30g Tank - fish suggestions?

[jenricae]

Looking for stocking suggestions for a new 30g bowfront tank. Well filtered through an XP1 (rated for 50g) canister filter. I plan on putting in plants.

So far all that is in there are driftwood and some slate.

Water from the tap:

PH = 5.5
(I couldn't believe it was so low but i checked it on multiple days. I'm new to Vancouver so i guess it has something to do with being close to the ocean? Or maybe it has to do with the fact that it's rain season. I'm used to Toronto's water which is about 8.)

KH = 25-30ppm (2 dKH)

Love having fish with character/personality

suggestions?

 

[misterking]

Wow, that pH is low! You'd do well to go down a south american theme I think, it's the perfect water pH for a lot of species. Tetras would work well, cory cats, maybe a bristlenose pleco or bulldog pleco for clean-up, and then some form of dwarf cichlid as a centrepiece such as rams (bolivian rams are more hardy) or apistogramma would work nicely.

 

[Newman]

above suggestions are great.

now about that pH...is this AFTER you let it sit in an aerated bucket for a day or two before testing it? because that is the proper way...

 

[jenricae]

I let it sit for a bit, but not for a day or two. Damn, I guess i'm going to do that water test again... This is why i like to ask on forums...

 

[GregBox]

AqAdvisor - jenricae <- Click on this for my suggestions, this is a pretty full stock but I think it would look great.

 

[jenricae]

Thanks GregBox! that's a great link.

 

[misterking]

That's a really nice stock there Greg! Would work really well.

 

[lauraf]

Hey Jenricae:
Welcome to Vancouver! My pH is similarly low. I add a bit of BioBalance to bring it up to 6.5, and my fishies seem okay with that. My angels are reeeeaaalllllly happy (you can see my rambling thread about their spawning under the Breeding forum) as are my corys, gouramis and platies (not sure that platies should like this water condition as much as they do, though). Anyway, Greg's suggestion looks very nice. So as not take over this thread about Vancouver-only stuff, please send me a PM if you'd like about who you are using for your LFS, etc!