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46 gal tank has been cycling since 11/6/12

2K views 13 replies 4 participants last post by  Byron 
#1 ·
I've been testing my water using the API Master kit. My Ph is still a bit high at 7.4 so i'm still doing 40-50% water changes once per week, everything else is within the normal ranges. I have added plants (been adding the plant food 2x's per week) and some driftwood (that i let sit in water for 24hrs).

My question is when i finally get my ph down to 7.2 (or close) do i then do a 50% water change right before i add the fish? The 1st few fish i add will come from already established tanks i have, i remember reading to add a few at a time. I'm in no hurry the tank will be done cycling when its done.

My water is a light green color i'm sure due to the addition of the plants.

As of right now i don't know what kind i will be getting. I have 2 huge dwarf Gourami's, a Pleco and a trio of clown laoches that need to be moved to this bigger tank from my other tank.

Thanks for all the great help.
 
#2 ·
I'd like to understand what you're doing a bit better before suggesting something.

A change in pH from 7.4 down to 7.2 is all but insignificant so I wouldn't fuss with this. But, what is the pH of your tap water, for comparison? I'd like toknow if it is moving up or down in the tank. Remember when testing tap water pH to briskly shake a small jar of tap water for several minutes to out-gas the CO2, then test.

Can you explain what "everything else is within normal ranges" means? Ammonia, nnitrite, nitrate presumably, but what are the numbers?

And you have this tank fairly well planted, by the sound of it. Water shouldn't be green though...is it actually a green cloudiness?

Byron.
 
#4 ·
Remember when testing tap water pH to briskly shake a small jar of tap water for several minutes to out-gas the CO2, then test.
Without going and looking it up (lazy), what difference does the CO2 make for this test? I'd never read this anywhere else yet.

Jeff.
 
#3 ·
personally with my tank, i started out with starter fish . Platys, zebra danios, bloodfin tetras, black widow tetras. They cycled my tank i added plants that i always washed off before i put them in. My tank is loaded with plants that absorb the nitrates and fish waste etc. I think i use my test kit once every month in a half. I always filter my faucet water than add water dechlorinator per top off every week. water changes every 2 1/2 weeks 45% . i recommend using less plant fertilizer since your fish make alot of the fertilizer for your plants. maybe thats contributing to the PH. What type of filter do u have? i use a couple of drops of accuclear every 2 months.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Thanks for the responses all,
I'm so busy for the next few days but I will come back with my readings.

Oh and no the water is not cloudy just a light green color. I did add a lot of plants in 2 days time. Also my heater is turned to 0 and the tank digital thermometer is reading 86* I call feel the heat coming off the tank when I walk by it.

Now this tank plus heater was given to me and I have no idea how old the heater is, so I'm going to the pet store in the next few days to replace it with new one. I have unplugged the heater as of today.
 
#8 ·
Ok I have the readings from the API test kit.

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
Ph 7.4

Thanks for your help
Is this pH the tank water, tap water, or both? Test both (remember my earlier advice on testing tap water) for an indication of the shift.
 
#10 ·
Oooppppss sorry Byron i forgot. I will bew back with that. Those were from the tank.

Ok the tap water Ph is: 7.6
Fine, there's no issue here. Your pH in the tank should remain close to the tap. So back to your earlier comment about working to lower it to 7.2 and it not remaining, have a read of this article:
http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/freshwater-articles/water-hardness-ph-freshwater-aquarium-73276/

If you have some reason it should be lower, we can discuss. But at the moment, things are looking fine.

Byron.
 
#12 ·
Thanks,

I just brought a new heater for this tank. Plus the greenish color is clearing up.
Do I need to do a water change before I add any fish to this new cycled tank?
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No. From your earlier data, you have live plants, and your nitrification numbers are zero. So add a few fish. What fish are you intending for this tank? Some are better than others to start with.

Byron.
 
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#13 ·
I'm still unsure about what kind of fish I want to put into this tank. Right now I have some huge dwarf groumi's, clown loaches and a huge Pleco that need to be put into this bigger tank. I may also add some of the bigger baby platy's that are in my 5 gal nursery tank.

After that........

Thanks for all your help.
 
#14 ·
I'm still unsure about what kind of fish I want to put into this tank. Right now I have some huge dwarf groumi's, clown loaches and a huge Pleco that need to be put into this bigger tank. I may also add some of the bigger baby platy's that are in my 5 gal nursery tank.

After that........

Thanks for all your help.
Of these fish, I would move the gourami first, then the pleco, then the clowns. And a fewq days apart, meaning all gourami at one time, then after a few days, the pleco, then after a few days all the clowns. Assuming you can keep them where they are like this.
 
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