My fish are dying!

Hmmmm.... good to know about the water. I guess I'll start using RO only and add a buffer. Do I need to add anything else for my plants? Oh, and I have a 75 gallon tank with a 10 gallon sump.

Thanks everyone!

Tala
 
java moss likes clean water but if you have plants having 0 nitrate is a bad thing. Plants need it to grow.

NPK should always be available in your water.
 
I might be "highjacking"...

...so please move me if I am inappropriately posted...

I just looked up RO water and the article said that it should not be used in a freshwater tank without adding other minerals back in. What is the benefit to using RO if you still have to mess with it?

[ Article read : http://www.algone.com/reverse_osmosis.htm ]
 
Jensons said:
I just looked up RO water and the article said that it should not be used in a freshwater tank without adding other minerals back in. What is the benefit to using RO if you still have to mess with it?
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because with RO water you're starting with a totally clean slate: no nitrates, no phosphates, nothing. The point is to have more pure water than tap can provide. It's useful for either soft water species or other sensitive species (like inverts).
 
yes. u want RO or/and DI unit. look for Maxima on line. i hear it's a very good unit. i bought another kind and not happy with it. also buy RO Right or something like that and ph buffer. get the water well mixed and ph correctly before u put it into your tank. better if u get the temp close to what in the tank too. also i noticed many fresh water fish don't do well when fed frozen or live foods(unless it's a live ghost shrimp or live brine shrimp). small fish seem to develop stomach problems. use freez dry or flake food.
 
My ph test kit only goes as high as 7.6 and then there is a "high level ph test kit" that starts at 7.6 so doesn't that mean it's high? I hope you guys are right :)

As far as RO water goes, I was using it because it has a lower ph than my tap water and there's less crud in it like perhaps the chloramine? I was using some tap water to make the RO more stable so I wouldn't have to use the buffer. So much for that I guess...

Well, the rest of my fish seem to be fine for now, who knows what killed them off! I always seem to be losing fish though, I don't understand because I think I'm doing everything right. I guess the only thing I haven't tested recently is the water hardness. I'll try to change the water more often too but it's hard because I have a 2 year old and a 2 month old right now and boy am I tired! :coffee:

Thank you all so much for the suggestions!
Tala
 
Talagawen said:
My ph test kit only goes as high as 7.6 and then there is a "high level ph test kit" that starts at 7.6 so doesn't that mean it's high? I hope you guys are right :)

As far as RO water goes, I was using it because it has a lower ph than my tap water and there's less crud in it like perhaps the chloramine? I was using some tap water to make the RO more stable so I wouldn't have to use the buffer. So much for that I guess...

Well, the rest of my fish seem to be fine for now, who knows what killed them off! I always seem to be losing fish though, I don't understand because I think I'm doing everything right. I guess the only thing I haven't tested recently is the water hardness. I'll try to change the water more often too but it's hard because I have a 2 year old and a 2 month old right now and boy am I tired! :coffee:

Thank you all so much for the suggestions!
Tala
Click to expand...






PH and hardness go hand in hand... I would say anything over 7.5 is high ph...6.5-7.5 is neutral ph. As your ph goes up so does hardness and when it goes down the water is softer. For thr fish you have you should be right at 7.0ph You can use you RO water but just add some proper ph7.0 to the water and all will be right...
 
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