Help! My tanks water ph keeps changing.

[janson]

Please help me. I dont know what to do anymore.

I have a 70 litre tank ish, 60 * 30 * 35 cm.

ive got 4 Mollies, 10 - 13 babie Mollies, 3 Neon Tetras, 4 Guppies 2
are pregnant, 1 cat fish (cant remember name) and 4 shrimp.

Im new to this, My tank has been running about since the 18th of
October this year. Ive had plants in the aquarium but took them out as
ive added (Proper PH 7.0) from Aquarium pharmaceuticals inc.

This would kill all plants apparently, they are currently in bucket.

1st of all my water went up 2 8.4 PH

Now its at bout 6.0 perminantly and i cant get it to raise up at all.
ive been doing water changes at least once a day too.

Stuff ive been adding to tank........

Nutrafin cycle. (Every few water changes)
Api tap water conditioner (Every water change)
Ph up (Every day till i ran out)
Proper PH 7.0 (Once yesterday)
Kingfisher British prof safe guard (Anti stress) tap water conditioner
(Once with water change yest) as ive run out of Api.

Please help me ive all ready lost bout 8 young mollies. they about 10
days old. i dont know what else to do. Apparently ive got quite high
ammonia but im doing water changes to try an combat that prob.

[carlrs]

janson wrote:
> Please help me. I dont know what to do anymore.
>
> I have a 70 litre tank ish, 60 * 30 * 35 cm.
>
> ive got 4 Mollies, 10 - 13 babie Mollies, 3 Neon Tetras, 4 Guppies 2
> are pregnant, 1 cat fish (cant remember name) and 4 shrimp.
>
> Im new to this, My tank has been running about since the 18th of
> October this year. Ive had plants in the aquarium but took them out as
> ive added (Proper PH 7.0) from Aquarium pharmaceuticals inc.
>
> This would kill all plants apparently, they are currently in bucket.
>
> 1st of all my water went up 2 8.4 PH
>
> Now its at bout 6.0 perminantly and i cant get it to raise up at all.
> ive been doing water changes at least once a day too.
>
> Stuff ive been adding to tank........
>
> Nutrafin cycle. (Every few water changes)
> Api tap water conditioner (Every water change)
> Ph up (Every day till i ran out)
> Proper PH 7.0 (Once yesterday)
> Kingfisher British prof safe guard (Anti stress) tap water conditioner
> (Once with water change yest) as ive run out of Api.
>
> Please help me ive all ready lost bout 8 young mollies. they about 10
> days old. i dont know what else to do. Apparently ive got quite high
> ammonia but im doing water changes to try an combat that prob.

I have not found Proper PH to be effective.
What are your filters? Do you regularly clean them or rinse them with
de-chlorinated water?
Do you do regular water changes every week? As a new tank owner it is
important to do change more often
What is the pH of your tap, well or whatever water you use to top off
or change water with?

What is your substrate, gravel?
What is your kH? It should be a minimum of 80 ppm (160 for mollies is
better).
I recommend Wonder Shells for kH, as they add needed electrolytes
besides the necessary calcium. But it seems there is something else
going on here considering your tanks age.
Make sure you are not adding low pH water to your aquarium, discontinue
use of the Proper PH and do a few 20% water changes with water of a pH
of 7.5

Here is more info about kH:
http://kh-aquarium.blogspot.com/

Carl

[janson]

> I have not found Proper PH to be effective.
> What are your filters? Do you regularly clean them or rinse them with
> de-chlorinated water?
> Do you do regular water changes every week? As a new tank owner it is
> important to do change more often
> What is the pH of your tap, well or whatever water you use to top off
> or change water with?
>
> What is your substrate, gravel?
> What is your kH? It should be a minimum of 80 ppm (160 for mollies is
> better).
> I recommend Wonder Shells for kH, as they add needed electrolytes
> besides the necessary calcium. But it seems there is something else
> going on here considering your tanks age.
> Make sure you are not adding low pH water to your aquarium, discontinue
> use of the Proper PH and do a few 20% water changes with water of a pH
> of 7.5
>
> Hey carl thanks for help.

1st my filter is just the one that came with the tank. (has a small bag
of what looks like gravel in it). Ive just cleaned it for the 1st time
in the water that i had taken out of the tank 2 days ago.
As my tank has only been running a short time ive probably been doing 2
- 3 water changes a week. with tap water (Ph 7.0) with declorinator
init. More in last week (at least 1 daily) since ph drop.

I have aquarium sand in the bottom as its meant to be good for the
plants to root in. I have no idea what my KH is but i have been getting
my water tested almost daily at Peter Barratts the garden centre where
i got the tank + fish from. They have said that my salt is high and the
ph low but other than that ok.
However they did give me some white chalk type rock to put in (for
free) as it'll help to balance my ph out. (apparently.)
Last time they checked water they said salt had dropped abit, But ph
was still low.

