Could some one help

[quangfee]

Could some one help? I used to have cichlids in my tank. I'm very tired of their aggressive, I want to change to Loaches. My question is I used to use Marine Buffer to maintain the PH, but my PH is only around 7 something and the Marine Buffer contain some kind of salt. I already did about 30% water change. So is that safe for Loaches yet? or I need to do more water change. Help please help

[starsplitter7]

Hello,

I think we need a lot more information before we can help you. First of all, loaches do not tolerate salt at all, so the salt in your tank needs to be 0. What are your readings for Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate?

1.) How big is your tank? Gallons and dimensions.

2.) Will you keep any of the original fish in the tank? If so, which ones?

3.) How long has the tank been cycled?

4.) How long has the tank been set up?

5.) What is your substrate?

6.) What do you have for decortaions?

7.) What is your temperature?

8.) What is your actual ph? You said 7 something. What is your hardness?

9.) How much flow do you have in the tank?

10.) What kind of filter do you use?

11.) What country are you from (helpful when recommending prooducts)?

12.) What loaches are available at your LFS?

13.) Could you post a picture of your tank?

14.) Do you have any plants?

[Diana]

If the product you have is the salt and mineral mix that makes the water into ocean water it is not right for Loaches. Gotta empty the tank, rinse everything. Salt and minerals that have stayed wet will rinse away very easily. Crusty stuff that is dried minerals may be harder to remove, but an acidic cleaner will help there, even Coca Cola (it is very acidic) is good for that.

If you can post the brand name of the stuff you used we might be able to find out more about it.

As above, please post more info about your tank.

GH and KH, General Hardness and Carbonate hardness will really help.

[quangfee]

Thank you starsplitter7 and Diana. I don't have the pro testing kit yet. Please give me sometimes to find out, and I will re-post this
Thanx again

[starsplitter7]

In the mean time, answer the other questions for us too like how big is the tank? The lighting? . . . Where are you from?

[quangfee]

I'm so sorry, I was so busy at work. I could not respond right away
I live in US. Portland Oregon
Sorry I don't have a picture. I don't have a cable to transfer from my phone to the computer, and I don't have a camera

My tank:
55 gallons, 48x13x21 high
I have only loaches: 3 clown loaches about 4 to 5 inches
7 clown loaches about 1.5 to 2 inches
2 looks like zebra loaches about 1.5 inches
1 skunk loach about 2 inches
The tank has been cycles and set up for a couple months
I have gravel and white silica sand, a couple drift wood and several plastic tube for them to hide
My Temp: 78F to 82F
Ph: 7.3
Nitrite: 0
Ammonia: 0
My local pet store doesn't have the test for hardness. Could you please recommend something.
Question 12_ What loaches are available at your LFS? Could you please explain what does LFS mean?
I don't have any plants.
I use a Fluval 305, and an old powerhead, I don't how strong the powerhead is but I see it bows all the way from one end to the other
My light is very dim. I only use a 30w and put it on one side

Thank you for your time

[starsplitter7]

LFS = Local Fish Store.

Diana will need to recommend a test. I don't check for hardness, but for this is an important test for this type of tank.

How long have these fish been together? THe skunk needs friends, and you know they can be more aggressive than the other loaches. Watch carefully.

Also Loaches need dithers. These are not like cichlid dithers. Loach dithers are the "all clear" crew. They just let the loaches know it is safe to come out. I have Giant Danios and Torquoise Rainbows.

[Diana]

I went to the Portland Oregon Water web site, and looked for a water quality report.
Seems your tap water is quite soft, and would be acidic if the water company did not add something to raise the pH. This does not affect the hardness. My water company does the same thing, and my fish are fine with soft water that has high pH.

As long as the water in your tank gets changed out over time with just tap water, no more Cichlid minerals or salts, the Loaches will be just fine. Do not make this change all in one day. They need a chance to adjust to water with less minerals.

To test water hardness I use 3 methods.
The dip sticks with 5 or 6 different tests report GH (General Hardness) and KH (Alkalinity, Carbonate Hardness) in ppm. I have sometimes wondered about the accuracy of these strips. OK as long as you are simply comparing the test to the last time, to see if there is a trend (water getting harder or softer)
The liquid reagent/test tube type, by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals. These seem more accurate, but again, I wonder. These tests report the results in German Degrees of Hardness.
TDS meter. This does not tell you what all the minerals and salts are, but just the Total Dissolved Solids. It is a meter, and needs to be calibrated occasionally.

[quangfee]

To starsplitter7 and Diana. Thank you so much for those helpful tips.
"starsplitter7" I also have a Rainbow Shark which I forgot to list out. Is that ok or I have to get those couple fish like you have. I got these fish from a friend of mine, and I believe he had them more than 3 years.

[quangfee]

I'm sorry, I made a mistake. I don't know how long my had that Skunk Loach, but he had the 3 big clown loach and the Rainbow Shark for more than 3 years. The Rainbow Shark is about 5 inches, and I just bout the 7 small clown loaches for less than a month
Than you

[starsplitter7]

I do not know, because I don't keep any of the "sharks". I know others will have more experience than I have had.

[quangfee]

Thank you, so I will get the Giant Danios and Torquoise Rainbows tomorrow

[Dojosmama]

API makes a master freshwater test kit with all the reagents for pH, high-range pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. They also make a separate kit that tests water hardness, Kh and Gh.

You must purchase these kits if you want to maintain good water quality. They can be ordered from Foster & Smith.

First, you'll have to get all the salt out of your tank. These kits are for freshwater, only.

When indicating your parameters, I don't believe I saw figures for nitrAte. How many ppm are your nitrates? And if you don't have a test kit, how do you know your ammonia and nitrites are 0? And how do you know your pH?

For substrate, I recommend either sand or very small, smooth and rounded aggregate gravel. Don't use mid-size to large gravel. Not good for loaches, and too hard to keep clean.

Seems to me you have a lot of loaches for the size tank you're considering putting them into. Some of them get quite large.

If your powerhead is agitating water from one end of the tank to the other, you have plenty of current. Is it a Maxi-Jet 400, or one of the other Maxi-Jet powerheads by Marineland? I don't think the 400 is all that powerful. I only have a 20-gallon-high and I had to use two of them, one at each end. Of course, I had an undergravel filter at the time, and two uplift tubes which each needed a powerhead with UGF adapter to make the UGF work properly. All that changed when I removed the UGF and went to an Aquaclear 50 hob, instead. Best decision I made for my tank! No more powerhead needed. I also have a 4" airstone at the opposite end of my tank, powered by an external pump.

I would be very hesitant to use any form of acid to remove stuck-on salt crystals. Acid and aquariums don't mix. There must be a safer way to effectively remove those dried up crystals.

Hope at least some of this helps ...

-- dojosmama