Fish return home
Jun. 14th, 2011 10:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
altivoAfter they had spent 24 hours in two buckets, we returned the fish to their homes. The 30 gallon tank was readjusted to a pH of about 7.1, which is a bit lower than what I was aiming for but considering it was over 7.6 earlier this afternoon and I rushed it by adding some white vinegar, it's acceptable. I'd like to get it settled around 7.3 if I can. All the fish survived their ordeal in the buckets, with a pint of water being replaced every three hours to gradually move them from a pH near 6.0 to about 7.2. That shift was accomplished just by replacing their water gradually with our softened well water that has a pH of about 7.8 (too high for use by itself.) We returned the plants and furnishings to the tank and unceremoniously dumped the fish back in, including the water in which they had been held. The swordtails seem pleased and are eagerly re-exploring the tank. The plecos are moping, but with a pleco it's hard to tell since they mope most of the time. Hopefully everyone will still be breathing come morning.
My other 20 gallon tank, which has had no fish in it for a year, is cleaned and somewhat deforested now. The pH was very high in that one, so it got the vinegar treatment as well but I overshot my mark and it's down to 6.8 at the moment. That might be OK for tetras and tiger barbs, but I need to get the nitrogen cycle working in there again which means adding three or four less expensive fish. I normally use zebra danios for that and they would prefer a more neutral pH so some more adjustment is needed.
The key to freshwater aquaria is the water chemistry. It seems fairly simple on paper, but I find it requires more juggling than I really like. Probably that's because our tap water has never been suitable for direct use in the tank. In Chicago it was full of chlorine and other nasty stuff. Out here we have well water that is too hard for the fish, and once softened it is too alkaline and really too soft. That means we buy bottled "drinking water" to add to the tanks regularly, at a cost of about $10 a month. Even that is really too soft, so the addition of aquarium salt or some crushed coral or limestone is necessary, which in turn raises the pH too much. Makes you wonder how fish ever survive in the wild, doesn't it?
My other 20 gallon tank, which has had no fish in it for a year, is cleaned and somewhat deforested now. The pH was very high in that one, so it got the vinegar treatment as well but I overshot my mark and it's down to 6.8 at the moment. That might be OK for tetras and tiger barbs, but I need to get the nitrogen cycle working in there again which means adding three or four less expensive fish. I normally use zebra danios for that and they would prefer a more neutral pH so some more adjustment is needed.
The key to freshwater aquaria is the water chemistry. It seems fairly simple on paper, but I find it requires more juggling than I really like. Probably that's because our tap water has never been suitable for direct use in the tank. In Chicago it was full of chlorine and other nasty stuff. Out here we have well water that is too hard for the fish, and once softened it is too alkaline and really too soft. That means we buy bottled "drinking water" to add to the tanks regularly, at a cost of about $10 a month. Even that is really too soft, so the addition of aquarium salt or some crushed coral or limestone is necessary, which in turn raises the pH too much. Makes you wonder how fish ever survive in the wild, doesn't it?
