most important factor?

This might be a difficult to answer but....I just retired and am setting up a 55 gal tank. With all the varing factors, PH, Temp, Nitrate. etc Which is the most important to keep track of? Thx much.....

Ammonia, then nitrite, then stability.

choose fish best adapted to your water, if that is an option.

choose fish best adapted to your water, if that is an option.

Don't understand. How do I know what fish is best adapted to my water. How do i know what my city of milwaukee water is? See I'm confused.

I checked your water quality report, you don't get nearly as much info as we do, I am surprised.

Your water I believe comes from wells, and may be hard. In that case I would look to fish that prefer hard water and a higher pH. Other fish can live in hard water, and yours may not be all that hard, but, unless you have some particular fish in mind it would be well to selecting choose your fish. you can ask the water provider, or a local pet shop should be able to tell you as well.

Oops, yours comes from the lake, so it is probably soft.

you also have chloramines, a combination of chlorine and ammonia added to your water. You will need a water conditioner for chloramines to put in the water when you get it from the tap. I'd recommend Amquel.

What kind of fish did you have in mind.

I personally am a nut for Endler's livebearers.

I want livebears, Fancy Guppies in particular. Not with the idea of breeding them for a new varity but to watch the give birth and watch the little ones grow. Yes I have lake michigan water. Thx for the advice.

Living in Wisc we get some real low temps (many sub zero days or close to it. I don't want to take a chance on mail ordering any fish so my local pet shops will have to do . Also I have a lot of artifical plants cause I don't have the knowledge to grow real plants right now but will someday. This is a learning experience for me. As a kid we had a couple of goldfish and that didn't require a whole lot of special attention but this tropical fish stuff is a whole new world to me. I will learn...

Here's a fun site:
http://www.endlersr.us/index.php

I like these fish, they may be a type of guppy, or a close relative, the jury is still out.

Lots of good info there anyway.

for anacharis, you throw it into the tank.

that's sufficient, anything more is overkill.

Have fun. that's the important part.

Thx

White vinegar works well too, and a little in the water won't do much except lower the pH a little.

Water quality - defining water quality = five points. #1 - ammonia, nitrite and nitrAte. #2 - organic pollution. #3 - dH, pH, temperature. #4 - chemically clean, ie;chlorine, heavy metals, chemicals (treatments). #5 - stability, not fluctuation .............. Frank

In my opinion and in order: 1 amonia 2 nitrite 3 temp 4 nitrate 5 ph

if you are new to fish keeping check out http://www.netmax.tk/ good site with lots of info and links to more info.

When it comes right down to it, most of the commonly available aquarium fish are pretty well adapted to most of our domestic water supplies. You do need to get a water test kit and make sure the ammonia level is at zero and to characterize other parameters. Some of the more exotic and expensive aquarium fish may not be suitable for your water, and significantly changing water parameters can be very tricky and expensive. In addition, some of the chemicals that are sold to adjust pH, etc. can change water parameters so quickly that they put the fish into shock.

That's some of the bad stuff. Some of the good things you can do when setting up and maintaining a new aquarium are: find out about the nitrogen cycle, and make sure your tank is properly cycled; use a good water conditioner like Stress Coat; introduce new fish by the drip acclimation technique; do a partial water change about once a week; avoid over crowing and over feeding; be very conservative about using medications. This forum has more detailed information about all those things, and your questions are always welcome.

Finally, about shipping fish to Wisconsin, the shipper can add heat packs of various sizes, and fish can be delivered in less than 24 hours. If you're buying fish through Aquabid.com, you can ask the seller if it's OK to ship to your area. Many of the sellers on Aquabid are other hobbyists who think more about quality than profit.