Lucy

I ask about the pH because if there's a big difference, you'll want to do more smaller changes than a couple of big ones.
Just in case, you might want to compare tap and tank.

Good luck with e-bay.

gazz2005uk

ok yeh il try that tomorrow when i do a w/c, fish keeping is harder than i thought

"oo i think you should get some fish, ive got a spare tank you can have" says the girlfriend
"yeh sure that sounds like a good idea, easy pet to take care of" i say.

yeh right! lol

im guessin i should use the test strips with the tap water?

gazz2005uk

also, what would a massive difference be? like a difference of 2 or 3? Or something silly like 0.5?

eiginh

.05 is ok as long as it slowly changes but a sudden drop like 1-3 would be a serious problem.

gazz2005uk

ok then, and if it is a big difference what should i do?

Lucy

Yeah, our first attempt ended up with a tank of dead guppies. It was horrible since it was a birthday present for my daughter.
Once the tank get cycled and stocked properly, it gets easier, believe me.

jdhef

If the ph difference between what's in the tank and what's coming out of your tap is large, then you want to do small water changes with several hours between them until it gets balanced out.

By doing small water changes (maybe 5% max in the beginning) the "average" ph will change slowly. As the ph gets closer to the ph comming out of the tap, you can start doing larger water changes, since the spread will not be as large and it will take more water to affect the "average".

gazz2005uk

ive checked the ph from the tap and its the same.

I bought an ammonia liquid kit, it came out at 0. Do you think the reason some of them died was because of ammonia in the tank previously?

aquarist48

Hello Gazz. I'm glad you got the liquid ammonia test. It is a possibility that the fish suffered from previous exposure to ammonia. Too, high nitrates and even high nitrites can cause problems down the road. Keep us posted.
Ken

gazz2005uk

ive put some ammonia remover in just incase, gotta leave it 2 hours to settle so il let you know after that.

Might be buying a 21gallon tank in the next couple of days

eiginh

That's great to hear, I hope things turn out well soon!