# Piranha Tank Stat.



## LancerReiNi (Feb 12, 2004)

Greetings Everyone,
I am new to this board and also the piranha upkeeping hobby. In fact I'm new as an aquarist too, so please forgive my ignorance if I make any stupid comments. I've been lurking around this forum and several others for a while roughly 2 weeks and I just recently decided I'd get some rbps' I've been doing a tank cycle for about 2 weeks and the stat. lvls are a bit confusing.

pH: 7.2
Ammonia: 3.0
Nitrite: 0.25

I would like to know what I can do to alleviate the situation, and correct any necessary changes. I understand that the piranhas like pH of 6-6.5? I've read a lot about ammonia, nitrate, nitrite lvls from the articles and tutorials available to me online but I would like to have a better understanding on what I can do to help make my rbps' as happy as possible. So please let me know what your tank lvls are and what changes I should make.

I also recently got very much interested in aqua-scaping my take. Meaning adding a lot of floral to it. Now I understand that a lot of these plants require quite a significant amount of light, and I've read conflicting information on how light sensitive piranhas can be. Please help me!


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## rufus (Jan 6, 2004)

once your tank is cycled, your ammonia and nitrite should be zero, so keep it going until that point. as for plants, some needs lots of light (meaning bright bulbs), others dont need that much. your LFS should be able to tell you what would work well with your bulb. either way your lights should be on 8-12 hours a day. good luck and welcome


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## jackburton (Nov 25, 2003)

i have 7.5 ph and my ps r just great m8


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## LancerReiNi (Feb 12, 2004)

Thanks for the great advice guys, One more question though, How will rbps' respond to bright light(for the plants)? I've read conflicting reports, some say that the eyes of p' are very sensitive and they should not be subjected to too intense lights, while others say that p' don't mind the light. The way I figured is if I'm going to aquascape my tank than there should be enough plants to cover areas of the tank and be dark enough for the p's to be happy.


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## SLANTED (Dec 7, 2003)

First of all :welcome:

Your ph is fine. Though their natural habitat is around a 6.4 or so, they can and will adapt to your ph level. It is better to let them get used to your ph rather than having a fluctuating ph that will cause harm to them. Better not to mess with ph.
In terms of your ammonia and nitrite levels, they should be zero. Your tank is still going through the nitrite cycle but you can buy bio spira and nitromax to GREATLY speed up your cycle. 
P's are used to dark and murky water with plenty of cover, so to have bright lights may not be the best idea. You can lower your light by wrapping the bulb in electrical tank or foil until you reach your desired light intensity. I have a ton of plants in all of my tanks but I have low light plants. There are plenty to choose from but anubias are by far my most favorite. It is a matter of finding the balance between enough light for the plants to live and not so much light so that your p becomes stressed. Hope all this helps and of course I invoke all the normal disclaimers. :smile:


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## thePACK (Jan 3, 2003)

moved*


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