So much for reestablishing my tank....

[zazz]

You've probably got this already, but by floating the bag in the water, you nicely slowly got the water temp in the bag to match the water temp in the tank. But only the temp. It sounds like there may have been a large difference in some other water parameter, and going from one type of water directly into another could have killed the fish.
(doesnt explain the other die off, i didnt see that other thread)
So the idea of SLowly changing the water that the fish are in is a very good one. I have found through experience that this can make a Big difference in short term survival and heatlh of fish.
As far as the ph, The thing is it is MUCH better, to match the fish you buy to the water you have, rather than trying to adjust the water to fit the fish.
In other words, while it would be very good to know as much as you can about your ph ( test fresh from tap and after standing, find out about the lfs water params etc) and you should get a kh gh test too, I would advise that what you do with that knowledge is find fish that like that typw f water, rather than trying to mess with the ph. Just like any other compatability issue, there are some combinations of fish that simply arent all going to be comfortable in the same water.
I would think that it it shouldnt be a huge limitation. especially since once appropriately acclimated most fish do fine in range of ph. You just need to avoid trying to keep fish from very different extremes together.
i hope that made sense.

 

[smallfry]

Zazz - I'm so glad you said that about buying fish to fit your water - rather than altering the water to suit the fish you want. That is so true! In fact, my own water at the house here is so extremely hard and alkaline (8.0 ph and extremely hard!) that I buy bottled water for some of my nanos with fish that can't take that water. It can be a real challenge to get water changed - and keep it from reverting back again over time. So yes, Zazz - I agree with you!

 

[James0816]

ok.....just got back from lfs. they replaced the white clouds (30 day guarantee). I have them tempurature acclimating right now. getting ready to add about 1/4 tank water to the bag. the light is off by the way.

also conducting another test. i filled one of my jugs up with water (untreated) and tested it. here are the numbers for plain ole water:

ph ~ 6.0 (maybe a tick over - shade of yellow is really light)
nh3 ~ 0
no3 ~ 0
no2 ~ 0
gh ~ 0
kh ~0

very interesting numbers yes?

 

[James0816]

just added 1st 1/4 cup of tank water to the bag

 

[Weezer]

ok.....just got back from lfs. they replaced the white clouds (30 day guarantee). I have them tempurature acclimating right now. getting ready to add about 1/4 tank water to the bag. the light is off by the way.

also conducting another test. i filled one of my jugs up with water (untreated) and tested it. here are the numbers for plain ole water:

ph ~ 6.0 (maybe a tick over - shade of yellow is really light)
nh3 ~ 0
no3 ~ 0
no2 ~ 0
gh ~ 0
kh ~0

very interesting numbers yes?

Thats a really good warranty, around here it ranges from 48 hours to 15 days.......

 

[James0816]

one more quick note...all the tanks at both regular lfs and PetSmart for community fish they try to keep around 7.0 for ph

 

[jpappy789]

Don't add any buffers to your water! They will eventually ware off and with a KH of 0 the pH will be way too unstable and will drop too quickly for your fish to adapt. It's best to work around what your water params are. You have very soft and acidic water, perfect for any south american communty fish. Tetras, corys, hatchetfish, angels thrive in your type of water.

 

[James0816]

definately don't want to add anything to the water....would much rather have it be naturally....will ph rise over time in established tanks or it is what it is?

 

[James0816]

thx for allowing me to post 50million questions...definately appreciate all the help.

when i put water into the bag....should i be taking water out of it? and approx. how long to do this...1 hour? no big deal to me..just wanna tend to the fishes. i don't plan on pouring the water into the tank this time....i was going to pour over a bowl and net the fishies and then drop them in that way.

 

[Weezer]

I just keep adding more water, our lfs uses big bags tho, then i net them right out of the bag, about an hour.......