I just used my test strips to test my water. well I doing weekly 25 to 50% water changes, it's due Friday, probably getting done tomorrow. In my 20 gal nitrate is between 40 and 80, guess around 60, nitrite is between 5 and 10, looks like 8, ammonia is down to 0.5. in my 55 my nitrate and nitrites are there but pretty much nothing, but my ammonia is 3.0.
I'm only changing 15 gal on the 55, probably should do more but I have to fill it from the cold water line which is about 55 degrees F. I plan to plumb in a way to get warm water next week end.
both tanks have a hardness of 300, alkaline of 120 and a PH between 7.8 and 8.4 guessing 8.
I got a little afraid of making thing worse with the creek I was going to get my rocks from. cows drink up stream a bit from where it come close to the road. so I figured 1 i'd get snake bit hiking through the bush to get closer or I'd give my fish some weird cow disease, mad cow.
So I guessed that the water from the fish store would have some bacteria in it, so I hoped for the best. I'm down to 2 small loaches, 5 platys, a rubber lip, and a tequila sunrise (can't remember what type of fish). I got a ghost catfish that according to what I've read should be dead, but mine is healthy and active. Only thing mine has going for it is there is quite abit of current where the 20/40 drops the water. I wish the petsmart would of mentioned that I was being hard on him.
http://www.aquatic-hobbyist.com/profiles/freshwater/catfish/glasscatfish.html
Ghost/Glass Catfish Profile
"they need water with pH between 6.5 and neutral (7.0). They also need very soft water" "A naturally shoaling fish, these current-loving fish do not do well when kept solitarily, even when part of a large community set-up. Most would recommend that the glass cat be kept in groups of four or more"
Thank you all for the sugestions.
