Water Issues

[IrishMom]

Hi! Newbie here. I have a lot of story here - so forgive me if it's long.

I have a 5gallon Fluval spec V tank with a small heater. Bought it from a local fish store who told me I could easily have 4 glofish tetras. They set up the tank for me and my tetras lived happily for a couple months until we had a horrible accident. Before that I really did absolutely no research, just relied on what the fish store told me.

I was vacuuming the gravel, and one of the fish jumped out of the tank into a cup (one in a million fluke). I quickly poured him back into the tank. Then I realized my horrifying mistake. There had been soap in the cup. The jumper fish died immediately. I tried to pull the fish out into clean water but it was too little too late. I lost them all.

So I started over. I did some research and I emptied everything from my tank, rinsed and wiped it down thoroughly. Got new EVERYTHING except the biological filter media. I had pulled it out pretty quickly and rinsed it.

So I filled up the new tank and put in a bacteria stone and some quick start. Bought an API master test kit and started testing the water.

After a few days, my Ammonia levels went to zero. My ph was still pretty high (I was mixing distilled water and tap water treated with Prime in a 50% mix. That only brought the pH down to 8.2.

But I figured if pH was stable I was probably ok. So I decided to go get daughter a betta and a snail.

The betta seemed quite happy (exploring, eating, showing us his fins and following us) for 2 days and then started looking sick. I checked the water and my ammonia was back up. So obviously the tank hadn't been ready for him after all. My nerite snail is still doing quite well.

The highest the ammonia got was 1.0ppm. I've been doing daily 50% water changes to get it down to .5ppm. Since the fish died yesterday I did a 50% change with straight tap water treated with Prime after that. Nerite snail still seems quite happy.

Water temp is pretty steady at 75-77 degrees. I put in a piece of driftwood to try to help lower the pH. But it's holding pretty steady now at 8.6 or so with all tap water.

I plan to let the tank get to zero ammonia again. I figure the snail and food left over from dead betta should be enough to get the cycle going (right or wrong?)

I don't want any more fish to die. Help me get things right please!

Is the pH just too much for the betta? Or is it more likely he just died from the cycle starting again? My tetras never seemed bothered by the tap water. I had used straight tap water for them.

Sorry I know this is a lot to digest. I just want my daughter to have a happy fish.

 

[IrishMom]

Oh I also should add I used enough Prime with yesterday's water change to treat the whole tank. So that is where I am right now.

 

[TekFish]

Seems more likely to be the ammonia than anything else, although the Betta probably didn't appreciate the high pH either. Mixing tap water with RO water will not lower the pH of the tank by itself. It will only lower the hardness, you may need to filter some peat, add wood or dried leaves to release tannins or something similar to lower pH.

 

[IrishMom]

Oh and I had also punched holes in the pump tubing and turned the speed all the way down to be more hospitable for the betta.

 

[IrishMom]

Seems more likely to be the ammonia than anything else, although the Betta probably didn't appreciate the high pH either. Mixing tap water with RO water will not lower the pH of the tank by itself. It will only lower the hardness, you may need to filter some peat, add wood or dried leaves to release tannins or something similar to lower pH.

Ok, thank you. I ordered some Fluval Peat Granules.

 

[StevenF]

Mixing tap water with RO water will not lower the pH of the tank by itself. It will only lower the hardness, you may need to filter some peat, add wood or dried leaves to release tannins or something similar to lower pH.

RO water without CO2 disolved in it will have a PH of 7. Most of the time it has CO2 disolved in it causing the PH to drop to 6 or less. SO if you want to lower PH I would use more RO water. Peat, wood, and leaves realease tannins and some acids that will lower PH temporarily. The Peat, woodd, and leaves will eventually run out of tannis and the PH will then rise. For the long term the best way to lower PH is RO water.

 

[IrishMom]

RO water without CO2 disolved in it will have a PH of 7. Most of the time it has CO2 disolved in it causing the PH to drop to 6 or less. SO if you want to lower PH I would use more RO water. Peat, wood, and leaves realease tannins and some acids that will lower PH temporarily. The Peat, woodd, and leaves will eventually run out of tannis and the PH will then rise. For the long term the best way to lower PH is RO water.

Ok thank you. This was my understanding as well - but I'm learning all the time.

Would there be any downside to using 50% ro water all the time? Other than cost? I do plan to have an ro filter installed in my kitchen in the next 6 months anyway.

 

[StevenF]

Would there be any downside to using 50% ro water all the time? Other than cost? I do plan to have an ro filter installed in my kitchen in the next 6 months anyway.

Using 50% RO is OK. I personally am 100% RO water (I don't like my tap water). The only issue with RO is the nutrients int he water. 100% RO has essentially no minerals. So if you use 100% RO you have to add calcium and magnesium to raise GH just a little and use a comple fertilizer and monitor things carefully until you have a standard recipe that work. With a 50/50 mix nutrient issues are less of a concern. So if 50% mix works for you keep doing that.