Ive just checked water and ph seems to have lifted to about 6.4 since
adding the stones.
Will this balance the water out for good or is it just a short term
fix?
Is there anything that i can do other than frequent water changes??
Since my last post ive lost few more mollie young (now only 7) would
appreciate all help thanks again for your time.

Ross

[carlrs]

janson wrote:

> >
> > Hey carl thanks for help.
>
> 1st my filter is just the one that came with the tank. (has a small bag
> of what looks like gravel in it). Ive just cleaned it for the 1st time
> in the water that i had taken out of the tank 2 days ago.
> As my tank has only been running a short time ive probably been doing 2
> - 3 water changes a week. with tap water (Ph 7.0) with declorinator
> init. More in last week (at least 1 daily) since ph drop.
>
> I have aquarium sand in the bottom as its meant to be good for the
> plants to root in. I have no idea what my KH is but i have been getting
> my water tested almost daily at Peter Barratts the garden centre where
> i got the tank + fish from. They have said that my salt is high and the
> ph low but other than that ok.
> However they did give me some white chalk type rock to put in (for
> free) as it'll help to balance my ph out. (apparently.)
> Last time they checked water they said salt had dropped abit, But ph
> was still low.
>
> Ive just checked water and ph seems to have lifted to about 6.4 since
> adding the stones.
> Will this balance the water out for good or is it just a short term
> fix?
> Is there anything that i can do other than frequent water changes??
> Since my last post ive lost few more mollie young (now only 7) would
> appreciate all help thanks again for your time.
>
> Ross

I am not sure what they mean by the salt being high. Did they test your
water with a hydrometer? That is the usual way to test specific gravity
AKA salt. But I doubt you have enough salt to register on a hydrometer.
I am guessing they mean something else.
I would definitely purchase a kH and possibly a GH test kit (AP sells
them in combination for FW). Since I do not know what this white chalk
is, I cannot comment on it balancing your water, but it is heading in
the right direction.
I would also check your mollies for fungus or bacterial infections with
all they have been going through. Pimafix is a relatively safe
treatment here. Please keep regular tabs on your Ammonia and Nitrites
too. Keep up the water changes, but not anymore than 20% at a time, and
try and up the pH of the new water to 7.5 (Soak some water in a bucket
over night with these rocks you have been given as a test), otherwise
add some baking soda in small increments to the water you are going to
use for changes to bring the ph to 7.5. And also consider the Wonder
Shells for long term KH and pH stability (as well as water clarity and
electrolytes)

Carl
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Pet_Videos.html

[Dick]

On 3 Nov 2006 03:48:15 -0800, "janson" > wrote:

>Please help me. I dont know what to do anymore.
>
>I have a 70 litre tank ish, 60 * 30 * 35 cm.
>
>ive got 4 Mollies, 10 - 13 babie Mollies, 3 Neon Tetras, 4 Guppies 2
>are pregnant, 1 cat fish (cant remember name) and 4 shrimp.
>
>Im new to this, My tank has been running about since the 18th of
>October this year. Ive had plants in the aquarium but took them out as
>ive added (Proper PH 7.0) from Aquarium pharmaceuticals inc.
>
>This would kill all plants apparently, they are currently in bucket.
>
>1st of all my water went up 2 8.4 PH
>
>Now its at bout 6.0 perminantly and i cant get it to raise up at all.
>ive been doing water changes at least once a day too.
>
>Stuff ive been adding to tank........
>
>Nutrafin cycle. (Every few water changes)
>Api tap water conditioner (Every water change)
>Ph up (Every day till i ran out)
>Proper PH 7.0 (Once yesterday)
>Kingfisher British prof safe guard (Anti stress) tap water conditioner
>(Once with water change yest) as ive run out of Api.
>
>Please help me ive all ready lost bout 8 young mollies. they about 10
>days old. i dont know what else to do. Apparently ive got quite high
>ammonia but im doing water changes to try an combat that prob.

What is the pH of your house water? You may be able to use your tap
water straight and quit fooling with it. Once you know what is in
your tap water, you could try finding fish that are OK with it in its
natural state.

I killed a bunch of fish by trying to adjust pH, I am just not
cautious enough. My house water out of the tap is 7.8 I decided to
use it and quit trying to be a chemist. I change 20% twice weekly. I
have 5 tanks ranging from 10 to 75 gallons. They have been up over 3
years.


Mollies are hard to keep.

[janson]

Just like to say thanks for all your help. Aquarium PH has lifted to
6.5 PH and is slowly rising.
Will take 1 of the stones out when it reaches 6.8 PH to stablise it
there. Again thanks for all the help and advise.

