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Post by karen on Feb 10, 2007 8:47:08 GMT
dumpystig posted his ph on another thread this is it.
Sorry, forgot to add my pH is 6.0 (or maybe lower?), the test only goes as low as this. Any help or advice will be much appreciated.
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Post by jackpike on Feb 10, 2007 18:17:27 GMT
Does he know what his tap waters ph is?
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Post by dumpystig on Feb 12, 2007 20:52:01 GMT
Hi all, sorry about delay but here's whats happened past few days. Saturday - bought GH/KH test kit. Had already been used (by lfs?), not sure if it has a shelf life so needed to take it back on Sunday. Sunday - got replacement kit and did test along with others I was already doing. Results were still not right so I did some (hopefully) remedial work. Here's results over last 5 days:
08 Feb. pH- 6.0 NitrIte- 0.50 NitrAte - 20 Ammonia- 1.0
09 6.0 0.25 20-40 1.0-2.0
10 6.0 0.00 20 1.0
11 6.0-6.4 0.00 20-40 0.5-1.0 GH- 1dGH KH- 1dKH
12 6.8-7.0 1.0 20-40 1.0 1 5
After tests on 11th I added 1x level tablespoon sodium bicarbonate. Todays tests are still not great although pH is just where I want it. I have now added 20ml API StressZyme and 4x rounded tablespoon API aquarium salt in the hope that test results will get to the levels I require over the coming week.
My tap water is bang on 7.0.
Thanks all for your help so far, any more advice or pointers will also be welcome. It seems like hard work at the moment but I think I'm getting there, and it's only what my fish deserve
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Post by dumpystig on Feb 12, 2007 20:57:19 GMT
Dunno why but it's a tables-p-o-o-n, think it must be site software or sumat....... ??
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Post by karen on Feb 12, 2007 21:44:33 GMT
Dunno why but it's a tables-p-o-o-n, think it must be site software or sumat....... ?? Not sure why its saying that i will have a look into it.Im glad you have sorted out your ph but your nitrites and ammonia is till very high how often are you doing water changes and what percentage of water?
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Post by jackpike on Feb 12, 2007 22:03:16 GMT
Looks like u still have a problem with ammonia and nitrite, keep doing your water changes and adding StressZyme every now and again. This should get ammonia and nitrite under control. I've just been reading through your post here and i get the feeling that u have added all of your fish in a short period of time. this would explain why u are having ammonia and nitrite problems. You should only add small numbers of fish every couple of weeks, this allows the nitrifying bacteria time to grow and adjust to the extra waste that is being put into the aquarium water by your fish. U have very soft water like me and this being so u have to be careful of what u put into the water. Many things can lower ph, bog wood, injecting co2 or rotting plant matter can lower ph. I would find the cause of your low ph and remove it, rather than trying to manually change the ph because ph will slowly drop back down again. U will end up killing your fish by constantly changing the ph.
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Post by dumpystig on Feb 12, 2007 22:07:57 GMT
Hi Karen, I did 50% on Sat, then 20% after taking tonights readings, so I will wait for things to settle again before testing tomorrow. I will do another 20% on Weds, after tests, does this sound adequate to you?
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Post by dumpystig on Feb 12, 2007 22:19:56 GMT
Thanx JackPike, with hindsight I now realise I stocked up too soon, but the good thing is I'm learning more each day, books, internet, sites like this and people like yourselves are all helping me become a more responsible fish keeper. You're right, the last thing I want is to become too reliant on adding different water treatments on a regular basis, but having pH at the desired level means it should contribute to other parameters getting closer to their 'norm' - at least I hope so!
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Post by jackpike on Feb 13, 2007 0:31:02 GMT
Have u tested the water coming from your tap for ph?
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Post by dumpystig on Feb 13, 2007 0:39:52 GMT
Yes mate, it's bang on 7.0. I've realised that in ditching my gravel for sand (100% change) just over a week ago, I've almost certainly lost a lot of beneficial bacteria with it. I reckon maybe thats the cause of my water being way out of whack... Ah well, we live and learn, and I'm certainly learning.... LOL
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Post by jackpike on Feb 13, 2007 1:08:43 GMT
Leave some water lying out for a while (many hours) and then test it. if it drops to a ph of 6 then u have very very soft water almost like RO water. if so u may have to add baking soda every time u do a water change or change your subtrate to one that will add some minerals to the water. But if it doesn't drop as low as that which i don't think it will then u have something in your tank that is causing this big drop in ph. Because your water is so low in minerals there is nothing to buffer a drop in ph and it could be perhaps a new bit of bogwood thats leaching a lot of tannins into the water. That may be causing your ph problem.
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Post by karen on Feb 13, 2007 8:35:41 GMT
Hi Karen, I did 50% on Sat, then 20% after taking tonights readings, so I will wait for things to settle again before testing tomorrow. I will do another 20% on Weds, after tests, does this sound adequate to you? thats sounds ok as long as you do regular water chages it should get your ammonia and nitrites down but as jp said you added too many fish too soon but we have all done at one stage ourselves,how are your fish any problems with them?
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Post by dumpystig on Feb 14, 2007 10:56:46 GMT
Fish are all doing fine, no unusual behaviour from any of them, they seem to be thriving. I left beaker of tap water for 6hrs and pH still tested 7.0, same as before, which is what I want it at. I have a large bogwood that I put in 5wks ago, but it was throughly rinsed and soaked...? Here's last nights results:
pH- 6.8-7.0 NO2- 0.25 NO3- 20-40 NH3- 0.25 GH- 4dGH KH- 3dKH
I will do another 20% change tonight and see if there's any improvements
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Post by jackpike on Feb 14, 2007 21:22:33 GMT
A new bit of bogwood will release a lot of tannins for the first few weeks and can even make the water turn brown. but thats whats caused your big ph drop, it should settle down after a while. To avoid this u need to soak bogwood 3-4 weeks before using in an aquarium. Looks like u are starting to get ammonia and nitrite under control. Keep up those daily 20% water changes till they are at zero
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Post by anthony on Feb 15, 2007 0:30:36 GMT
Gh has nothing to do with youy ph. Highering the kh will raise our ph a.d vice versa. Bare in mind that a kh of 1 of less is bound to lead to ph crash. Here is a tip. Keep fish that are happy living within your water parameters. Match the fish to the water and not the water to the fish. Most ph reducers are useless and only temporary.
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