75g planted tank journal

[suicune]

That's great!!! Ich is common usually come with your fish but they may infect area in there mouth and stuff so you may not notice until they become widespread. But once ich is gone they cannot come back unless you introduce a new fish with ich

[mistahoo]

Fyi females won't color up to their full potential unless the ph is very low (6 and under). Higher ph tends to wash out their colors

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[wesleh]

Thanks for the info. My ph is 6.6, any natural ways to lower it?

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[mnemenoi]

Only ways I have found are Ph reducing substrate, using lower TDS water (RO/DI), CO2 (makes carbonic acid), Ehiem peat granules in the filter.

[wesleh]

Only ways I have found are Ph reducing substrate, using lower TDS water (RO/DI), CO2 (makes carbonic acid), Ehiem peat granules in the filter.

I believe I have all of the above except the DI part and CO2 which I do not plan on going that route. I'm using RO water only right now. Going to invest in a RO/DI unit soon though. Peat granules are the tan mini balls that come with the eheim? If so I have that, but I'll buy more for the other filter and see if that helps. Thanks!

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[flipside]

I'm not into FW but I must say... I love the way this tank looks! I think it's that branch, and the way you put the moss on there. Very nicely done.

[wesleh]

I'm not into FW but I must say... I love the way this tank looks! I think it's that branch, and the way you put the moss on there. Very nicely done.

Thank you! I'm currently doing a 40B reef build now, so look out for that!

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[mnemenoi]

The peat is actually something you buy separately and bag in the filter. The small round ceramic things are biofilter media. Over time the water will acidify, slowly lowering the Ph. CO2 can be dangerous in that sort of setup as it can drop it drastically and make battery acid. The entire Sphaerichthys family are from very soft water and should you actually reproduce their parameters it would likely wipe out all/most of your plants. In their native environment little light actually reaches the water, so little to no plants actually are found in their native habitat. The water has GH-0, KH-0 and are readily found in water with a PH of 3-4. Acidic softwater tanks like this can be tricky and no longer follow many of the normal rules we follow for other tanks. I might recommend something like this for a fun breeding project or as a secondary experimental tank. We have done some tanks like this and they can be very difficult, but rewarding all the same. I would just continue doing what you have and hope for a gradual shift down in Ph over time, just be mindful of the plants and their requirements (remember that ferts add to the TDS in the tank, so it might be impossible to lower the TDS to their negligible levels). Hit me up sometime when I am onshore and I can give a far better explanation in person of the strange parameters in such a tank.

[mistahoo]

Thanks for doing the grunt work Roy!

I'm actually trying to replicate their natural habitat in attempt to breed them alongside a pair of betta channoides. My two females are already settling in and showing much more color. I'm hoping they get more and more colorful as the pH drops. Went from 7.6 to about 6.2. It's still dropping and I haven't added anything but the substrate. I'll be adding much more goodies to drop that sucker down to 4 hopefully. Plants are in right now, but will be removed as I drop the pH further. Stay tuned when I start up a thread tomorrow or the day after!

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[wesleh]

The peat is actually something you buy separately and bag in the filter. The small round ceramic things are biofilter media. Over time the water will acidify, slowly lowering the Ph. CO2 can be dangerous in that sort of setup as it can drop it drastically and make battery acid. The entire Sphaerichthys family are from very soft water and should you actually reproduce their parameters it would likely wipe out all/most of your plants. In their native environment little light actually reaches the water, so little to no plants actually are found in their native habitat. The water has GH-0, KH-0 and are readily found in water with a PH of 3-4. Acidic softwater tanks like this can be tricky and no longer follow many of the normal rules we follow for other tanks. I might recommend something like this for a fun breeding project or as a secondary experimental tank. We have done some tanks like this and they can be very difficult, but rewarding all the same. I would just continue doing what you have and hope for a gradual shift down in Ph over time, just be mindful of the plants and their requirements (remember that ferts add to the TDS in the tank, so it might be impossible to lower the TDS to their negligible levels). Hit me up sometime when I am onshore and I can give a far better explanation in person of the strange parameters in such a tank.

Thanks for all the info! I did read most of what you stated but I am not looking to exactly breed them. There more of my centerpiece fish and would just like to get there colors out. I'd be giving them a variety of frozen and pellet foods so hope that will help some. I have read that some where able to keep them in a setup like mine, and still have them spawn and lay eggs. So I guess I'll see how it goes and just hope that they can adapt to its current enviroment. I plan on getting a small group soon as well.

[wesleh]

Thanks for doing the grunt work Roy!

I'm actually trying to replicate their natural habitat in attempt to breed them alongside a pair of betta channoides. My two females are already settling in and showing much more color. I'm hoping they get more and more colorful as the pH drops. Went from 7.6 to about 6.2. It's still dropping and I haven't added anything but the substrate. I'll be adding much more goodies to drop that sucker down to 4 hopefully. Plants are in right now, but will be removed as I drop the pH further. Stay tuned when I start up a thread tomorrow or the day after!

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Awesome! I can't wait to check out your build!

[mnemenoi]

In soft water set ups, especially extreme low PH set ups the parameters and cycle begins to unravel and chemicals that we normally see shift or change. Bacteria are severely reduced in water below a 6.0, so the Nitrogen cycle no longer functions. Conversely, in soft water Ammonia is actually shifted into Ammonium (far less deadly). Nitrates and Nitrites do not exist in any large amount, so Ammonium is your watched parameter. Ammonia tests will not differentiate Ammonia and Ammonium, but readings at certain Ph correspond to certain percentages that we can reference on a chart to determine concentrations of both. Many soft water fish can breed in low TDS water that is not low Ph. The issue comes in that many bacteria and microfauna/fungus can not survive at extremely low Ph. When bred at higher Ph, the eggs and fry are subject to attacks they are not evolved to handle and significant losses can occur as they never face these in the wild and have evolved without needing certain proteins or excess slime to combat them. I posted an article awhile back on Ammonia in the aquarium that helps chart its toxicity in regards to Ph (It only really comes in handy in soft/low Ph tanks). Here is the thread

[wesleh]

Only ways I have found are Ph reducing substrate, using lower TDS water (RO/DI), CO2 (makes carbonic acid), Ehiem peat granules in the filter.

Can you tell me if the link below are the peat granules you are talking about?

http://www.bigalspets.com/torf-peat-pellets-1l.html?utm_source=Google+Products&utm_campaign=Google+Products+Datafeed&utm_medium=Comparison+Shopping&gclid=CPWj_K241bgCFQto7Aod73EA4g

I did read from others that its a huge drop in ph, the most I read is going from PH 7.8 to 6.2. Hmm, maybe I'll try less then the recommended amount and see if I can just get it to drop slightly.

[mistahoo]

Very well put. Being that the eggs have a heightened chance of being attacked by fungus and disease, I would imagine the chances of your males dying is greatly increased as they're the mouthbrooder

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[mistahoo]

Can you tell me if the link below are the peat granules you are talking about?

http://www.bigalspets.com/torf-peat-pellets-1l.html?utm_source=Google+Products&utm_campaign=Google+Products+Datafeed&utm_medium=Comparison+Shopping&gclid=CPWj_K241bgCFQto7Aod73EA4g

I did read from others that its a huge drop in ph, the most I read is going from PH 7.8 to 6.2. Hmm, maybe I'll try less then the recommended amount and still if I can just get it to drop slightly.

That is the eheim peat pellets. Peat drops the pH significantly. Using less wouldn't drop it as much

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