Nitrate and PH problems... Help!

OMG! What to do. LOL. Well, like I said I had the bio wheel not working for like 15 hours. So, I guess the bacteria all died. It's still all green. Hmm, is that something I should worry about? Should I just keep the wheel as it is, or clean it off because the backteria might be dead, or will the dead backeria just peal off itself and new bacteria will replace it?

I only have a 5 gallon jug and a 3.5 gallon bucket. I'm not sure if I should do just RO, or RO with Tap, or what combination 1/2 and 1/2 or what, or tap with PH lowering stuff in it, etc. I still don't know what to do about getting my Nitrates down and not making my PH go back up!! Isn't there a simple answer, my head is spinning. I guess right now I just want to get my Nitrates and PH down... :(
 
Is the entire filter not running or is the biowheel just not spinning? If the filter isnt running than try to salvage as much of the bacteria as you can by filling a bucket up with aquarium water and placing the filter media in it.

Try experimenting with different ratios and see what gets you to the pH you want.

You pretty much need to do frequent water changes if your nitrates are still above 40 ppm...try to get them around 20, but anything under 40 isnt harmful. A 50% change should cut the number in half. Your pH level right now is the least of your worries. Just concerntrate on lowering the nitrates.
 
Well, it's too late now about the bio wheel. It wasn't spinning or running for almost 15 hours. It's still caked with backeria, but I don't know if it's good anymore since there was no water running on it for 15 hours. The filter is running now because I'm done with the water change. So, what should I do with the bio wheel now? Just leave it alone? How do I know if the bacteria on it is alive or dead?

Well, if the 50% water change cut the Nitrates into 1/2 then it was at 80 before. I don't think it did though. So, when should I do another 50% water change? Is tomarrow too soon? If I use all RO water then it will take another 15 hours to change the water. I was told not to use the tap water because it's too hard. I guess tomarrow I'll just use 5 gal of RO and 10 gal of tap, and I'll put the Neutral Regulator into the Tap water that is supposed to adjust the PH to 7.0. That way I can do a 15 Gal water change all at one time instead of it being a 15 hour deal. I guess that would be better. I'm just worried about the bio wheel now. I'm not sure what I need to do about it. Is the backeria all dead on it now and it's preventing from live bacteria growing back on it or what? OK, thanks...
 
You should guage your water changes on what your readings are. If you still have high ammonia, nitrites or nitrates, then do another water change. No tomorrow is not to early. Have you tried mixing the ro and tap water like jpappy789 suggested to see what your ph is? Try mixing a pint each and see what it is. Then let the mixture set out for a couple of days (or a few hours if you have a bubbler you can run in it) and see what it is then. That would be the ideal thing to do. (don't forget to add tap water conditioner to any tap water you put in your tank)
 
Also, get some 5 gallon buckets to save your r/o water in. Get it prepared before you remove your old water so you can put it right back in.
 
Stop! trying to change the ph! just do 50 % WC's till Nitrates are down then we can work on the ph.
the most important thing about the water is that its chlorine free and no ammonia, nitrites or nitrates you could use 100% tapas long as it is treated with prime or equivalent
you can not adjust the ph till all this is under control.

I use 6 gal camping water jugs to store my RO water around $8 at walmart .

Just start the bio wheel up again the bacteria just go into hibernation the will be back in about a day or less
 
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Yes, I understand. I'm not worried about the PH, but I just didn't want to make it go higher if I didn't have too. I have never had a problem with the Amonia and Nitrites, they are always zero. That's what I don't understand is my Amonia and Nitrites always being zero, but having this problem with the Nitrates. I guess the problem is I don't understand how it all works.

I tested the RO and the plane Tap Water without any chemicals and this is what my results are.

RO - PH 6.8, Nitrate-0, Nitrite-0, Amonia-0
Tap - PH-?, Nitrate-5, Nitrite-0, Amonia-.5

The PH on the tap is off the scale, it's a reddish color, so I don't know it must be high like 9 or 10 I guess. I will fill a 5 gal container with tap water and add the Kordon NovAqua Plus and AmQuel plus and the Neutral Regulator and then test the water and see where it's at I guess. How long should I wait before I test it? Like 20 minutes or something?

No, I haven't tried mixing the RO and the Tap. I guess I can do what you say and mix a pint of each and let it sit a couple of days with a bubbler. I do have an extra one I can use. Do I put the chemicals in the tap water before I mix it with the RO? The chemicals are like for 5 or 10 gallons so it would be hard to measure for a pint. Maybe I should just do a 5 Gal mixture. I was going to just try to get a reading of just the tap with chemicals first to see what that is before I did the mixture of RO and tap. Then I can get an overall picture of what's going on I guess. Let me know.. Thanks again..
 
I have no idea what this means, "100% tapas long as it is treated with prime or equivalent". Sorry...
 
Apota said:
I have no idea what this means, "100% tapas long as it is treated with prime or equivalent". Sorry...
Click to expand...

100% tapwater as long as it is treated with prime or equivalent
 
Apota said:
No, I haven't tried mixing the RO and the Tap. I guess I can do what you say and mix a pint of each and let it sit a couple of days with a bubbler. I do have an extra one I can use. Do I put the chemicals in the tap water before I mix it with the RO? The chemicals are like for 5 or 10 gallons so it would be hard to measure for a pint. Maybe I should just do a 5 Gal mixture. I was going to just try to get a reading of just the tap with chemicals first to see what that is before I did the mixture of RO and tap. Then I can get an overall picture of what's going on I guess. Let me know.. Thanks again..
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Don't put any chemicals in. Mix a pint of each, check the ph. Save the rest, put a bubble in it for a few hours and check again.
 
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