Brand new set up. Advice please.

[Mindy]

Thanks... I'll read the post on the hardness question. That'll be helpful.

Would you recommend putting them in a bucket and slowly dripping tank water? It would mean them being in a bucket for a few hours, which won't be too nice for them, but I could drop a heater and an airstone in there if necessary. Though a heater in a bucket might be a little intense. Maybe I could put the bucket in a polystyrene box to keep the temp stable...

I'm really nervous about this. It's one thing to lose a few tetras or something when trying to acclimate... but this is different I'm scared to death I'll do something wrong.

[McEve]

I'm quite sure you won't do anything wrong Mindy. You are careful, therefor it will all go just fine. The Zebra aren't the most delicate fish I've come across, mind you, don't abuse it nonetheless, it won't handle everything.

What I do when I get a new addition, is to fasten a container with clips to the inside of the qaurantine tank, and empty the fish and water into the container. This container has one tiny hole in each end of it, which allows the water to slowly trickle into the container and mix with the water already in there. I leave it there for about 4 hours, and then let it swin out into the tank.

Hope this helps - and don't worry, I'm pretty sure you'll have your two zebras to enjoy for years to come

[Mindy]

I've read that (6 page! ) thread "What's happened to my baby". Some interesting stuff in there. I don't know if this is useful at all, but my 4ft tank, up until recently when I bought my RO unit, only got tapwater changes and the pH remained at 7.8 - totally stable, no variations irregardless of what time of day I took the reading. In two years, the KH and GH have lowered just a little, and there is lots of bogwood in there. I know that buffering capacity will drop over time due to exchange of hydrogen/hydroxyl ions (though don't ask me to explain this... ) I personally haven't noticed that bogwood makes much difference to the water. I know that technically it releases tannins, etc, which acidify the water, but I really haven't noticed much change. I started out with two small pieces and have quite a few now. I've not noticed any change in the water from adding bogwood. Only since I've started using RO for water changes, have noticeable changes occured.

Now... more questions... If I house them in the 2ft temporarily (it IS mature by the way) what should I give them to hide in? There is only one small piece of bogwood in there, but it doesn't offer much cover. Should I plop a few bits of pipe in there, or something? Maybe just get some small pieces of slate from the LFS and stack them up?

Also... will it matter that the current in there is normal? Just a UGF with two bubble columns (whatever they're called - I don't know much about UGFs. I inherited this one and keep meaning to change it!) Should I raise the current for them? I'm not sure how yet, but if it's important, I will figure it out. However, there are other fish in there. 2 x Golden Honey Gourami (dwarfs), 5 x Harlequin Rasboras, 2 x Otos and a guppy, so I have to be a little careful with current. Don't want the other fish to swim themselves to death!

[McEve]

Just make sure the water is well oxygenated and it should be ok.

[Mindy]

I've never tested for oxygen, though I know you can get kits for it. Would you say it's imperative to test for dissolved oxygen? Or do you normally just figure it's OK because the powerheads (etc) are running?

If you think it's important to test it, what sort of reading am I looking for?

[McEve]

In most cases you know it's well oxygenated because you have the flowrate, venturis so forth that makes it so. But since you do not whish to add the extra circulation then you might want to test it. It's hard to get both warm and well oxygenated water, as these two oppose eachother....

Frequent water changes also increase the oxygen level as fresh from the tap water contains more oxygen than aged water.

If you test the water, the reading of the Tetra O2-test should be 8 or higher.

Good luck

[Mindy]

Thanks for the helpful advice guys. I know I'm panicking a bit putting this set up together, but I've never put so much effort into a specific fish before. And especially one like this which is so precious and expensive. Thanks for your patience and experience.

I'm sure I'll think of more questions quite soon, but I'll give you a rest for now

Thanks again!

[KenW]

Here is some additional/helpful information about oxygen saturation with respect to water temperature. The article is about koi but is also relevant to any fish when it comes to available O2 in water.

http://www.vcnet.com/koi_net/do.html

Hope this is helpful.

FYI, Norm is a very knowledgable and respected person in the water quality department for koi in the states.

Ken

[Mindy]

Thanks... I'll have a read of that right now.

In the meantime, I tested the parameters of the 80L tank which will temporarily house the zebras. Everything is fine, but there is a nitrate reading of around 20ppm. Is this too high for zebras? As I said before, my tapwater comes out at 20ppm. I now mix RO with tap, but obviously there is still nitrate in the change water due to the tap, plus the normal nitrification in the tank. I'm not sure what I'm aiming at with Zebras. Advice?

[Des]

Hi Mindy,
I dont think you should be too concerned with your Nitrate level as that is pretty acceptable. There will be Nitrate in the LFS, probably a lot higher than yours. If you are really worried you could add a quarter of a Standard 8" x 4" Polyfilter ( mainly used in Marine aquaria) which will remove Nitrate , nitrite , Ammonia, chemicals, etc without adding anything back into the water. Some other nitrate removers add salt compounds into the aquarium.
Regards,
Des.

[Mindy]

Thanks Des. I have some Polyfilter. I occasionally put it in the filters in the 4ft for various reasons. I got another filter last night to put in that the 2ft, a small internal filter, and I can put some Polyfilter in there. I also have a moss ball growing in there which, so they claim, is supposed to reduce nitrate too. But I only have the one, so probably not THAT effective. But the little internal should increase the circulation/oxygen levels.

If I can get the dosh together, I am HOPING to be able to pick up the zebs at the weekend. I am really impatient to get them home! But I MUST make sure I've done all I can to get the tank ready for these guys.