10 gallon tank

[Loulou betta]

Hello, I have a 10 gallon planted tank that is cycled. I am now looking to stock it and was looking for some advice. I'm deciding between 2 options:
#1 about 8-10 chilI rasboras and a few crystal red shrimp
#2 about 5 guppies and a rabbit snail
What I need help with is that my tap water has low GH(around 25) and KH (under 40) and a neutral pH (around 6.8) . I'm using the test strips so it is not very precise, but I plan to buy the liquid test kit tonight. I put some clam shells in the filter to try and raise the KH to have a better buffer and that has raised the GH to 75, and the KH to closer to 80. The pH is maybe a little higher, but in between 6.8-7.2 My question is whether you think it is more important to raise the KH with clams/cuttle bone to create a buffer; this will in turn change the pH, and might cause fluctuations during water changes? (This scenario, I would stock with guppies and snail) Or, is it better to just leave the water as is from the tap, not add the shells and stock with the chilis and shrimp which apparently do better with softer,more acidic water (decreasing fluctuations, but also having less of a kH buffer?

 

[Lucifer93]

Do you mean that your gH is 2.5 and kH is 4.0, because a 25 gH and 40kH are pretty high. However, I would rather do option 1 with the chilI rasboras and shrimp, especially since chilI rasboras look amazing in a planted tank.

 

[Loulou betta]

Do you mean that your gH is 2.5 and kH is 4.0, because a 25 gH and 40kH are pretty high. However, I would rather do option 1 with the chilI rasboras and shrimp, especially since chilI rasboras look amazing in a planted tank.

Hmmm... I'm not sure, the test strips for GH show 5 colours (0, 25,75, 150, 300)? Then the KH shows 0, 40,80, 120, 180,300). They show GH as 0 and 25=very soft, 75=soft, 150=hard and 300= very hard. They show the KH as 0,40 =low, 80 =moderate, 120,180=ideal and 300=high. Maybe a different system?

 

[Guy25]

This is just my opinion from my past experience. I would recommend using the water that comes from the tap unless you're planning to setup a Walstad Method tank that will require very few water changes for precisely the reason you stated, water parameter fluctuations. Fish and plants will do much better in the long run if water parameters aren't changing with each water change.

 

[Loulou betta]

Ok, I just figured out what my numbers mean. Mine are in parts per million. I just used the liquid test kit for GH and KH (the store was out of liquid pH so I just used the test strips for that). My tap water is GH 1.12 and KH 1.12. My tank water with clam shells and cuttle bone is GH 5.6 and KH 2.24 . I'm going to wait a few days to see if it changes as the shells have only been in there for 24 hours. Then I'll do a water change and see how much the numbers fluctuate. Would it be a good idea to keep some shells in to raise the KH even if I get the chilI rasboras?

Oh, I think I may have found my answer, and it looks like chilI rasboras are the ideal fish for my water parameters as I just saw the KH needs to be low in order to keep the water more acidic, provided I'm doing weekly water changes, right?.....but maybe no shrimp

 

[Sien]

Oh, I think I may have found my answer, and it looks like chilI rasboras are the ideal fish for my water parameters as I just saw the KH needs to be low in order to keep the water more acidic, provided I'm doing weekly water changes, right?.....but maybe no shrimp

ChilI rasboras are really fun fish, you will love them! You can easily do 8 in a 10 gallon with 20% water changes weekly.