But if you are worried about fish, a stable PH is better than a fluctuating one.

Thank you for you speedy reply, it did (on a number of occasions) 'stall' the cycle of my 30L tank, i don't want the same happening to my 110L. I understand the reasoning behind a stable PH for my fish, it's simply the beneficial bacteria i have to worry about at the minute though.

Appreciated,
Terry.

 

[Tizer]

I wouldnt worry too much about the PH at the moment. The bogwood can lower the PH but it takes a while to do. If it hasnt been presoaked then you will get tannins release into the water that will discolour it slightly, giving it a bit of a natural look.

Some people put bogwood into boiling water and give it a good scrub before putting it into their tank to kill off any bacteria/fungus etc. Boiling wood makes it soft and again, tannins will release a little quicker, a fact that some people overlook.

One thing i would say is, dont fiddle with the PH value, dont use products that raise or lower it, its not a permanent thing and requires constant testing and "topping up". Find out what the PH is of your tap water and that is realisticly what your tank should be.

If you are worried, just do a water change. You can still do water changes on a fishless cycle

I swear half the bottled products you see on shelves in fish shops are completely unnecessary.

 

[KittyKat]

Crushed coral would work, in the top basket of the filter (which you can then replace with more bio media) or just in a stocking near the outlet/inlet may work too..

The other option is to take out the bogwood until the tank is cycled.. the wood will absorb ammonia which it will take some time to release later on.

Just out of curiosity, did you ever take pH and hardness readings for your tap water at drawing from tap and after sitting for 24 hours?

I swear half the bottled products you see on shelves in fish shops are completely unnecessary.

*Sigh*, someone after my own heart...

 

[The Taffy Apple]

Crushed coral would work, in the top basket of the filter (which you can then replace with more bio media) or just in a stocking near the outlet/inlet may work too..

The other option is to take out the bogwood until the tank is cycled.. the wood will absorb ammonia which it will take some time to release later on.

Just out of curiosity, did you ever take pH and hardness readings for your tap water at drawing from tap and after sitting for 24 hours?

Indeed i did Kitty Kat..it fell from 7.0 out of the tap, down to 6.6 overnight. The one issue that i have with removing the bogwood is that i spent hourse tying, planting, arranging, re-arranging my plants in and around the bogwood...i will remove it if needs be, but i'd rather not.

Tery.

 

[waterdrop]

If you look up member drobbyb he should have a link to an article he and I wrote about using a little crushed coral in your filter. WD

 

[KittyKat]

Just out of curiosity, did you ever take pH and hardness readings for your tap water at drawing from tap and after sitting for 24 hours?

Indeed i did Kitty Kat..it fell from 7.0 out of the tap, down to 6.6 overnight. The one issue that i have with removing the bogwood is that i spent hourse tying, planting, arranging, re-arranging my plants in and around the bogwood...i will remove it if needs be, but i'd rather not.

What about the general and carbonate hardness? If both of those are low, that would explain the pH drop once the buffering capabilities are used up..

Another thought (today is not a good day for saying everything in one go), why don't you just you bicarb of soda for cycling, then when you do the 100% water change before adding fish just letting the water settle out at whatever it wants to?

 

[SLIM]

Thats what i did

I had the same problem.

I took out the bogwood and simply added Bicarb of soda (about 2 teaspoons per 50 ltr) and it worked a treat!
Desolve it in a pint of tank water then just add it.
Ideally during the cycling process u want your PH around 8.2.

Then like Kittycat said, when your done cycling you do a 100% water change and put your bogwood back in!

 

[The Taffy Apple]

Thank you for your replies, highly appreciated.

I used the adding of Bicarb of Soda method during the cycling of my 30L tank, which worked a treat, until that was all the B/Soda built up in my filter and released itself all in one go about 3/4 weeks ago...ammonia went through the roof and i lost one of my Cardinal Tetra.

I am currently searching the net for a decent stockist of crushed coral, Ebay has some, but i certainly do not need 20kg of the stuff !

Regards,
Terry.

 

[SLIM]

You shouldnt get a build up in your filter if you make sure its completely disolved before adding it and just make sure you dont put too much in. For a tank your size, your talkin 3 or 4 small teaspoons.

You should only need to add it once too

However if you think crushed coral is the way forward then go with that

Good luck, keep us all posted

 

[The Taffy Apple]

Thank you Paul... i used to add half a small teaspoon to my 30L each time i did a big water change, always making sure i dissolved it fully in the bucket under the tap, seems i didn't dissolve it enough!

I am having trouble finding decent crushed coral online, my LFS doesn't stock any, so it might be back to the Bicarb of Soda method...we'll see..

Appreciated, Terry.


PS- how did you get your filter inlet/outlet through the bottom of your tank? Mine both go up the back and in through the top...!?!?!

 

[Tizer]

PS- how did you get your filter inlet/outlet through the bottom of your tank? Mine both go up the back and in through the top...!?!?!

A well drilled and sealed hole :>

 

[SLIM]

I have the Fluval Vicenza 260 aquarium which comes with the holes in the bottom.
I believe the Fluval Roma's come like this too

The pipes bolt in and have 2 O rings to seal them

 

[The Taffy Apple]

I have the Fluval Vicenza 260 aquarium which comes with the holes in the bottom.
I believe the Fluval Roma's come like this too

The pipes bolt in and have 2 O rings to seal them

aaah, ok. Looks lovely going in through the bottom of the tank.