Terrible water...

[sonor]

I moved from one town to another. My water in Burlington ON was fine for about 4 years. Since I moved to Waterdown 2 months ago my tank has been slowly dieing. I lost all but one fish (an Angel fish) to very high Ammonia levels. I have been doing water changes (I started with 50% then over the next few days and weeks 25%) still no change. I took a water sample to a local store and they all gasped at how low my PH was?? I don't know what to do. I have used AMMO LOCK in the past but then was told that it still shows Ammonia on the test. I bought a bag that goes in my filter to suck out the Ammonia but it hasn't changed either. Now my PH is WAY to low?
Any idea's?
Thanks for any help,
Sonor.

[fishpoor]

Have you tested your water right out of the tap? If not, do so. Ammo loc isn't a permanent fix, just a quick temporary fix to keep fish alive until you can figure out what's going on. So it doesn't really matter that it will test positive for amonia.

[OrionGirl]

Also test your pH, and your KH. If your water is extremely low in KH, it can result in a fluctuating pH due to the acidification effects of normal biological processes, and conditions can get bad enough to inhibit the bacteria. How was the tank moved?

[geoffgarcia]

treat your water for chloramine
Amquel and Tetra Aquasafe are two products that will work.
You should also let the water stand overnight to equilibrate gasses and temperature.


most waterworks in the U.S. now sanitize tap water with chloramine, which is a mixture of chlorine and ammonia.

If your waterworks is using chloramine, your tap water will test positive for ammonia.

Letting the water sit overnight will NOT get rid of chloramine. You must use a product that specifically removes chloramines (not just chlorine). If not, water changes will actually be adding ammonia to your tank.

[sonor]

I have been useing Aqua plus. It says it takes away chloramine. Should I put some more of this in my tank?
I just tested with a test strip and my nitrate NO3 was around 80
NO2 0.5
total hardness120
alkalinity 0
ph well below 6.4

[sonor]

I took out the fish and as much water as I could in a bucket. The water was removed and I drove the tanl over. I added all the origonal water I had and then aded new water and brought it to temp.
I guess the tank never started cycling again?

[sonor]

The water out of the tap had a much higher PH level from the tank - the ammonia seemed fine, but I will retest to find out. The tapwater retested seems to have no ammonia in it at all.

[sonor]

I just tested my KH and it's extremly low. Just one drop turned the water yellow!!

[OrionGirl]

So that means that minimal acids will result in a drastic change in pH. You'll want to add some buffer--not perfect pH or anything similar, but rather a buffer that adds calium carbonate. You might need to go with either cichlid or reef buffering product, or adding baking soda. Test with a bucket of water before treating the tank, and aim for a slow change in the KH up to 4-5 degrees. This will stabilize the pH as well.