Algae

[Tenko]

Up until today I had 4 plants and 5 guppies, and an ever growing blanket of algae. I've put in a few more guppies and 3 catfish to try to control the algae a bit.

The first week of having fish in the tank the ph stayed at 7.8 (same as my tap water). I left it 6 days and tested it again and it had jumped to 8.2, which I gradually brought back down again with water changes. The next day (today), it's back to 8.2 again. Any idea on what could cause this? Could it be the proliferation of algae?

 

[stan83]

hmm. Im no expert but from what I have read algee if anything would cause the water to go slightly acidic.

Do you have any shells or the like in the tank? Anything with calcium in it will cause the ph raise. Dunno what else to tell ya other than that. Ill leave it to the experts.

So many learning experiences with fish! Never ending!

stan/steve

 

[Tenko]

I have 2 shells about 5cm long and a couple about 1cm long in 180 litre tank. I hadn't thought about them being the problem. They've been in the tank for quite a while though, it was up and running for a coule of weeks before fish were added and the water stayed at 7.8. Would it take time for the shells to soften or whatever you call it before they start to leach calcium?

I have some decoration, probably made of plaster or something, and some rainbow rock too.

Perhaps I'll try taking the shells out.

 

[Tenko]

Does anyone know if anything other than shells could cause the ph to rise?

Amonia and Nitrite were kept very low and are now 0 and Nitrate has never been above 8, due to 20% daily water changes.

 

[thecichlidaddict]

When you measure water out of the tap it often isn't accurate. If you fill an empty bucket with tap water and run an airstone in it overnight I'd bet you'll test the higher number. co2 in the water causes the ph to drop. As your water is run through filters or disturbed by air stones co2 is released from the water. In addtion your plants and algae are using up the co2. It sounds to me like it's fine.

To control algae you went about it backwards. Adding more fish increases the amounts of alge friendly nutrients in the tank, and it will only thrive. You need more plants, so that they can out-compete the algae for these nutrients.

 

[thecichlidaddict]

I don't know what happened to the catfish, but sitting on the glass doing nothing sounds like a bristlenose to me. And if the fish are eating that's a good sign. Lack of co2 is not harmful to fish, and a small ph rise like that is fine too.

Finding the bristlenose is important. He wasn't eaten, you have nothing in your tank that can can make him dissapear like that. Check under every decoration, and in every plant. Check around the tank too to make sure he didn't commit suicide.

 

[Tenko]

It would have surprised me if he'd been eaten too, even though he was so small. I guessed that perhaps he was picked about by the guppies and shredded small enough to fit through the filter grill. The internal filter was clear of fish remains, I haven't checked the external one yet cos I'd have to mess about dismantling it. One of the catfish does look a bit fat though, I hope that's from gorging on the ample supply of algae though.

I spent a long time moving decorations, lifting stones and rustling plants. I'll go up and have another look though just in case he's come out of hiding.

The tank has a hood (Jewel Rio) so the only place he could escape to is through the unhelpfully small gaps for cables and pipes. I'll try and have a look behind the tank just in case.

Is it normal for the ph to rise though. If it's going to settle to 8.2 does that imply that GH or KH need checking? I don't know a great deal about water parameters I'm afraid.