I apologize for the vague title, but there's no short way to express the oddity of what's going on in my tank. First, it's a 10 gallon. I have a 90 gal newly re-sealed and waiting for me to be confident that I won't accidentally kill whatever goes in it, but I digress. I want just some tetras and golden otos, but the pH has to come down. Currently, it's around 8, AFTER a half water change with 6.5 rainwater. That in mind, that was before I did a partial water change (maybe 20%) with rainwater which brought it to 8. It just keeps climbing, and I'm not adding tap water, which is confusing me. Is there a possibility that any of the following events are raising the pH?
Secondly, it's planted for now, but no fish. I have a mangrove tree that I'm trying to grow in freshwater (I've read that they can grow in both, let's not debate this) a plant of whom I forget it's name. It's like a cool bush. And some grass. The mangrove tree looks diseased, I've already lost hope with it. The bush-type plant which I wanted originally for it's large coverage is slowly dying. It flowered a couple times (small white, almost like lily pads) and it's browning from the base up and shedding, but the top's still green. It's in near proximity to the mangrove. On the other side of a rock formation, I have the grasses, that are actually growing nicely and spreading. I have small shoots popping up all over the place, and it's thriving. Some of the longer leaves are browning, but otherwise they're fine. So, is it just different tolerances in the species, or did the other plant catch a disease from the mangrove? Also, why is grass thriving in a pH of 8 and up, when I've read somewhere that 7.9 is pushing it for top-end?
Third, I have an invasive species. Randomly, snails appeared. Right now, I count nine. I'm lacking a digital camera, once I get my hands on one, I'll post pictures. They're relatively small, probably about the size of (- ) <-that and they move FAST (relatively) and are highly active. I read another thread about magic snails, and there were some species listed as possibilities (Malaysian something, ram-something, and pond snails) and it closest resembles the shell from the Malaysian one, but it's different enough that I'm confident it's not the same species.
The water with filter running has been there for three months now, and the plants for two, so it's not still cycling. The snails recently appeared, maybe a week or so ago, so they probably piggybacked with a plant as eggs. So to recap, why does my pH keep going up without any additives? Why are half my plants dying and half my plants thriving? And from my descriptions, are my snails hellspawn, or could they possibly be a godsend in helping deal with the dying plants?
Sorry for the long post, thanks in advance!
-Dan
Secondly, it's planted for now, but no fish. I have a mangrove tree that I'm trying to grow in freshwater (I've read that they can grow in both, let's not debate this) a plant of whom I forget it's name. It's like a cool bush. And some grass. The mangrove tree looks diseased, I've already lost hope with it. The bush-type plant which I wanted originally for it's large coverage is slowly dying. It flowered a couple times (small white, almost like lily pads) and it's browning from the base up and shedding, but the top's still green. It's in near proximity to the mangrove. On the other side of a rock formation, I have the grasses, that are actually growing nicely and spreading. I have small shoots popping up all over the place, and it's thriving. Some of the longer leaves are browning, but otherwise they're fine. So, is it just different tolerances in the species, or did the other plant catch a disease from the mangrove? Also, why is grass thriving in a pH of 8 and up, when I've read somewhere that 7.9 is pushing it for top-end?
Third, I have an invasive species. Randomly, snails appeared. Right now, I count nine. I'm lacking a digital camera, once I get my hands on one, I'll post pictures. They're relatively small, probably about the size of (- ) <-that and they move FAST (relatively) and are highly active. I read another thread about magic snails, and there were some species listed as possibilities (Malaysian something, ram-something, and pond snails) and it closest resembles the shell from the Malaysian one, but it's different enough that I'm confident it's not the same species.
The water with filter running has been there for three months now, and the plants for two, so it's not still cycling. The snails recently appeared, maybe a week or so ago, so they probably piggybacked with a plant as eggs. So to recap, why does my pH keep going up without any additives? Why are half my plants dying and half my plants thriving? And from my descriptions, are my snails hellspawn, or could they possibly be a godsend in helping deal with the dying plants?
Sorry for the long post, thanks in advance!
-Dan
