Loaches Online Forum

First off, let me say that I am new to the world of responsible fish ownership. My family has always kind of thrown fish into the tank and hoped for the best. Therefore, you're going to have to be a bit patient with my lack of knowledge even for the beginner stuff.

I have a 20gal L (longer than normal) tank with a sand substrate. It's called marine sand, non-buffering for fresh and saltwater tanks. It's very soft and very very fine. There are currently no fish in it because I am trying to be responsible and get the water chemistry perfect before I put fish in there.

I have a biowheel marineland penguin 150 (how many names does this filter need, anyway?)

I have an air pump, and I know I am supposed to use it for something, but I am not 100% sure what to do. I am definitely getting a bubble curtain kind of thing, since loaches seem to love to play in the bubbles (and I LOVE bubble curtains too!), but I have read that they don't do much for increased oxygen levels. Also, how do you keep the bubbles from kicking up the sand substrate?

I have looked at the "river tank setup" on the loach site, but the drilling of holes and pvc glue makes me back away in fear. I have seen all of your beautiful handcrafted works of art, but I barely know how to use a screwdriver. Can I use a powerhead of sorts without turning into Bob Vila?

Oh, and does anyone have a good method for lowering pH? I am having a devil of a time getting it down, even with my buffer a bit on the low side.

Thank you for all of your help.

Good for you to do some research before getting the fish!

Sand substrate is very good for most Loaches, Cories and other bottom fish.

"I have a biowheel marineland penguin 150 (how many names does this filter need, anyway?)"
None, really. I prefer the Aquaclear product line.

Yes, many fish like playing in the bubbles. Set it up however you want. The sand may initially get blown around, but not very far, and it will settle down.

You can add a power head without all the plumbing. Just put a sponge over the intake. I use an Aquaclear sponge, and cut an X most of the way through, not removing any of the sponge, and slip it over the intake of the power head. A 20 gallon long tank is rahter shallow, not many power heads will fit without the sponge touching the sand.
You can get one of the Hydor Koralia pumps. Probably the number 1, or even the Nano. Less energy used, and more diffuse water flow, but still plenty of water movement.
If you like the river tank idea, it can be done with no glue, just cut the PVC and snug it into the fittings.
Take a picture of what you want and the length of the tank to a store that specializes in irrigation and they may be able to cut the PVC to fit, and show you the right fittings. If you want, I can give you a list with the proper lengths of pipe for a 20 long (I have one of these tanks set up as a river, with just one power head)

pH is not a stand-alone value. If the KH is over about 5 German degrees of hardness then the pH is not going to be easy to change.

Please post test results for GH, KH and pH, and lets see what can or should be done. If you are on a municipal water source, can you get a report about the water?

Fish are not so particular about pH. This idea is a hold-over from the days before we had good test kits that can tell us more about the water.
Fish are actually looking for the GH and TDS to be similar to what they evolved in.

pH: a measure of H+ and OH-
KH: Carbonate hardness, a buffer that stabilizes the pH in a general area. Most often, but not always, high KH means the pH will be high, in the alkaline range, and low KH means the pH is easier to alter, and tends to be in the acidic range.
GH: General hardness, a measure of calcium and magnesium in the water.
TDS: Total Dissolved Solids. When making a change in the tank, or moving fish to a new tank you want the TDS to be as close as possible to the water they were adapted to. Make any changes in TDS slowly, over several weeks.

All I have are the quick dip strips. Here are the results:

Nitrate: 0
Nitrite: 0
GH: 300 ppm (yikes!)
Chlorine: 0
KH: 300ppm (I know this is why it is hard to change ph)
pH: 8.4

This is indeed very hard water.
You will not actually be able to change it by adding things.
You can run it through various sorts of filters to remove a lot of the minerals, and this will soften the water.
Reverse osmosis does this very well.
You could buy RO (or distilled) water to mix with your tap water.

Test: Go buy a gallon of RO or distilled water.
Mix a few recipes and test every few days for a week:
pH, GH, KH. See which recipe creates the water you want, and if it is stable over the period of a week or so.
Try
25% tap + 75% RO
50/50
72% tap + 25% RO.

Once you figure out what mix you like you will have to use this mix every time, for water changes, and RO for topping off.

You can also add some peat moss to add organic acids to the water. This makes the water like the black water found in rain forest streams.

Having hard water is like having a bucket full of rocks.
Soft water is like a bucket with a few pebbles in it.
There is nothing you can add to the bucket full of rocks to turn it into soft water, you need to remove the rocks.