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I have a tank I have added substrate to in preparation to change to african cichlids.

current stock is clown loaches and one pleco so it is cycled.

Ph is 7.8 and not budging any further (our tap water here 7.4). What now, wait longer and see what happens?

It has been 2 weeks since the new substrate was added (was on 20 Nov)...



Last edited by wish-ga at 02-Dec-2004 22:27

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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

should be ready... just keep in mind to add only a couple of fish at a time.

Was this a running tank before substrate was runnning? Did you change all the substrate at one time? How far did you take the tank down (if it was running beforehand) to change the substrate, and how long was it at diminished levels of water? All my tnks run either AQ 500's or AQ 300's so when im worried i just trade out media. If you are worrried about it is that an option for you? I recently added 8 adults and 9 juveniles to an already established tank (it had 14 endlers in it) that i just traded out media with my turtle tank, and have had absolutely no clouds, and no spikes. Cichlids can be expensive, and certain varieties hard to find. So i wouldnt add any until you are confident it is ready to go.

Bdadawg

Tank was up and running over a couple of years prior to recent change. Substrate was added gradually to bring the ph up but not in one hit(hopefully)

Tank has been running with new substrate for a few weeks.

I may not have the dosh to get the new fish for a while but was wondering when I could... seems like I could from this point onwards...

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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

I didn't take out the old substrate just mixed some new chips in. so the bacteria goodies from the old set up will still be working away.

I did get a new filter but used media from the old filter.

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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

Id say its safe now .. only time it gets scary is pulling out all the old substrate then adding new ... Too bad you dont live in Utah ... dont need to add anything to your water to get it up .. after sitting for 24 hrs its stable at 8.4, although its hard enough the water stands up by itself without the cup. Bad part is high alkaline content (great salt lake) and so it makes having planted tanks "fun".

Bdadawg

Depending on what your store(s) carry for cichlids, go there and write down the names you are interested in and do research. Lots of research and ask questions here and at the lfs. Also ask them when they are getting another batch in, just in case something interesting comes in. Don't rush and buy the first ones that interest you, patience is a virtue when deciding the stock of the tank. Also aviod mixing vegetrians and carnivores. When you decided on what fish you want I would try to add them in with in a short period of time. Maybe half on day and half the other day, although still leave room in the tank for two future additions. If add them slowly over weeks like other community tanks will prove difficult and hazardous to new introductions. It also depends on the fish too.

That is fascinating about the water in your area Bdadawg. I often think about how we all have different things to contend with due to the water we get in our respective home towns and countries. That is amazing, 8.4

Thanks for the heads up on adding stock open water. In the new year I will choose a weekend when I can go to the lfs on a saturday and the following sunday and add stock on consecutive days.

Thanks for the help so far friends.




Last edited by wish-ga at 06-Dec-2004 21:36

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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~