20 gallon tank ideas....

bigk_54

Reaching out to you cichlid professionals.....

I aquired a 20 gallon tank for free, is there any cichlids that I can put in a 20 gallon tank?!

kamazza

dwarf cichlids are great. id go with Kribensis or blue rams, rams have great colors

bigk_54

ok kamazza I'll look into them! Thanks! Are there other fish that could go in a tank with them?! Is it true though that Rams require SOFT! water?

MRQuad

what do you mean by soft water? just asking..

kritas

Soft water refers to water under the P.H. level of 7.0 (also referred to as acidic water). Waters above 7.0 are obviously referred to as hard water(more commonly known as alkaline waters).
yes bigk 54, rams require acidic waters,

bigk_54

Do you think they would adapt? I can't seem to get my ph below about 7.8, BUT in my comm tank I also have colored gravel which I hear could be some of my problem.

Chrisseh

Drift wood should bring the pH down.

kritas

Yes there is something in your tank that isn't letting you PH drop... I know limestone causes your PH to go up, but that isn't the only cause, and theres not much of a chance that theres limestone decor in your tank... I've heard that driftwood can lower your PH, but don't quote me on that...
Is there anything in the tank yet? If not, remove the gravel and any decor, try lowering the PH, then one by one, put the decorations in one by one, one a day, and test your ph every day... this will tell you whats causing it....

Can't think of anything else to help you out... This method is definitely not an easier one, but I havent kept fish for long enough to know any better remedies for high PH levels...

Cichlids cannot adapt to different PH levels, at least none that I know of, definitely not blue rams.

okiemavis

Actually, soft water refers to the dissolved content, which is measured in gh, kh and some other things, like TDS (total dissolved solids). Alkalinity and hardness often go hand in hand, but not always. For instance, my tap water is *extremely* soft and my ph is almost 9!

The rams can probably be adapted to a highish ph, but you would see nicer colors and breeding behavior in more acidic water. What have you tried to reduce your ph? Neutral Regulator by Seachem is a good product. You can also buy RO water at your LFS and mix it with your tap water.

As for fish, why not keep a pair of Apistos? Rams are fun, but pretty run of the mill. There are a lot of really incredible dwarf cichlids such as the many different color morphs of a. cacatoides.

bigk_54

YES I am refering to my Gh and Kh, haven't tested it in long time (used to do it with test strip) but it was always hard! And I just tested my tap water pH and it is 7.5ish right out of the tap and usually is about 8ish in my tank. I did see a place last night that had some pics of those Apistos (or something similar looking) they are a nice looking fish! If I were to go with somethings on the line of most of these dwarfs could I get by with having 3 of them? What kind of "hiding spots" do I need to have for them, I see some peoples cichlid tanks look like a darn river bottom with wood, slate and rocks