Two Questions ...water and behavior

[daytonaguy1111]

Hi ok well i have a 29 gallon , with six red eye tetras .. they have been in there for about two weeks or so and seem to be enjoying life... but as my otehr post said the smaller ones seem to be hanging around the top corners most of the time... except when i feed them they all circle together..im wondering if this is ok or is there somthin wrong ...my current temp is 76 , just had my water tested (buying a test kit tomm) but there was no ammonia...the nitrite or nitrate was almost not showing up but there was little ..seeiing this tank is almost cycled i guess thats normal .....and the ph was a safe pink color on those test strips (im sorry i fogot to write down the exact reading but it was in the safe zone...so any ideas??



Also my tank water is pretty clear but its still a little hazy and im wonderin if this will clear up over time since its a new tank or is there somthini could add to help? thanx so much for any info

Jon

 

[OrionGirl]

Fish in the minnow family instinctively like to be with fish the same size--they are less noticable if everyone is the same size. Smaller fish might be chased off until the gain a little more size, or they might choose to stay away from the main group. Nothing to worry about, as long as they can all feed okay. A few water changes to reduce the nitrites will always make the fish more comfortable.

For cloudiness--try looking at the water in a white bottomed cup. If it's a milky white, then you have a bacteria bloom--normal, just means there's a food source that should be controlled. Reduce feeding, clean the substrate, etc. If it's green, same things will help, and you may want to look at the type of bulb, the age of the bulb, and how long the tank is being lit.

 

[daytonaguy1111]

wow thanx for the advice, heres alittle more info ... The tetras are feeding great they just seem to be alone somtimes...i bought two test kits so far (all i could afford) my p.h tested at 7.5 ..and my nitrate was at 15-20ppm ....so i read that tetras liked a lower p.h so i put in some of that ph down as reccomended...also i bought some chemical that helps clear the water .. it sounded narural so i tried it and it didnt do much so far... how are the fish tank at the Lps so clear? is it because of abigger system...well all the advice is wanted thanx again Jon

 

[SBA]

I'm no expert, and somebody will be able to explain the reasons for this better than I can, but pH down is not a good thing if it can be avoided. Although the pH might be a bit high for tetras (?) a stable pH is considered more important by most than a 'perfect for the fish' pH. PH adjusters mess around with the buffering capacity of the water. If you use pH down it is very hard to keep the pH constant. Every time you do a water change, for example, you'll be adding water of a different pH (what does your tap water test at after gassing off overnight in a covered bucket?).

Your nitrate levels are fine, more important tests are ammonia and nitrIte, bith of which are more harmful to fish than nitrAte. They should both test 0 if the tank is established.

There are various types of water clearing products available. Some clump together particulates floating in the water so they are big enough to be removed by the mechanical filtration. Others work in different (often unspecified) ways. I'm no expert on any of them but I suspect the advice on here would be not to bother with them. If the water is just a little bit hazy then it is probably perfectly normal. More frequent 10 - 15% water changes keep water clearer IME. As does less feeding (probably most important).

Different LFSs use different methods of keeping their tanks clean. At the one I use they use ozone, UV filtration and I'm sure a whole lot more. Crucially the water is prepared centrally and is constantly (or repeatedly) pumped into the tanks. This means they can put a LOT more fish in a small tank than the hobbyist could as there is a constant supply of fresh, clean, oxygenated water.

I suspect their methods may be a little out of the reach of most of us though! They have about 200 tanks + 2 large koi pools running of this system. The koi pools alone contain fish worth £1000s so they have to be a bit careful.

Like I say, I'm no expert, but that's my 2pence...

HTH
Ade

 

[OrionGirl]

I wouldn't use the chemicals. I'm not a fan of adding products that fiddle with the chemistry--changes caused by the addition of a buffer is not stable, and as SBA said, stability is much more important than a specific value. Also, many of those products contain phosphates, which can contribute algae blooms, or chelating agents that can cause cloudiness. Not desirable.

The stores have several 1000 gallons of water, constantly moving, and replaced. My LFS goes through about 300 gallons of water a day on just one system. That's the rough equivalent of doing a 30% water change daily.

 

[125gJoe]

Originally posted by daytonaguy1111
... ...Also my tank water is pretty clear but its still a little hazy ... ..

Here's an "accessory" filter that takes care of cloudy water...

Vortex Filter


Click on 'more pics' to give you a better idea on how good this filter is at "polishing" water...