Major tank troubles

[Talleyrand]

If your tap water has a ph of 6.4 you might want to do some water changes until you bring your tank ph up to 6.4 then uses a ph chem to bring it up to about 6.8

 

[Angel Lady]

You know baking soda raises your PH without using all those chemicals. But I am thinking you have the same problem I have had in the past. I couldnt get the ph to stay up no matter what I done. Then I seen some where that baking soda would safely raise the ph so I tried it and it works great. If I was you I would do a daily water change to get your fish back in good health again and add some baking soda daily to. I think it is about a teaspoon for every ten gallon. See if this helps. I couldnt get the ammonia down either and it was testing out of the tap that way. I went and bought me some PRIME it worked out great.

 

[xrenegadex]

ammonia is high, pH is low.....nitrate is also high....

ammonia= ~ 4.5 ppm
Nitrate= 40 ppm
nitrite= 0
total hardness= between 75-125 ppm (hard to tell)
alkalinity= 0 ppm
pH= 5.5

if i heard correctly, the brown algea i'm seeing grow on the filter output could be caused by the low pH. If i understood the chemical cycle, alkalinity determines how easily the pH changes, right? what are some ways I can get that and the pH up. I put some pH increaser in last night, and it did go up a little. Right now only the neon and cray fish are in the tank....i'm also slowly putting the temp. to 76

 

[xrenegadex]

nothing i do keeps the ammonia down. the pH is constantly dropping, ammonia constantly going up. I had reset the tank and already long 3 barbs and two guppies. i am confused. it was stable and unchanging for several days, then everything when downhill again.

i'm goint to look for that PRIME. and i'll try the baking soda.

pH is at around 6 and slowly falling (from 7.8 ). Ammonia is at 3.0 ppm but staying there (and that's harmful from what i understand.) The neon looks heathier than ever through...maybe he likes it...hmm....??

 

[charmd2]

Just a hunch here, get a new bottle of declorinator. And triple up on the amount you are adding to the tank.

A six month old tank should not be getting constantly high ammonia levels. How often do you change your filter material? And what is your substrate? Do you have any unsealed decorations in your tank? Driftwood/rocks from outside?

Just trying to figure out why your ph keeps dropping. I'd up the water changes to approx 25% twice a day until you get a stable ph, and it will keep the ammonia to a much lower level.

 

[CathyG]

Maybe you should consider introducing reverse osmosis water as a percentage of your tank volume. I buy RO water, paying £3.50 for 25 litres, and gradually built up the volume used until approx 40-50% of my tank volume is RO. This has brought my pH down from 7.8 (tap water) to 7. It also reduces the Nitrate concentrate, which is 10pm from my tap. Using chemicals to alter your pH will only cause swings, as you are experiencing, and these are more dangerous to the fish. If you want to use some hardware to raise your pH and harden your water, try sea shells, but the difference might prove negligable and certainly it will be slow. IMO, RO will offer you a more quick fix solution (but still needs to be introduced gradually) and it will also give you some amount of control, since you will find a balance that works. I would also advise you invest in a liquid test kit, they are more accurate. Good luck!

 

[Fiori]

I believe that limestone, coral sand or other calcareous materials can help in raising ph but they can also raise the hardness of your water as well.

 

[xrenegadex]

well.....i got a liquid test kit....

after alot of waiting.... (and a considerable amount of pH increaser) it has stablized for the most part....the pH is hlding steady at 7.4 and ammonia is at 1 ppm and slowly dropping (considering is was about almost 10 ppm or so. ff the scale)

i did two things....

first was add a second filter, about half what was on, and put ammo-chips in it.
second, got a bottle of Stabalizer, it adds the bacteria that are part of cycling, helping it to cycle faster.

the whole time adding pH increaser to keep it around 7.5, or as close as i could get