I've started monitoring my water a bit more closely as I plan to eventually setup a 125g Oscar tank that will need larger water changes than what I do on most of my tanks (25-40% weekly-biweekly) and have a concern.
I have a KH of 3 and a GH of 4-5, water comes out of the tap at around 8.2-8.4 and settles to 7.2 if I aerate it in a bucket overnight.
I've been attempting to do a fishless cycle on a 75g instead of using cycled media to see how quick I would be able to perform it. After a few weeks of no change I added some cycled media and noticed no change, which made me concerned. I tested the water and the ph was 6.0! PH is one of those things I never test. Could this be affecting the cycle? I'm assuming this low ph is due to the added ammonia and the low buffer capabilities of my water?
My question is, should I add some crushed aragonite in a small media bag to increase the buffering capabilities in some of my tanks? I'm worried about water changes using tap water being too much of a ph change for the fish. Roughly, what percentage of a water change should one be concerned about when your tap water's ph is significantly higher than your aquarium?
Regarding the tank with the fishless cycle experiment. Am I correct to believe the 6.0 ph has completely stalled the cycle?
I have a KH of 3 and a GH of 4-5, water comes out of the tap at around 8.2-8.4 and settles to 7.2 if I aerate it in a bucket overnight.
I've been attempting to do a fishless cycle on a 75g instead of using cycled media to see how quick I would be able to perform it. After a few weeks of no change I added some cycled media and noticed no change, which made me concerned. I tested the water and the ph was 6.0! PH is one of those things I never test. Could this be affecting the cycle? I'm assuming this low ph is due to the added ammonia and the low buffer capabilities of my water?
My question is, should I add some crushed aragonite in a small media bag to increase the buffering capabilities in some of my tanks? I'm worried about water changes using tap water being too much of a ph change for the fish. Roughly, what percentage of a water change should one be concerned about when your tap water's ph is significantly higher than your aquarium?
Regarding the tank with the fishless cycle experiment. Am I correct to believe the 6.0 ph has completely stalled the cycle?