Desperate in need of help before I throw in the towel - Amonia issues!
- Thread starter David Y
- Start date
There is one option that I don't care for because it is not stable in it's effect, which is to put something of calcareous material in your tank. The acidic water will slowly leach the minerals out thus raising your gh and ph. But this process is continuous to some degree and depending on how much you put in can push things further in the other direction than you may desire. Limestone, dead coral, shells and such would do for this.
You might experiment with a small pieces in your filter if there is space for such in there. And by experiment I mean try various amounts until you get the rise in ph and gh you would like without going to high before next water change.
You are right about guppies being normally found in harder water, but they are able to adjust to a range of conditions. They might not grow as big or vigorously in acidic water due to less available nutrients for bone growth that exist in harder water. Dwarf cichlids, many tetras, some of the gouramis, other betta species than the fancy splendens... those are just what I can think of off the top of my head on soft water species. And even those often only need the softest water values for spawning, and the rest of the time they do just fine with slightly harder more stable water.
Just be aware that stocking levels must be less because of the reduced minerals and lack of stability that goes with that.
You might experiment with a small pieces in your filter if there is space for such in there. And by experiment I mean try various amounts until you get the rise in ph and gh you would like without going to high before next water change.
You are right about guppies being normally found in harder water, but they are able to adjust to a range of conditions. They might not grow as big or vigorously in acidic water due to less available nutrients for bone growth that exist in harder water. Dwarf cichlids, many tetras, some of the gouramis, other betta species than the fancy splendens... those are just what I can think of off the top of my head on soft water species. And even those often only need the softest water values for spawning, and the rest of the time they do just fine with slightly harder more stable water.
Just be aware that stocking levels must be less because of the reduced minerals and lack of stability that goes with that.
Ok 24 hours since last test & last WC -
Nitrite 0
Ammonia 0
Nitrate 2
PH 7.4? I can't explain this jump? From 6
KH 71.6 - 4 drops
GH -89 - 5 drops
Any feedback I'd appreciate- fish seem happy - I am feeding small amounts now over 3 days. I think I will not do a change. And hope the PH DROPS slightly. It's our 6th week if battle... Has this baby cycled? Plants look very healthy.
David
Nitrite 0
Ammonia 0
Nitrate 2
PH 7.4? I can't explain this jump? From 6
KH 71.6 - 4 drops
GH -89 - 5 drops
Any feedback I'd appreciate- fish seem happy - I am feeding small amounts now over 3 days. I think I will not do a change. And hope the PH DROPS slightly. It's our 6th week if battle... Has this baby cycled? Plants look very healthy.
David
I don't know the specifics about your tests, but even professional expensive tests have to be calibrated, and then they will have a margin of error. Now the typical hobby tests do have a wider error margin and are not calibrated. So it could be your tests, or it could be that the water company replaced their batch of buffering chemicals/are using a different source resulting in that most recent test.
Ph you got either time is not a problem, I repeat is not a problem. If that 7.4 held consistent through the rest of your fish keeping days it would be fine, except that that it could be to low for some fish. One of the rift lakes in Africa has a ph range from 7.7 to 8.6 and fish live fine in that water. So called black water rivers can have ph ranges from 3.5-6 and there are fish that live in those conditions. The important thing is clean water, which is maintained by water changes and consistency. Most water sources are going to be reasonably consistent, so keeping the water clean by doing water changes is the main goal.
If the plants look healthy and the fish are active and behave normally the numbers don't matter that much now that your cycle seems to be done. Perhaps test nitrate levels once a week for a bit to give yourself an idea how much nitrate accumulates over time. But that last test showed very clean water, Congratulations.
Ph you got either time is not a problem, I repeat is not a problem. If that 7.4 held consistent through the rest of your fish keeping days it would be fine, except that that it could be to low for some fish. One of the rift lakes in Africa has a ph range from 7.7 to 8.6 and fish live fine in that water. So called black water rivers can have ph ranges from 3.5-6 and there are fish that live in those conditions. The important thing is clean water, which is maintained by water changes and consistency. Most water sources are going to be reasonably consistent, so keeping the water clean by doing water changes is the main goal.
If the plants look healthy and the fish are active and behave normally the numbers don't matter that much now that your cycle seems to be done. Perhaps test nitrate levels once a week for a bit to give yourself an idea how much nitrate accumulates over time. But that last test showed very clean water, Congratulations.
tap water cold or hot??
Hot water can have a difference of TDS (hot water usually has more due to leaching and sediments in the tank
Hot water can have a difference of TDS (hot water usually has more due to leaching and sediments in the tank
