ryanpaul
Member
First Off, Hello everyone, this will be my first post to these forums.
I've been into keeping fish and various other animals most of my life, and have Snakes, lizards, a turtle, and other then this new little project one freshwater tank, home to one Large Cichlid and a pleco.
I've been interested in starting a saltwater tank for some time now, and some time ago finally "took the plunge" albeit a rather small jump..
I work at a petstore, and had been contemplating it for some time, so sometime around early February I bought salt mix, and a few other essentials to bring home and convert a 14 gallon tank I had had lying around into saltwater.
I realize there are many reasons why not to do a nano tank for your first tank, and to be honest Its a matter of space, cost, and various other factors that make anything bigger not possible. this is something I'll either succeed at, or keep fighting till I do.
I set the tank up either 2/9 or 2/10. My first live rock was added 2/17, then more added 2/18.
I tested the water 2/20, results were decent, but left much to be desired, I made multiple adjustments over the course of some time.
3/18 I added small hermit crabs (blue leg, though one almost looks like a red leg) and 3 snails (supposed to all be turbo but one looks like an astrea)
my most recent testing The results were Temperature 80 Degrees F, specific gravity of 1.023, ph of 8.2, ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, nitrate 10 ppm, Alkalinity 15 Dkh, and phosphate .4
I'd like the ph to raise, shooting for 8.3, And lower the alkalinity down to maybe 12 and eliminate the nitrate and phosphate, which A good water change should help with (thinking 33%, which is more then I usually change)
However, are there any other ways of lowering DKH without lowering Ph?
I'm hoping to get a picture of my tank up soon, but my digital camera is currently broken.
any input is appreciated, as i'd like to do this right.
I've been into keeping fish and various other animals most of my life, and have Snakes, lizards, a turtle, and other then this new little project one freshwater tank, home to one Large Cichlid and a pleco.
I've been interested in starting a saltwater tank for some time now, and some time ago finally "took the plunge" albeit a rather small jump..
I work at a petstore, and had been contemplating it for some time, so sometime around early February I bought salt mix, and a few other essentials to bring home and convert a 14 gallon tank I had had lying around into saltwater.
I realize there are many reasons why not to do a nano tank for your first tank, and to be honest Its a matter of space, cost, and various other factors that make anything bigger not possible. this is something I'll either succeed at, or keep fighting till I do.
I set the tank up either 2/9 or 2/10. My first live rock was added 2/17, then more added 2/18.
I tested the water 2/20, results were decent, but left much to be desired, I made multiple adjustments over the course of some time.
3/18 I added small hermit crabs (blue leg, though one almost looks like a red leg) and 3 snails (supposed to all be turbo but one looks like an astrea)
my most recent testing The results were Temperature 80 Degrees F, specific gravity of 1.023, ph of 8.2, ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, nitrate 10 ppm, Alkalinity 15 Dkh, and phosphate .4
I'd like the ph to raise, shooting for 8.3, And lower the alkalinity down to maybe 12 and eliminate the nitrate and phosphate, which A good water change should help with (thinking 33%, which is more then I usually change)
However, are there any other ways of lowering DKH without lowering Ph?
I'm hoping to get a picture of my tank up soon, but my digital camera is currently broken.
any input is appreciated, as i'd like to do this right.