help!! questions not answered with reading info.

[donle]

so this morning I began a 55 gallon freshwater aquarium. I hooked up the filter it is a top fin 60. it says it's a 3way filtration system. Not sure of what type of fish I'm going to get yet, but anyway... So after speaking to numerous people about the over all look I was wanting, I decided I was going to use gravel and rock from a creek near the house. I followed the instructions I was given about cleaning/baking the rock and gravel and the "vinegar" drops on the rocks to see if they would harden or soften the water.
I put the rock/gravel into the tank. no plants yet because I haven't decided on a planted tank or not. filled with water, added "tetraAqua aquasafe" and have been letting it run. Also added a little bit of fish food because I read to do that for a fishless cycle.
I did a ph test about 6 hours after all of this and the ph test read between 8.2 and 8.8 closer to the 8.8. So basicall my question is is this a normal reading for a tank that old. and it will probably be about 2 weeks before i was going to get any fish. Will the ph drop in the tank after a few more days of cycling? And will two weeks with just adding fish food into the tank be enough to start a proper cycling cycle?
any info would be awesome..like I said nobody ever mentions a even round about time as far as what to expect. it's mainly just basic info.....

thank you.

 

[Dylandrewsdad]

Welcome! Congrats on the new tank. Why are you concerned over the PH? Most fish you find in the local fish store will do well in most range of water. Unless you want some crazy sensitive fish, I would not worry too much about the PH. Do you know what you want? In addition, fish like a stable PH much better then one that fluctuates from messing with it.

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[bassbonediva]

+1 on what Dylandrewsdad said about pH. A stable pH is MUCH more important than a "correct" pH.

What you really need to test for are ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. These are the "trifecta" of fish-keeping, so to speak. They are how you'll know when you're tank is cycled and when you need to do water changes. On a cycled tank, the readings should be 0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrites and 5-20ppm nitrates.

Be sure to research ANY fish you contemplate purchasing before doing so to know if they are compatible with your tank and other inhabitants that you want.

Also, you may want to upgrade your filter in the near future. HOB (hang on back) filters are fine for smaller tanks, but I've found that a good canister filter on a larger tank (anything larger than 29gal) is much more efficient. You also have more options for filter media, more media area for your beneficial bacteria to colonize, and you can push your stocking limits a little more with a good canister filter. Something like the Cascade 1000 is perfect for a 55gal (that's what I run, and I love it).

 

[donle]

thanks for answering so quickly. The reason I'm so concerned with the PH is that's all I keep reading about "make sure the PH is correct for your fish" and from what i've read a PH of 8.8 in crazy high. something that cichlids may do ok in but is still high for them...and the more research I do the more I'm leaning towards having a mixture of orandas in my tank. which takes me back to my other question. I read that with larger goldfish it is better to have a large gravel so that they don't eat it. with is why i used creek gravel. the gravel is made up a mostly small to medium rocks?
Oh i just tested the Ph of my tap water and it is the same as the water in the tank. 8.8 and over.
I'm just concerned, I really don't want to add any fish if they're all going to be sick/stressed/ or just die.

is it safe to assume that since my tap is same ph as tank..that the rocks are not an issue? tank has been up and filter on for 24 hours now?

 

[bassbonediva]

If you could put up a picture of your substrate, we might be better able to answer that question.

As far as having goldfish...I would DEFINITELY upgrade your filter sooner rather than later. Goldfish are HUGE waste producers and that Top Fin 60 just isn't going to be able to keep up with more than 1 or 2. Goldfish need 20 gallons for the first fish and 10-20 gallons for each fish after that, so the absolute maximum you could have in a 55gal tank would be four. I personally only have ONE goldfish in my 46gal tank and it is filtered for a 100gal tank (by a Penguin 170 rated for up to 40 gallons and an AquaTech 30-60 rated for up to 60 gallons). I have a canister filter for that tank, but I can't get it to prime, which is why I'm running two HOBs.

