After making a complete failure with keeping fancy goldfish (a big to those that knew me from the goldfish forum) I'm now turning towards keeping tropicals.

My tank's not very big, about 45 litres / 10 US gallons

I have had no fish in it for one week now.

The filter and air pump are still going and the water temperature is 26C / 79F (is this the correct temperature?)

Since the tank previously housed goldfish, should I still worry about cycling the tank (I've been occasionally dropping in fish flakes to feed the bacteria) and do I need to buy a Nitrate testing kit (I already have Ammonia and Nitrite test kits)

I'm really dubious about adding chemicals (other than conditioner) to the tank because I think this was one of the reasons why my last fish died. Can I get away with just adding hardy fish / very cheap fish to the tank to help cycling it instead of having to put in ammonia?

How do I know when my tank's ready e.g ammonio zero, low nitrite high nitates ??

The other question is that my pH measures 8.4. Is this still OK for keeping tropicals.

Finally do I need to add salt to the water?

Thanks Decus

The Ph Depends On The Actual Fish That You Want.
So Basicly Think Of The Fish You Want In The Tank And Go To FishProfiles.com Or Somewhere And Look Them Up.It Will List Their Ph Requirements And Other Info.Some Tropical Fish,Like Mollies For Example Need A Little Salt Added To The Water.So Once Again,It Depends On The Fish You Have In The Tank.Myself,I Think The Tank Should Be Fine For Tropicals Since It's Already Cycled.Just Make Sure You Have A Heater Since Tropicals Need Warmer Water [You Should,And Probaly Already Know]And The Temperature Also Depends On The Fish.So Like I Said Before,Think Of The Fish You Want And Look Them Up,It Will Tell You Ph & Temperature Requirements Ect. ^_^

Thanks Thelonious,

I have been already looking at various fish that I might be interested in such as mollies, platies, tetras, guppies and danios but all seem to be suited for lower pH levels than my 8.4

How detrimental will it be to the fish if I don't adjust the pH level and leave it as it is, or is there a simple method of lowering the pH to suitable levels.

Decus

PS Yes, I do have a heater installed

It would be a good idea to find out what your KH is. If it is over 7 degrees ( i think), then changing the pH with something like peat will be harder, and in order to lower it you will need to cut it with RO water or similar. Then decide if that is something you would want to deal with with every water change. If it is 7 or under, you can alter it with peat to get it lower. Stay away from pH down products regardless.

If you don't want to deal with peat (and the water coloration that results), or think it would be too much to deal with, look around for fish that will fit into your pH range w/o any tinkering. http://www.fishprofiles.com and http://www.aquaria.info both have searchable databases where you can look for fish you like and at least get some idea of whether they can handle your pH. Keep in mind that many fish can adapt to pHs outside the "ideal range" for them. German rams for instance (a dwarf cichlid), have an ideal pH of 5-7, and are generally considered to be fairly "delicate", but people keep them frequently in pH's of up to 7.8.

You can get hardier fish like zebra danios to cycle, but check that your store will take them back after cycling if you will not want them in the long run. Your tank is cycled when nitrites and ammonia have each spiked, and then dropped to 0, and nitrates are accumulating. This process takes between 4 and 7 weeks on average. I do not know how far along in cycling your goldfish tank was, and the fish food may not have been enough to sustain it anyway, so I would still get some hardier fish to start with. And yes, picking up a nitrate test kit would be good. You don't want to let them get too high, between 5 and 20 is "ideal" and lower than 5 is perfectly fine (its just hard to keep them that low, and you will want a little bit if you have any plants).

You do not need to add salt to the water. Here is a link to a discussion about mollies and salt.

Oh yea, and they are cheap, but don't get neons to cycle, they don't tend to be at all hardy

hi decus (you may remember me from goldie section)

this is just a comment about the pH:

have the store test and tell you their own water levels before you bring any new fish home.
this way you will know how much of a difference your water pH is from what the fish are used to.

if there is a big difference, go really slow. (pH is on a logarithmic scale 7 neutral, 8 is 10times more alkaline, 9 is 100times more alkaline)

if their water is in the 7's, ask to bring home a couple gallons of their tank water.
then when you get home, in a medium plastic container you can add the couple gallons, and the fish, then you can trickle your water into the container (see 'tip of the month' this month from Emmaj, she made a very good tip about using airline tubing to transfer water of a different pH gradually, so as not to shock the fish.)

transfer a couple gallons (may take a while, but where its being done slowly, it will give the fish time to acclimate) test the pH in the container. once you have it real close to your pH you can put your new fish in your tank, and they should have no shock. this way too, you wont be transfering the store water into your tank.

good luck with your new hobby, i do hope your success is better this time around.
-Tooter

Thanks guys.

Excellent tips.

That LFS salesman is going to be bombarded with questions tomorrow.

And of couse I remember you tooterfish and I bet you're mighty familiar with my pH questions!? Anyhow thanks for the patience and as usual your advise has been well noted in my special fish keeping handy tips book.

Many thanks,
Decus

PS Ceridwen, My water is about 13 dKH so I guess that rules out using peat.

Indeed, I think you would have to cut it with RO water to have any luck lowering the pH.

Hi Decus! The trick to tropical fish(especially live bearers) is don't overstock!!!It is always so tempting because fish are so small,but your tank tends to get way out of hand when you do. Those fish breed so fast that it's unbelievable,and before you know it -you have way to many-which then leads you into new problems.People tend to buy pairs,not realizing what will happen in the end. I have had tropical tanks all my life,and I have finally learned the hard way that I don't need to buy pairs all the time. Just a tip on my experiences!