somebody please tell me

[Angel Lady]

my ph keeps going up and down it is enough to make my pleco to change colors he usually stays in his hide away all day and comes out at nite he is out this morning my testing kit only goes down to 6.0 and that is what it is my shark has changed colors to he used to be black and now he looks grey some one tel me ehat to to my ammonia is 0 my nitrites is 0.25 my nitrate is 0 why woulld my ph be crashing.

 

[Dragonslair]

Not to worry you, but .2 in Ph scales can have serious adverse effects on fish. The solution again lies in the setup. If the water company providing the water is in the neutral zone..ish within tolerances and you are finding the Ph is either up or down from that, you must be doing something or adding something in the filter or the water to alter the chemistry. Fish themselves don't alter water chemistry that fast. These kits you can buy are good for what they are designed for, but remember if you lower the Ph and the fish acclimitise to it you will always need to keep it there or visa versa. It is far better to get it right first time and stay as neutral as possible. This is of course you have fish that like neutral water.

 

[Angel Lady]

I havent put anything in the water the ph coming out of my tap water is 7.2 I dont know what is happening it keeps on going donw and the only thing that is in the water and that is all I have ever used is start right by jungle last nite when I checked the ph it was 7.6 this morning when I checked it it was 6.0 I know my fish cant stand this what can I do to make it stop doing this should I do a water change? what can I do i dont want my fish to die someone pleas tell me what to do

 

[reg2k2]

Hmph..guess I don't count as 'somebody' ...that's ok, I don't.

If you don't wanna buy a KH test right off, maybe you could call your water co./ask a neighbor if you have soft water...
As I said, I use coral in the filter. You can use pH-Up drops, though I've found most peeps steer clear of these..not to say they don't work, just never used them myself. Baking soda can raise the KH, too (sry, don't have the dosage), but I believe needs to be added w/ each wc, just like the pH-Up. Prefer the 'natural' approach...coral, certain rocks, shells, etc.

Hmm...also find it curious that your tank measured higher than your tap...??

 

[Angel Lady]

let me run this by all where my tap water has the ph 7.2 could i mabey change out the water a little at a time until i get it back to 7.0 where i like to keep it i am going to find me a spring somewhere I know they are still some of them around here I just have to hunt or mabey catch some rain water one where i dont have to worry about all those chemicals added to it then i will have less problems I have never had to worry about the ph being to low before I have always had to worry about it being to high

 

[reg2k2]

Hasn't your tank only been up a couple months? Or have you kept fish before?
As I said in the other thread, I didn't realize my water was soft for a few years...always put the low pH readings off to poor maintenance. Only two fish survived during that time, lost the other fish I tried to stock with, which I now put down to the pH fluctuations. Wasn't 'til I came to the board w/ a 6.0 reading that I learned that KH and pH interact..and that I had soft water...had assumed it was hard because my tap's pH is high.
I believe wc's are what I suggested, but if the levels dropped that quick (overnight), you'll need to rectify the cause of the drop.
Someone else will have to advise on the rain water, but I'm not too sure 'bout that being a solution...ei. how often does it rain there, acid rain and other pollutants.

jme,jmo

 

[Angel Lady]

it rains quiet often here mabey twice a week in not more it just worrys my to death thinking one of my fish could die. my tank has been up for a couple of months now the nitrites are at 0.25 which I look for that to keep going down the ammonia hasnt been up for a long time on this tank I used a filter from a cycled tank could it be it is still cycling? Would that cause the ph to crash like that

 

[reg2k2]

Excess waste (which I assume wd. turn into amm.>nitrite, etc) can also lower pH, but again I don't think it would be so quick. I think it wd. be good to rule out soft water as the culprit...does ur lfs have same water supply?..you could ask them.

I read your post in the catfish forum...this is the 20gal, right? And how big is your other fish? It's just a hunch (hafta wait for a reply to your q.), but the nitrites *may* be sticking because too heavy a load...but I don't have that answer.

As for raining twice a wk...is that all year long???

 

[Angel Lady]

i dont have that many fish in the 20 long I have the pleco and 3 mollies and 1 black shark the lfs has the same water supply that I have I think the 20 is cycled because I used a filter of from a cycled tank. No it rains like that in april and may here I dont have the answers but when I find me a good mountian spring here I will not have to worry about this long. I have four ten gallon tanks and the 20 long and I have a 55 gallon which I am in the process of setting up in the next couple of days was going to do it today but I am down in my back not feeling to good today.