 

[NickAu]

You want my opinion?

First I would get rid of the plastic decorations including that submarine and that substrate they have no place in a fish tank, Then I would go out and buy proper gravel, a bunch of live plants, Lots of them, Things like anubias, blue stricta, crypts, swords and plant them then cycle your tank then add a nice Betta to it.

PS
Just by looking at the photo of the tank I can tell that the current is too strong for a Betta.

 

[JohnathanSt]

Hi All. New to the forum and fish keeping. Ive had my tank set up for just over a month now and have added a betta and some neon tetras. They are getting on well and loving life. However when doing a water change I was advised to add some additional bio booster. All levers in the tank seem normal. However I feel the biobooster has made the tank cloudy. Do i really need to add this going forward? also should i do a partial water change to reduce the cloudiness? Cheers for any opinion

 

[thrujenseyes]

Sorry you've had a rough go at things thus far but kudos to you for reading and trying to learn and coming here and asking questions!

I have a tiny little tank as well and I use 50% RO and 50% tap (but for opposite reasons, my tap is very soft). The only additive I use is Flourish comprehensive when doing my weekly 50% water changes to add the minerals that I'm lacking because of the RO.

First I would get rid of the plastic decorations including that submarine and that substrate they have no place in a fish tank, Then I would go out and buy proper gravel, a bunch of live plants, Lots of them, Things like anubias, blue stricta, crypts, swords and plant them then cycle your tank then add a nice Betta to it.

She did mention the tank is for pets for her daughter so it may not be what you'd like to see but for a young girl it's probably fun and exciting.
Even if she wants to keep the decor maybe adding a few live plants as Nick suggested would make it more fishy friendly...and help with your water quality.

Good Luck!

 

[IrishMom]

Sorry you've had a rough go at things thus far but kudos to you for reading and trying to learn and coming here and asking questions!

I have a tiny little tank as well and I use 50% RO and 50% tap (but for opposite reasons, my tap is very soft). The only additive I use is Flourish comprehensive when doing my weekly 50% water changes to add the minerals that I'm lacking because of the RO.


She did mention the tank is for pets for her daughter so it may not be what you'd like to see but for a young girl it's probably fun and exciting.
Even if she wants to keep the decor maybe adding a few live plants as Nick suggested would make it more fishy friendly...and help with your water quality.

Good Luck!

Thank you - it is for my daughter. She is 7. Are the decorations actually harmful? They are very soft and didn't seem to do any fin damage when we did have the betta. She loves the decor. We have two live plants and I've added some driftwood and a bio block and I have taken out one of the plastic plants.

I seem to be making progress. My ammonia is testing at .25ppm, nitrites are zero and nitrate is between 5 and 10ppm.

 

[IrishMom]

You want my opinion?

First I would get rid of the plastic decorations including that submarine and that substrate they have no place in a fish tank, Then I would go out and buy proper gravel, a bunch of live plants, Lots of them, Things like anubias, blue stricta, crypts, swords and plant them then cycle your tank then add a nice Betta to it.

PS
Just by looking at the photo of the tank I can tell that the current is too strong for a Betta.

Thank you for the insight. I understand and appreciate all opinions. I'm trying to learn. The betta that I did have seemed to really like swimming through the submarine actually (it has no sharp or jagged edges). And chose to sleep on one of the plastic plants instead of the real ones (liked the purple leaves). If anything proves to be detrimental to the fish I will of course remove it promptly. Curious what is the issue with the substrate? The gravel size was recommended by the fish store.

 

[IrishMom]

I did get the current slowed down even more by taking off the directional nozzle.

 

[StevenF]

Curious what is the issue with the substrate? The gravel size was recommended by the fish store.

I think the color is his reason to remove it. Blue isn't a natural color. Many people like sand or natural gravel. However a bark black sand or gravel is also very popular, but black rarely occurs in nature. The other issue is the color is typically from colored epoxy coating on the gravel and some people try and avoid plastics and epoxies in aquarium worries about toxic chemicals. You can actually get ceramic sand or gravel that doesn't have epoxy or plastic but you pay more for that and color selection is color is limited. But that said many of those same people use acrylic (plastic) aquariums. In your case the plastic and gravel have been in your tank for some time so any chemicals would have been removed from the tank from weekly water changes. So I would have no problem if you decide to leave the plastic plants and grave in the tank.

Oh I also should add I used enough Prime with yesterday's water change to treat the whole tank.

If you are using 50% RO water you only need to use enough Prime for 50% of the tank. The reason is RO water has no chlorine and no heavy metals. So there is no reason to treat the RO portion of the water. The 50% from the tap should however be treated.