RivendellTS

I am bringing my new (to me) 55 gallon tank home tomorrow. I wanted to become familiar with the test kit so I just tested the water from right out of the tap. The pH is 8. There will be angelfish, silver dollars, neon tetras, mollies and platys in this tank (when all is said and done...not all at once and not right away. tank is coming with Angelfish and silver dollars.) Should I be purchasing some pH down? Is that stuff safe to use with fish in the tank? Will my results be different when testing tank water that fish have lived in?

thorpbrian

Generally the less chemicals you use the better. Most fish can adjust to ph's between 6 to 8 as long as the ph is consistent and doesn't fluctuate. Someone else can give you a suggestion on whether or not to use ph right 7. But a lot of people seem to just build a tank to accomodate the ph out of their tap. Water with a ph of 8 would work for an african cichlid tank. There are also natural ways you can buffer your ph down. driftwood and peat can naturally lower your ph. I use both of them in my 55 to lower the ph for my SA cichlids.

Shawnie

I agree with thorpbrian....although most fish will adapt to ph differences, that is kinda high...the driftwood and peat moss is a great idea and way more natural and gradual..the ph buffers are too fast and only temporary....cant wait to see the new tank!

RivendellTS

Where can I buy driftwood? Petco? Because I would LOVE to have driftwood in there.

Shawnie

You can find some there but its usually very expensive....but they have some good pieces..heres a few links to read on where some members just get it in their back yard or at the beach

Driftwood Notes
and heres a link on some do's and dont's if you go that route

http://www.petfish.net/kb/entry/194/

omnitheforsaken

I'm not sure if testing the pH straight out of the tap gives you an accurate measure of what your water's pH actually is. I think that for some reason you need to let the water sit for some time before you can actually determine the tap water's pH. If no one on here has any more insight into that I'm sure you can do a web search to find information pertaining to that. I do know that I read that on the web somewhere but it didn't concern me at the time so I didn't commit it to memory. Sorry.

Shawnie

I agree you get the true reading after letting it sit for 24 hours...but then its hard to have a temperature controlled that way...so if its 8 fresh out of the tap, and you use it asap, its 8 right? but letting it sit 24 hours gets it to 7.4, but its now colder and lower ph right? (examples not the way the OP's is)

aquarist48

Hello Rivendell.

Great suggestions and advice above. As for the chemical pH adjusters I don't recommend them at all. They are unstable and can even lead to a pH crash before you know it and could result in fish loss. Too, as mentioned it has to be added for the life of the tank. Here is a link concerning pH:
Properly Maintaining the pH in a Freshwater Aquarium - Rate My Fish Tank
It also suggests natural methods of lowering your pH. I think you'll find it very helpful.

You will have a much more accurate reading for your pH if you let the water set for 24 hours then test it. You'll have to test the pH level in the tank once you get it, or test the pH in the bag or bucket that the fish are in.
Here is a link concerning acclimation that may be helpful as well:
Acclimating Tropical Fish to Your Fish Tank

Depending on the # of Angels you have could result in aggression and territory issues. For a 55g tank I would recommend no more than 1 pair male/female. Too, as they begin to spawn the aggression could get worse.

Neons, I suggest they go into a well established tank. They can be very sensitive to change and acclimation is key here as well.

I'll be looking forward to some tank photos!
Have a good evening.
Ken

RivendellTS

I bought the tank off Craigslist and the fish the seller has now are included. Only one angelfish. I am moving the entire tank setup AND the fish tomorrow and I am a nervous wreck. I do have to get the fish back into the tank tomorrow right? So I don't have 24 hours for the water to sit.

aquarist48

Hello Rivendell. Getting them back into the tank the same day would probably be your best bet. Make sure to keep all of the filter media wet, and the gravel/substrate wet as well. Hopefully you can avoid losing the cycle by doing so. I would be prepared for a mini cycle and daily water changes for while just in case. Do you have a conditioner to detox ammonia and remove chlorine?
Ken

Edit: A link concerning the nitrogen cycle that is crucial to fish keeping:
http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm

thorpbrian

If you can I'd recommend getting a hold of a bottle of Tetra Safe Start if you get a mini-cycle. You'd be less likely to lose any fish IMO.

aquarist48

Good suggestion ThorpBrian. Hopefully he can find it in his area. If not it would have to be ordered so still prepare yourself for some water changes just in case.

RivendellTS

I looked for Tetra Safe Start in my local Petco and they had LOTS of Tetra brand products but no safe start. I did buy a product to detox ammonia. Chlorine shouldn't be an issue as we are on well water.

mommybaby295

as far as i can tell, petco, petsmart, and walmart don't carry tss. i get it at a LFS

Shawnie

thats normal unfortunately...they havent caught on yet how good it is! and allot of them are still going on the lines that it needs refrigeration like its former product bio spira...hopefully that changes soon!!!

as mommybaby suggested, check more of your local family owned stores...not so much the franchises...

what kind of detoxifier did you get? sometimes the petcos and walmarts suggest something that doesnt do what it says and they go on what the bottle says compared to whats really true ..just dont want you to have hope its doing the detoxifying and thats not happening

jdhef

RivendellTS, since your tank is comming with fish, it might be a good idea to find out what the ph in the tank is at sellers location. If nearby he may have the fish acclimated to a higher ph due to sharing a water supply.

If the ph will be vastly different you are going to need to very slowly acclimate the fish to the new water. Even though I'm not a fan of chemically altering ph, you may need to just to get your ph close to what the fish are used to. You could then try to slowly change your ph to levels easier to keep the tank at.

I live in NJ and there is a place near me called the Aquarium Center that carries Tetra SafeStart. It is in Blackwood just off RT 42. So depending on where in Delaware you live it might not be too far of a drive. I work just off exit 3 of 95 and it takes me about an hour to get home. Hopefully that gives you some kind of timeframe for how long it would take you to get there.

Alasse

A 55gal tank that you are going to put 1 fish into at the start? Angels are hardier than many give them credit for. And 1 fish is not likely to put much stress on a cycling tank, in fact i doubt it would even do much to kick start the cycle.

If you are worried though add as much wisteria as you can, it is an absolutely brilliant plant for helping keep water clean of many nasties.

I would not worry about your pH either. I have angels living and breeding in pH8 or higher

I would test the water from where their original tank though, and if it is vastly different, take more time to acclimatise the fish to your water.

Dont mess with chemicals to get your pH down, it causes more trouble than it solves in many cases

mommybaby295

I don't think it's just 1 fish - I think it's just one angel, and not many of them.