jude Posted July 7, 2006 Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 I took the advice about checking to see if the water was warm enough in this cold weather and discovered it was too warm. Ah Hah! I thought, bet that's why I've lost a few platys, so I went online to check what temps they like. I also found out they prefer slightly alkaline water so I checked that too - PH of 5!!!!!!!!!! Then I checked my other tanks and their PH is between 7-8 which is what it usually hovers at. It beats me why the platy tank is so low. I've now taken out the driftwood (although the baby bn's are going to need it back) and added limestone rocks I collected while down south. I'll wait to see if it settles then put the wood back and check it daily for a while. I still think its strange - that piece of wood has always been in the tank but I had cardinals and harlequins in there before so maybe they didn't mind the PH. If anyone has any bright suggestions, just let me know. If the PH doesn't come back up soon I thought I'd put some bird grit in there but I'm not sure how much. I also thought I'd get some aquarium salt cause apparently platys like that too - would it bother the baby bn's? Cheers Jude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted July 7, 2006 Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 Do they have a regular water change? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jude Posted July 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 Yes, and I'd done a 20% water change last night. And another major one last Saturday because I had to move the tank. I've just checked the PH and its come up slightly already so I'm guessing the culprit was the driftwood because I can't imagine the limestone rock would work that quickly. Its one of my favourite bits of wood too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted July 7, 2006 Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 i was always lead to beleive driftwood didnt really make a drastic difference but leaked slowly over time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jude Posted July 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 me too, but the ph has definitely gone up a bit since I removed it and added the limestone rock - so one or the other has made a difference Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted July 7, 2006 Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 Put the log in a bucket of water and keep checking the pH there. You will soon see if it is the driftwood or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted July 7, 2006 Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 the ph has definitely gone up a bit since I removed it and added the limestone rock Jude did you do them both at the same time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jude Posted July 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 Yes I did. I planned to wait for it to settle then put the driftwood back and do regular checks - but I will do as Caryl suggests and put it in a bucket to check it. Cheers Jude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted July 7, 2006 Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 I was just wondering how you would know which one was responsible if you did the 2 at the same time. Caryl's idea sounds good. I didn't know that driftwood really could do anything to your tank other than the tannin thingy. Is it new driftwood? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jude Posted July 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2006 No, it isn't new, its been in the tank a couple of years. But I had cardinals and harlequins in with it and they might not have minded the acidity as much. I had to do the two things together as I had to 'fix' the problem as soon as I could. And you are right, it does make it difficult to sort out what was the cause. Cheers Jude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.