bedazzled Posted August 8, 2008 Report Share Posted August 8, 2008 I am now at the tail end of an ammonia spike. Did another 50% water change yesterday, have been doing them daily since the ammonia got out of hand. Test results from this morning Ammonia 0.1ppm Nitrite 0.1ppm Nitrate 5.0ppm PH 7.2 There is obviously something in my new set up that is buffering the PH up to 7.2 because no matter how much I try and bring it down the next day it is right back at 7.2. I suspect the schist I added may be the culprit, I don't want to lose the rocks though so is there anything else I can add that will bring it down a bit? I have a smallish piece of driftwood in there but I doubt it is big enough to counteract the rocks. Any suggestions or advice gratefully accepted Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkLB Posted August 8, 2008 Report Share Posted August 8, 2008 Hi bedazzled. It sounds as if the ammonia is under control. You should now get a nitrite spike and will need to keep the water changes going to control that. What kind of fish are in the tank?? What is the pH of your tap water? 7.2 pH is fine for most fish and I wouldn't worry about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bedazzled Posted August 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2008 I have leopard danios platys neons corys guppies BN Angels Baloon mollies I thought it may be too high for the neons and the corys but they seem ok, I guess consistancy is better which is why I gave up on trying to lower it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkLB Posted August 8, 2008 Report Share Posted August 8, 2008 I reckon those fish will be fine in 7.2pH I guess consistancy is better which is why I gave up on trying to lower it You're right there. It's the sudden change in pH that they don't like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bedazzled Posted August 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2008 Cool, thanks again Mark Will keep up the water changes and try and avert a Nitrite spike, lol 50% is soooo much more work in this tank than the small one I am use to All worth it in the end when it has settled and looks fab though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted August 8, 2008 Report Share Posted August 8, 2008 He is right, nothing wrong with 7.2. Schist will not alter your pH either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bedazzled Posted August 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2008 Thanks Caryl Maybe it is the gravel then, I had a different gravel in my other tank and it was sitting at 7 constantly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted August 9, 2008 Report Share Posted August 9, 2008 Use bottle #2 from your Nitrate test kit to test the various rocks. It is hydrochloric acid so will fizz very obviously if it comes in touch with anything alkaline (try it on a shell just for fun). If it doesn't fizz then your rocks aren't the cause of the different pH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bedazzled Posted August 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2008 Coooooolll!! Thanks Whetu I will be giving that a go, even if it turns out to be just for the fun factor :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bedazzled Posted August 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2008 OH MY GOD!!! I am gutted!! Just went to do a water change and found I have forgotten to plug the filter and heater back in, my poor fish are freezing their nuts off And I have probably killed any sort of biological filter I had going Have plugged it all back in and done ammonia and nitrite tests and nothing has changed since the tests I did yesterday but time will tell I guess. Will just let the heater bring it back up to temp slowly, maybe helped along a wee bit by some warm water *sigh* I can't believe I was so damn stoopid! My poor poor fishies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted August 10, 2008 Report Share Posted August 10, 2008 Don't be too hard on yourself - I think we've all done something similar at least once! Actually you probably haven't done the good greeblies much harm. The fact that the temp was low when the filter was off probably just meant they went to sleep for a while in your filter but they should be fine. And the fish will probably be fine too given they live in the Winterless North :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bedazzled Posted August 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2008 Don't be too hard on yourself - I think we've all done something similar at least once! Actually you probably haven't done the good greeblies much harm. The fact that the temp was low when the filter was off probably just meant they went to sleep for a while in your filter but they should be fine. And the fish will probably be fine too given they live in the Winterless North :lol: Good to hear my greeblies should be ok Who has been telling you stories about the winterless north? Car windscreen was iced up this morning and there was a pretty frost lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted August 11, 2008 Report Share Posted August 11, 2008 Getting your pH below 7 usually requires rainwater, reverse osmosis unit, or peat in the filter. I haven't found tap water yet that was soft enough to go below 7. 7.2 is perfectly fine for most fish, stability is MUCH more important, and a lower pH is harder to manage (due to a lack of buffering). For the vast majority of fish kept in aquariums, going below 7 is only needed to induce spawnings, and even then its usually the hardness of the water and conductivity thats important and the pH is just a bi-product of those factors. If you've been using pH down, throw the bottle away. If your nitrate keeps going up, that is a good sign the bacteria is working, it shouldn't be long before ammonia and nitrite drop to 0. If your fish start gasping for air etc then chances are your ammonia is too high, if the nitrite gets too high it usually resolves in a fairly quick death, so try to keep that low (measurable to encourage bacteria growth, but not higher than that, 0.1 is likely a good figure). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bedazzled Posted August 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2008 Thanks spidersweb Nitrite is still sitting at 0.1ppm another water change coming up later today Ammonia has all but gone so things are looking good Yes, guilty of using PH down :oops: but I won't be any more lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon1990 Posted August 11, 2008 Report Share Posted August 11, 2008 I use driftwood for lowering PH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted August 11, 2008 Report Share Posted August 11, 2008 Because pH is logarithmic 7.2 is so close to neutral or acidic that it means nothing. Local authorities try very hard to keep the water supply alkaline so it does not corrode your copper or dezincify your brass in the plumbing system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted August 11, 2008 Report Share Posted August 11, 2008 Ooooh no! You wouldn't want your brass dezincified! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted August 11, 2008 Report Share Posted August 11, 2008 Actually you wouldn't as it leaves a honecombe of copper and all your taps drip. Then it attacks the copper and it all turns to custard. The custard completely ruins the taste of your whiskey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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