20 gal tank - good mix of community fish ?

(05-31-2016, 08:14 AM)delta678 Wrote: I also have a question on pH control.

All cardinal/Neon tetras, Corydoras and Gourami require pH to be 7.0-7.5 max.
My tap water is really soft, it's 1-2 KH, 1-2 GH and 9.4 pH. So in order to keep the fish I need to target pH of 7.
My plan is to use combination of Seachem Alcaline buffer and Acid buffer, this buffers are plant compatible. First get amount of Alcaline buffer to target KH of 3-4, then add/mix Acid buffer to target water pH of 7.

Thor, could you comment on the plan and suggest an alternative.

High PH can be adapted by fish easily if you give them time when first introduce them to your fish tank.   Just slowly add the tank water to the plastic bag of the fish little by little.  The process usually takes me 2~3 hours. Yes, I am extremely careful when it comes to introducing new fish to the aquarium. They will be able to handle it.   

Water hardness on the other hand might be harder to adapt if the difference is too great.   



I do not recommend to mess with water perimeters with chemical products.    Once you have started to use them, you have to always use them in exact amount in order to give fish the same water every time. One mistake in mixing, you might kill your fish. Basically, never mess with water PH or hardness. The only chemical compound you need for a healthy aquarium is the water conditioner.