Some of my lvls are high

[Kiara]

I had this posted under one of my other posts, but thought since it's a different question maybe I should move it...

Ok I did a water change today, and the fish look a little happier, which means I definatly trust you guys wwaaaay more then my local pet store, they said I didn't need to do a waterchange for a month....which probably contributed to the death of my silver dollars... It's a new tank set up last (the 4th) Sunday, all my fish are in there already (Monday the 5th), (they said I could do it, I know now that was wrong) So as of today, I do the water changes everyday until the ammonia goes back to zero and stays there (my ammonia is at .5 atm) Also, my ph went way up before I did the water change it's at the max (sry I have the test strips atm) My pH is at 8.4 and the alkalinity(sp?) is at 300 (both max on test strips) also my ammonia spiked to .5 today.

My Nitrite and Nitrate are still at 0 and the total hardness is at soft

Btw these were before my first waterchange. When should I test it again to see if the change helped?

So to fix it so far all I have done is the water change, what else should I do.

My fish don't seem to upset, I just want to make sure they stay like that.

They're pretty tough. Thanks again

 

[modernhamlet]

I had this posted under one of my other posts, but thought since it's a different question maybe I should move it...

Ok I did a water change today, and the fish look a little happier, which means I definatly trust you guys wwaaaay more then my local pet store, they said I didn't need to do a waterchange for a month....which probably contributed to the death of my silver dollars... It's a new tank set up last (the 4th) Sunday, all my fish are in there already (Monday the 5th), (they said I could do it, I know now that was wrong) So as of today, I do the water changes everyday until the ammonia goes back to zero and stays there (my ammonia is at .5 atm) Also, my ph went way up before I did the water change it's at the max (sry I have the test strips atm) My pH is at 8.4 and the alkalinity(sp?) is at 300 (both max on test strips) also my ammonia spiked to .5 today.

My Nitrite and Nitrate are still at 0 and the total hardness is at soft

Btw these were before my first waterchange. When should I test it again to see if the change helped?

So to fix it so far all I have done is the water change, what else should I do.

My fish don't seem to upset, I just want to make sure they stay like that.

They're pretty tough. Thanks again

[snapback]905549[/snapback]​

Sounds like you're on the right track. Keep up the water changes to keep ammonia and nitrite down and you should be in good shape.

You can test 15 minutes or so after a water change to see the change.

My only other concern is the pH and kH rising so much. What are the pH and kH of your tapwater? Do you have any rocks or other things in the tank that might cause it to go up? Have you added any chemicals to the tank?

 

[Kiara]

Ok, so I just did a test on my tank

Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0
Hardness soft
Alkalinity 300 High
pH 8.4+ High

Ammonia- 0

I also tested the tap water

Nitrite, Nitrate 0
Hardness Soft
Alkalinity somewhere between 120 and 180 (ideal)
pH 7.8

I have normal gravel in there, and only added chemicals after the water change (added the water conditioner and the bacteria starter)

I don't know why it went up, that's why I was wondering why it went up, is it because it's the very first time I did a water change since I only found out last night that I needed to do them. I've had the tank for a week, and just barely did the change today. What can I do to bring them down, and is that bad for my fish? Thanks again

 

[rdd1952]

Keep a real close eye on the ammonia as it becomes more toxic as the pH gets higher. Ammonia at a pH of about 6.0 is pretty much non-toxic but when you get to pHs in the 8+ range as you have, it becomes much more harmful.

As for the pH rising in the tank, that could partially be from the ammonia. Ammonia will generally tend to push the pH up some but I wouldn't think that much. Do you have any kind of decorations, rocks, etc in the tank?

Edited for spelling.

 

[Kiara]

I thought the best thing would be to show what I have in there...all the plants are artificial, let me know if this helps, thx

 

[modernhamlet]

The gravel... you're sure that substrate is standard aquarium gravel and not crushed coral or aragonite? I know I keep coming back to that, but I don't see any other possible cause.

Why don't you test it in a bucket of your tapwater? Just add a couple of inches of the substrate and let it sit overnight. Should tell you if the substrate is causing the pH rise.

 

[rdd1952]

Although I realize there is light/white sand available I agree that it does look like some type of marine sand/crushed coral. The bucket test would definitely work. You could probably even do it in a quart container with a couple inches of gravel.

Also, this isn't related to the tank but does the boy in the picture always sleep standing up or is it just coincidence that his eyes are closed in all 3 pictures?

 

[Kiara]

lol, since you kept mentioning the gravel, I dug the gravel bag out of the garage...so...listen to this

Top Fin Premuim Quality Aquarium Gravel
Gravel may contain minerals that affect water pH. Monitor you water pH after adding gravel and adjust as necessart to avoid sudden pH changes....


so now the question, how do I adjust the pH?

P.S the boy is one of my son's. His eyes are extremely sensitive to bright light for some reason so if we use the flash on our camera his eyes come out closed