I have lost a lot of fish in the last two weeks (about 25), and I think it is because I didn't cycle my tank properly. I would really like to have another go and was wondering what I should do to give myself the best possible chance of having a healthy tank. After Attempt # 1, I am left with:
- A 5 gallon glass tank
- 3cm of gravel at the bottom, with added crushed shells for hardness
- A live plant (anubias)
- 2 tank decorations (a bridge and a barrel as hiding spaces)
- A heater
- A combined filter/aerator
Also I'm concerned that my water is reading extremely alkaline (close to 8.0) and my water is very soft, hence the crushed shells. Can anyone suggest what I can do to combat the high pH? I have some pH-down chemicals but I have read that they shouldn't be used. I have also read that having the aerator on can increase pH. Is this true? During attempt # 1 my aerator was on 24/7 with the filter. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Ph downers are only used during emergencies, not as a daily use. If you want, to keep soft water fish, then you must recreate an environment for those fish. There are many fish that live in hard water environments, but they are mainly african cichlids, and they grow to large. Get rid of the crushed shells, and get play sand or river sand. They will have trace amounts of shells to stabilize the ph without making it alkalic. You can use black water extract or indian almond leaves to soften the water and release benefitial tannins into the water. But the water will become a golden yellow though.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com This is how I cycled my 7 gallon breeding tanks. I used 1.5 inches of thoroughly washed play sand. I then added lots of plants such as java moss and pennywort for a carpet at the bottom, and water wistera, temple plants and mini amazon sword plants. I then filled the tank with water that had been treated with indian almond leaves and anti-chlorines for a week. I also added a few malaysian trumpet snails to provide CO2, ammonia and to aerate the sand. I set the heater to 25 degrees and only turned on the filter at night so that there would be CO2 for the plants during the day. I also got strong lighting for the plants. The tank cycled in 3 weeks.
