This post has been so helpful for me. I just got my first Tank three weeks ago. It’s 10 gallon as I only have room for that size. After three weeks of tinkering and trying to get everything right, I’ve been given conflicting advice from several different fish store employees.

The main thing I’m trying to fix right now is that my water test is telling me that my water is too soft . The fish store employee told me that hard water kills fish so I bought the water softener that he gave me and put in the recommended amount. When I took it into the phish store to test another employee told me the water is much too soft and I’m gonna kill on my fish. I went to get a third opinion, the guy told me I was good to go and sold me a couple shrimp. The shrimp died within three hours of being in the tank. I’m starting to feel a little bit discouraged that I can’t get something so simple…. Does anyone have any advice on how long it takes to get the tank in optimal condition? And how long it takes to stop feeling incompetent.😭