As for the pH, you can add driftwood to your tank to naturally lower the pH. My tanks that don't have driftwood sit at 8.2 for their pH...my tanks with driftwood sit at 7.6.

 

[donle]

I don't have a camera, but this is about what me substrate looks like...minus the real big pieces.

it's just a mix of creek gravel.. iwas told this would be good as long as it was cleaned proper.

 

[bassbonediva]

That should be fine.

 

[donle]

you guys are great... so will the ph drop once the cycling actually kicks in..if not add drift wood to naturally drop the ph. like a large piece or any piece? and if i can get the ph to stable at about 7.2-7.6 it will be good more most fish. it's the "trifactor" I have to worry about. and those reading should be A 0, N O, and N 2 ?

oh and goldfish are dirty..so if i was to get 1 oranda what else would you recommend to go in the tank with it?

the over all look i'd like to end up with is...5 or 6 medium size fish that are bright colored or very unique looking.
that's why i thought i'd go with red and white oranda, yellow cap or red cap oranda, crown pearl scale goldie, a black moor..because they are very compatible and very bright and unique color....any suggestions would be awesome. I just want interesting fish with a variety of colors..example I don't want to do a cichlid tank cause other then color the all look about the same.

 

[bassbonediva]

Okay...

Your pH isn't going to change because of the cycling. I would add driftwood if you want your pH to drop, but don't expect a HUGE change. A drop of about 0.6 is what I've seen as being standard (so your pH will drop to 8.2). As I said, any fish will adjust to any pH if they are acclimated properly (meaning, don't just drop the fish in the tank, drip acclimate them by adding small amounts of tank water to the bag they are in over an extended period of time, generally about 2 hours or so). You're correct about the "trifecta" being your major worry, however your numbers are just a smidge off. You want 0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrites, and 5-20ppm nitrates.

As for the what can go with the goldfish...any fish that is temperate/coldwater will work. This includes white cloud mountain minnows, danios of any sort (leopard, zebra, long-finned, glofish, etc), gold barbs, hillstream loaches, dojo loaches and, if you kept the tank at the upper limit of what the other fish like, you could do cherry barbs.

As long as you overfiltered the tank (I would say a filter rated for at least a 150 gallons would be perfect), having those four goldfish would be fine. I would be a little concerned about the black moor with the others, however. The reason I say this is because they don't see very well (none of the goldfish with the bubble eyes do) and would need to be target-fed in order to get their fair share. I've heard tales of people having their black moor waste away in a tank with regular-eyed goldfish because the black moor just couldn't see well enough to compete for food. Maybe instead of a black moor go with a ryukin? I love my ryukin and they come in several beautiful color combinations. Or, you could go with a lionhead. They're a bit different than the orandas (their wen is more pronounced and their body is a bit rounder).

 

[donle]

thank you again for all the help...I read the specs on my filter it's a topfin 60 the specs says up to a 60 gallon tank will do 300 gph. I have a heater to add just to keep the water temp stable. I live in MO. and temp is real flighty around here. if I go with the orandas will a pleco do good with them? or may a invertebrate? I saw a cobalt blue lobster that looked amazing, but I want the fish I do get to be happy and not worring about being eaten. which is why I heard shrips are bad because the orandas will eat them. any suggestions

 

[bassbonediva]

I know I sound like a broken record about the filter thing, but really the TopFin filter isn't going to be enough. I mean, you can leave it on there, but you'll find that you'll be doing tons of water changes (with just the Penguin 170 on my 46gal, I was doing bi-, sometimes tri-, weekly water changes just to keep up with the ammonia production). It's up to you though.

As far as keeping a pleco with the goldies...bad idea. Common plecos are the only species that could tolerate the colder water and they aren't recommended for anything less than a 2ft deep tank because they can reach 18-24" in length (any narrower of a tank and they won't be able to turn around). Plus, plecos are even bigger poop machines than goldfish are.

I think a cobalt blue lobster would be fine in your tank since they get to be 5", but you would have to sacrifice having one of the goldfish to have the lobster. Basically, you could have three goldfish and the lobster, but that's it.