Wolfbelly
06-29-2020, 07:30 PM
Hi all, first time fish keeper and to make it hard on myself, I got 8 dime size discus heading my way. I have a 150 gallon tank with a sump, very light substrate and only 2 java ferns. There are no other fish in the tank at this time.
My question is about how to tell if I cycled my tank properly. Instead of something off the shelf, about 3 weeks ago i dumped in some water from the washed out media of my friends established tank. I added 3 cap fulls of prime and i feel the stupid move I made was adding enough Acid Buffer to bring my pH from 7.5 to 6.5. I've since realized I should probably not have added the buffer. Also, I have topped off maybe 5 gallons total with straight tap water.
My current parameters (in spite of my colorblindness) -
pH - 6.8 (i think because I topped off with tap water)
NH3- 0 (or .25ppm, hard to see)
NO2 - 0
N03 - 0
KH - 2 drops with API kit (not sure how to convert this to ppm)
GH - 12 drops with API kit (i think 214ppm)
I have a RO unit from Jack Wattley on the way and I'll be using RO water mixed with tap for water changes.
Any advice on what to do prior to putting these 8 in on Friday?
Thank you in advance!
My question is about how to tell if I cycled my tank properly. Instead of something off the shelf, about 3 weeks ago i dumped in some water from the washed out media of my friends established tank. I added 3 cap fulls of prime and i feel the stupid move I made was adding enough Acid Buffer to bring my pH from 7.5 to 6.5. I've since realized I should probably not have added the buffer. Also, I have topped off maybe 5 gallons total with straight tap water.
My current parameters (in spite of my colorblindness) -
pH - 6.8 (i think because I topped off with tap water)
NH3- 0 (or .25ppm, hard to see)
NO2 - 0
N03 - 0
KH - 2 drops with API kit (not sure how to convert this to ppm)
GH - 12 drops with API kit (i think 214ppm)
I have a RO unit from Jack Wattley on the way and I'll be using RO water mixed with tap for water changes.
Any advice on what to do prior to putting these 8 in on Friday?
Thank you in advance!