Ross

[megasycophant]

Sounds like you're making the common beginner's mistake of attempting
better aquaria through chemistry. Belay using water additives until
you have a good understanding of your own water and water chemistry in
general. The only thing you should add to your water is something to
remove chlorine/chloramine, a need which I'm guessing the "Kingfisher
British prof safe guard" will fulfill. For years I've been using a
product called Genesis from Aquarium Pharmaceuticals, which does
nothing apart from removing chlorine/chloramine and requires only a
drop/gallon, which makes it very cost effective.

To reiterate, keep it simple and work with the water you've got. My
guess is that your problem isn't pH at all. If it drops below 6.0,
then worry about it; otherwise, I'd say your problem is that your tank
hasn't cycled. I would strongly recommend you check out the
rec.aquaria FAQ at http://faq.thekrib.com/ and learn about the nitrogen
cycle. It's the single most important thing you can learn about
aquaria (and the biggest killer of fish). My guess (which will make
sense after you read the FAQ) is that ammonia is killing your fishies.

Another tip: any aquarium shop that's telling you that your "salt is
high" for a freshwater aquarium is doing you more harm than good if you
listen to their advice. Don't assume they know what they're talking
about; I've worked in such places and know better. Go buy yourself
four test kits: pH, KH, ammonia, and nitrite. You can likely find
yourself a test kit that encompasses all of these. Understand the
nitrogen cycle (ammonia -> nitrite -> nitrate) and the relationship
between pH and KH. That's 99% of what you need to know to be a
successful fishkeeper. If this is too much work, then please the fish
at the store -- otherwise you're treating your fishes to a slow death.

Be well,
BRiaN

[swarvegorilla]

You need calcium carbonate so

1) go to a fish shop and buy some marble chips or shellgrit or coral or
limestone sand
or
2) go to a produce store and buy shell grit for chickens and rinse
3) go to a landscaping place or stone merchant and see what sort of
limestone or marble gravel they have. Check to make sure no pesticides
sprayed on it (fire ants) and give it a good wash anyway.
4) goto the supermarket and buy the biggest bi-carb soda (ph up) 'sodium
bicarbonate' packet ya can so ya get lots nice and cheap. Also pick up some
'epsom salt' or ya may have to get that from a chemist/drugstore.

Now rinse off your shellgrit/limestone/coral/marble and mix it in with your
gravel. This way as the pH drops it will disolve and bring it back up to
around 7.4 to 7.6 usually.
The bicarb can be used to quickly adjust pH (by boosting KH) and the epsom
salt to adjust the GH of the water. GH is important too, espec for mollies

good luck dude


"janson" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> Please help me. I dont know what to do anymore.
>
> I have a 70 litre tank ish, 60 * 30 * 35 cm.
>
> ive got 4 Mollies, 10 - 13 babie Mollies, 3 Neon Tetras, 4 Guppies 2
> are pregnant, 1 cat fish (cant remember name) and 4 shrimp.
>
> Im new to this, My tank has been running about since the 18th of
> October this year. Ive had plants in the aquarium but took them out as
> ive added (Proper PH 7.0) from Aquarium pharmaceuticals inc.
>
> This would kill all plants apparently, they are currently in bucket.
>
> 1st of all my water went up 2 8.4 PH
>
> Now its at bout 6.0 perminantly and i cant get it to raise up at all.
> ive been doing water changes at least once a day too.
>
> Stuff ive been adding to tank........
>
> Nutrafin cycle. (Every few water changes)
> Api tap water conditioner (Every water change)
> Ph up (Every day till i ran out)
> Proper PH 7.0 (Once yesterday)
> Kingfisher British prof safe guard (Anti stress) tap water conditioner
> (Once with water change yest) as ive run out of Api.
>
> Please help me ive all ready lost bout 8 young mollies. they about 10
> days old. i dont know what else to do. Apparently ive got quite high
> ammonia but im doing water changes to try an combat that prob.
>

[janson]

thanks for all the info

think i was a little premature with the fish in the first place (left
it bout a week) tanks starting to recover to

Ph is now reading 6.6. so its slowly lifting.getting some shell stuff
at weekend. this should help further and promote bactieria to
apparently. Think that my tanks just about cycled now to so hopefully
it'll all be sorted soon. thanks for all the help evry1's given me and
the tellin off for startin too early ;( ive learnt my lesson and will
now try to make it the best tank ever!

[janson]

thanks for all the info

think i was a little premature with the fish in the first place (left
it bout a week) tanks starting to recover to

Ph is now reading 6.6. so its slowly lifting.getting some shell stuff
at weekend. this should help further and promote bactieria to
apparently. Think that my tanks just about cycled now to so hopefully
it'll all be sorted soon. thanks for all the help evry1's given me and
the tellin off for startin too early ;( ive learnt my lesson and will
now try to make it the best tank ever!