Hello i have a 55 gallon freshwater tank that has 6 different color tetras, two fancy tailed guppies,two glofish(zebra),two mollies,one high finned something lol,and two fish from wal-mart one baby blue one baby pink,a baby cat fish,3 different color mystery snails,and a pleco. I have a magnum 350 filter,a 100 watt heater,three live plants, a bubble gyser(lots of blue micro bubbles),and a dragon with a air stone in his mouth. So my problem is, it's not cycling. No ammonia spike,no nitrites, no nitrates register with constant testing. But the ph is off the charts even after i added 25 gallons RO/DI water and correct ph tablets. In the past 24 hours rose from 7.4 to 8.8 so we added ph down. I have read that a possabilty may be to much water aggitation since i do have the geyeser and the dragon, will turn them off now and see if that helps. But if anyone has any input I would greatly appreciate it, i'm new to this and my tank is far from stocked. I have tiny fish so i've been told that I should be able to have around 50 fish, also I have read that maybe I don't have enough fish in there to get it to cycle but I have lost 5 fish in the past three days (those where plus what I listed) and it's kind of upsetting to me and my four year old. So please if anyone could help I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you in advance.
New 55
- Thread starter pufferprincess
- Start date
BettaFishMommy
finkids make me happy :-)
what are you using for water testing? the liquid kit with the test tubes and drops you add, or the test strips? the strips are not very accurate. get the API liquid freshwater test kit, highly recommended by myself and many others on here.
i would say 50 fish in a 55 gallon is waaaayyyyy overstocked, even if they are small fish. especially if you have a pleco in there as well (plecos are very messy). as it is, i think your current stocking is way too many fish and snails for a brand new tank.
your 100 watt heater may not be enough for that size tank, depending on how warm you keep the room the tank is in. i've seen 200 watts recommended for that size tank, and even better is to run 2 heaters (eg" 2x100 watt) in case one konks out, that way you don't have an unheated tank (then your tank cools down quickly and stresses your fish out). i keep all my tanks at 78 to 80F.
your ph was at 7.4 and you wanted to change that? i would have left it right where it was, as 8.8 is very high. the fish you have in that tank would appreciate a ph closer to 7. as for 'walmart fish', what kind of fish are they exactly?
best not to mess with ph, i've always been told. as long as there are no large/sudden changes in the ph of your water supply. (i make a habit of testing the water straight from the tap every once in a while just to check, but my local water stays pretty much at 7.8 all the time)
if where your filter returns water into the tank is creating enough surface agitation, then the bubblers (geyser and dragon) are not really needed.
i would add many, many more live plants to the tank! java fern, swordplants, etc are good choices if you don't have high intensity lights/co2 system/fertilizers.
finally, how long has this tank been set up for?
i would say 50 fish in a 55 gallon is waaaayyyyy overstocked, even if they are small fish. especially if you have a pleco in there as well (plecos are very messy). as it is, i think your current stocking is way too many fish and snails for a brand new tank.
your 100 watt heater may not be enough for that size tank, depending on how warm you keep the room the tank is in. i've seen 200 watts recommended for that size tank, and even better is to run 2 heaters (eg" 2x100 watt) in case one konks out, that way you don't have an unheated tank (then your tank cools down quickly and stresses your fish out). i keep all my tanks at 78 to 80F.
your ph was at 7.4 and you wanted to change that? i would have left it right where it was, as 8.8 is very high. the fish you have in that tank would appreciate a ph closer to 7. as for 'walmart fish', what kind of fish are they exactly?
best not to mess with ph, i've always been told. as long as there are no large/sudden changes in the ph of your water supply. (i make a habit of testing the water straight from the tap every once in a while just to check, but my local water stays pretty much at 7.8 all the time)
if where your filter returns water into the tank is creating enough surface agitation, then the bubblers (geyser and dragon) are not really needed.
i would add many, many more live plants to the tank! java fern, swordplants, etc are good choices if you don't have high intensity lights/co2 system/fertilizers.
finally, how long has this tank been set up for?
BettaFishMommy
finkids make me happy :-)
I agree with what was said above no need to mess with the ph. Your doing more harm than good by having a fluctuating ph. Constant Changes in ph affect fish more than a ph that is "too high or too low"
you may be losing the fish to PH poisoning. large changes in PH can kill fish. 50 fish is way too many. snails can quickly take over a tank. What test kits are you using? How often are you doing water changes ? We need a little more information. How long has this tank been running? How often do you feed?
The tank has had fish in it for two weeks, been water in it for four. The one heater keeps between 75 and 79. For water testing I do have the kit you speak of. Not sure of the names of the "walmart fish" they are round about the size of a quarter one is blue and one is pink. I use RO/DI water and it's fine something happens after it goes in the tank and is there for a couple of hours. So the geyser and dragon aren't needed but are they possably causing harm? Also the tank for a year has housed a large painter turtle but everything was scrubed and rinsed like four times. I was feeding once a day but there seemed to be alot of left over food so I have been doing every other. So right now the ph is 8.8 and rising. I have turned off the bubblers, so what should be my next step. Thank you for everyones help!!
Not true. Fish that die because of "changes in pH" actually are experiencing osmotic shock, which is due to changes in TDS. Fish adapt to pH changes quickly, as seen in aquariums with Co2 systems that can cause pH to fluctuate 1-2 points during 24 hours.
To the OP: Having 0 ppm nitrates means you are not cycled, or something caused your bacteria colony to die off. A tank being setup for only 4 weeks means you are not cycled.
Please read this:
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84598
Right now your are in a fish cycle. You need to get a good liquid test kit (API is recommended brand) and test for ammonia and nitrite daily. Do as many water changes as needed to keep both levels below .25 ppm.
Also, use tap water if it is safe to drink. RO/DI has no hardness(GH) , buffering capacity (KH), and lacks the trace elements found in water that fish need to survive. If you still want to use it you need some sort of supplement to add those minerals back into the water. This can become expensive, however.
After this situation is taken care of, you should list exactly which species you have and how much of each so we can help you stock apporpriately for your tank. By the looks of it, you have a lot of fish as singles that should be in groups. It may be your best bet to even return all your fish and start over first with a cycle, then with appropriate stocking. It's up to you.
gotta agree with jpappy on this one the tanks not cycled...get your test kit and continue massive water changes till the tank settles down
tanker
Josh Holloway--Be mine!!!
What are you using to test to have PH at 8.8!!!! That is SUPER alkaline!!
No bubbler in the world will make PH 8.8!!
Do not mess with PH yet, I am not even sure you are that high. Do some water changes and have someone else to a PH test (not sure if that is even your problem). Maybe get some water to LFS and have them do a test.
No bubbler in the world will make PH 8.8!!
Do not mess with PH yet, I am not even sure you are that high. Do some water changes and have someone else to a PH test (not sure if that is even your problem). Maybe get some water to LFS and have them do a test.