Tank refuses to cycle

[Yuki Rihwa]

Nitrate won't go down without water change or consume by plants. Also, API Nitrate test very tricky that you will need to shake the #2 bottle like hell for good few minutes to get accurate result.

 

[ragin_cajun]

I don't think so. You pH is 8.0? Mine has been 7.8 for over a year now, no problems at all. Altering pH is alotta trouble, and requires vigilance and maintenance. Not worth the trouble for tank water that's not even a problem. CA Cichlids will like 8.0 pH water just fine if it stays constant. Start playing around with it, moving it up and down, and you'll cause more problems than you fix.

I've been wanting to drop my ph and hardness with ro water. Good idea?

 

[Yuki Rihwa]

+1^^^^Exactly! You don't want to mess with water chemistry unless you knew what you are doing.

 

[pops]

+1 here on that, should not mess with your PH unless you now what you are doing , why you are doing it. having black water fish would be an example of why. for most folks PH not an issue and should be left alone.

 

[Beetlebug515]

I'm not as worried about the ph as I am the gh. My gh is around 300ppm right now. Will the excess hardness affect my soft water fish?

 

[Beetlebug515]

I believe I might have black water species? My stock is in my first post.

 

[pops]

nope you do not, Angel alums are good example of a black water fish.

 

[ragin_cajun]

For freshwater fish....I wouldn't worry about GH. I couldn't even tell you what it is, that's how important it is to me.

 

[Beetlebug515]

Fair enough. I plan on making my second filter into another super bio filter this weekend. I still have about 25 pounds of substrate left, and I was planning on using a good portion of it to make a giant DIY fluidized bed filter. I would like some more mid level fish in my tank and don't want to overload my bio.

 

[Beetlebug515]

Nitrites are at zero this morning. Thanks for all of your help guys.