# 29g stocking?



## xmpjx (May 31, 2015)

I am in the process of setting up a 29g aquarium. 

Fluval 206 canister filter
Moderately - highly planted
Soil substrate, capped with gravel where plants will be, sand where I am not putting soil/plants. 
Large piece of spiderwood
PH 7.8 out of tap, stays at 7.8 in the aquarium (based on dirted 10g that has been using this water for 2 months) 
LED lights
*open top*


No fish will be going in this aquarium for 1-2 months, just wondering how this sound for future stocking? 

1 - Cacatuoides Apistogramma's (Cockatoo Cichlid)
8 - Panda Corydora
10 - Rummy Nose Tetra

Possibly
10 - cherry shrimp

Besides the Apisto. eating the shrimp IF I put the shrimp in, I'm not sure of any obvious issues with this stocking. I would be okay with population control with the shrimp, more worried about adults being eaten.
One thing I am curious about, is if I can bump the schools of rummy nose tetra and panda corys up a bit, how many would you think would be okay/how big of a school would you do?


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

What is the GH and KH? 
The fish you list are soft water fish. 

In a 29 gallon you could have more fish:
Mated pair of Apistos
dozen Pandas 
12-18 Rummies.


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## xmpjx (May 31, 2015)

I haven't tested those yet, will try today!


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## xmpjx (May 31, 2015)

Tested more than GH and KH, just so all info is there:

PH - 7.7
GH - 60 
KH - 40
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 0


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

KH and GH are ppm? German degrees of hardness? Something else? 

If those are ppm (same as mg/l) then that is ideal water for the soft water fish you have listed.


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## xmpjx (May 31, 2015)

Haha I don't know  haven't tested those before, have some learning to do in that area. 

The booklet said multiply the drops by 20 for GH it took 3 drops for the color to change, giving me 60. 

For KH it said to multiply the drops by 10, took 4 drops for the color to change, giving me 40. 

(It was two separate tests, I didn't just add the KH drops to the already done GH test lol)

It's a Hagen test kit if that makes any difference. Does any of that info help? I'm not sure how to convert those numbers to anything useful?


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

I think it is telling you to convert whatever results you get to ppm or mg/l (these are the same). 

So you have very soft water, and there is something else keeping the pH up. Don't worry about it, soft water fish will do well.


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## xmpjx (May 31, 2015)

Thank you for confirming that it is very soft, I looked at a few charts and stuff but wasn't sure I was reading them properly/using the numbers properly  still slightly confused about the whole process and how everything effects other things but I'm slowly figuring it out.


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

GH and KH are measured in the test tube, and the results can be reported several ways. 

German degrees of hardness:
This seems to be the most common in aquarium keeping. 

Parts per million, or milligrams per liter. This is also very common. 

1 degree = 17.9 ppm.

GH measures calcium and magnesium. These are important minerals for both fish and plants. 

KH measures carbonates. Carbonates are a buffer that can stabilize the pH. 

In nature minerals like limestone and related minerals will dissolve in water, and add calcium, magnesium and carbonates to the water. If there is a lot of these minerals, the water is referred to as hard water. If the local minerals are not easily dissolved in the water, then the water has few minerals, and is soft water. 

Fish that come from soft water are often very good at getting the minerals they need and store these minerals in their body. If they are in hard water, many of these fish can accumulate too many minerals and die. 
Fish that come from hard water are not so good at getting those minerals. 

Also, fish need to maintain the right levels of minerals and salts in their body cells. When hard water fish are in too-soft water they cannot get rid of the excess water that enters their cells.

Fish cannot handle too rapid a change in water hardness. 
When you buy fish, you can ask at the store, and test the water in the bag. 
Set up a quarantine tank to match the water they are used to. If you want to keep the fish in water that is harder or softer than the store water, make this change gradually while the fish are in quarantine. This can take a month, and is a good, safe, slow method of changing the water hardness.


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## xmpjx (May 31, 2015)

Thank you for all that information! I will ask the LFS about their water compared to mine next time I'm in there. I do have a spare and cycled 10g right now that I can use for a quarantine tank.


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## Guck (Nov 27, 2014)

Assuming you are using the Nutrafin test kit, the units are in ppm when you multiply the number of drops by 20.


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## xmpjx (May 31, 2015)

Yes it is! Thank you  that makes things a lot easier


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