Pending tank of doom!!!!

[suziq]

:( A bit of background info
I have a 75g heavily planted tank wih rainbows, angels, cardinals, and rams. Everything in this tank has been quarantined at least two weeks before adding and i started this tank in August. The angels were added last month. Also about that time I cut back on fertilizer and lighting from 240w to 160w since plant growth was so overwhelming. Everybody seems happy and healthy until recent developments this week.

Well, I noticed that one of my three rams was missing. I was saddened but not too concerned plus i never found the body (due to my snails). They were pretty mature when i got them and not in great condition but were quarantined for over a month and were beautiful when I put them in.

then the other two rams began to get pale in color and now they almost look like they are peeling.

I did a water test (its been about 2 weeks) and :eek: my water test showed that the pH was at 6.6 and my kH at 2! Usually it sets at 7.o-7.2 and kH at 5.5. I just changed my CO2 two days ago when I also did my water change.

Well, i know that I need to raise my kH but how do i do that tonight when the pet stores are closed? I've read that crushed coral is the best for this.

What should I do right now? Another water change, add baking soda, remove my co2 bottle? would such drastic pH changes hurt my fish? should i remove the rams? HELP!

[Bruddah Chrispy]

Is it possible that when you cut back on lighting and fertilizer, your plants reduced the amount of CO2 they were consuming, causing the pH to fall from the accumulated CO2?

I'd reduce your CO2 input.

HTH

[suziq]

well, I did cut backfrom 2 2liters to 1. And it ha been fine for a month. What could eat up the kH like that ans what can I do to increase it?

Would removing it all togethre cause such a pH bounce tonight to hurt my fish.

[Richer]

CO2 doesn't affect KH. I'd look at another source for the potential source of the drop of KH. What sort of plants do you have in your tank? A few plants are known to use carbonates from the water to produce their own source of carbon. What is the KH of your tap water? Perhaps the water company did something to your water causing a drop in KH?

Baking soda will raise your KH nicely. Although you do have to add a bit more everytime you do a water change. Crush coral in your filter is more of a permanent solution, although it will also raise the GH of your water. Aim for a KH of about 4-5 for good stability.

I suppose I should also ask, how often do you do your water changes?

HTH
-Richer

[wetmanNY]

The additional CO2 that is no longer used by the plants, since light intensity has been reduced, has now eroded the alkalinity ("KH" or "carbonate hardness"). The pH will be higher at the end of the "afternoon" photoperiod, and lowest in the "morning."

[suziq]

I know that my co2 will greatly lowere my pH so i removed that til i get the kH back up. Right now I am doing a water change to readd Carbonate into the water.

what kind of crushed coral do I get. Do you mean a bag of the carbonate shell sand for SW tanks?

Oh yeah to answer questions: I do a 20 -25 % change once a week, fertilize and prune every 2. My tap water is 7.6ph and 5.5kH.

should my actions suffice for tonight?

[suziq]

hey, what about adding in some eggshells to my tank? I just read the miracle fish post and that got me thinking about my snails.
My three lage snails have been growing and one had babies which (not by choice) a few have been left in the tank. OPne of the more delicate snails has a shell that is looking pretty shoddy. Could the growing shellls be pulling carbonate out of my water?

Would adding egg shells help them develop their shells and maintain my kH?