PH too High in New Tank
Hi,
I am not exactly a newbie, but I don't know if this would be considered a newbie question or not. I am posting it both places, so that people can respond on the forum that is appropriate. If one gets no response or a moderator tells me it belongs in one or the other forum, I promise to delete the other.
This is just Background Info on the tank.....
I have a new 37G Tall tank. I used a mixture of play sand, fluorite (the premixed stuff), aquarium grade peat, and your basic gray colored gravel as my sub layer plus a top layer (but more about that in a bit). I also mixed in gravel from my 500G Koi Pond and filter media from my 5.5 and the Koi filter, plus heavily planted the tank to get the cycle jump started. I put in five Black Skirt tetras, as they are pretty hardy and I like them (I was big into the hobby about ten years ago, I had never heard of fishless cycling till after I started this tank. I seeded the 5.5 with gravel from a little Betta tank my daughter had been given.) I had no ammonia after the first week. I talked to my family-owned LFS guy, and he thought it was likely that much seeding had made the tank a cycling tank form the get go, so I tried three smallish Congos (which were on sale). I had tiny ammonia spike on the second or third day they were in the tank, so I did a 25% water change and added a few small black lava rocks in the filter and tank floor. I have had 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrites ever since, and been slowly adding fish.
Here is the problem... My PH is at 8 and I want to add Ottos.
The PH thing started just a few days after I set up the tank. I was surprised since I thought it might drop a bit during cycle or because of the peat and fluorite (I was counting on that in fact), but not go up. I discovered the culprit.. I think.
My top layer of substrate is now a black commercially available sand that says it is safe for fresh and saltwater aquariums. However, the FIRST time I set up the tank I used Calcite gravel sold for saltwater aquariums (I though was beautiful and would still look good when it settled into the gray bigger gravel, AND I wasn't paying attention). This of course drove my 7.6 water to 8.0 in no time. So I took down the tank, and tried to remove as much of the Calcite as I could without taking off my expensive fluorite mix layer, I think I got all but about one or two cups of it, which is dispersed through out the tank.
SO... I bring the tank back up (ie 100% water change) and within a few days the PH is back up to 8.0.
Do I have a choice other than tanking the whole thing down throwing out the expensive fluorite mixed gravel to get rid of the Calcite and starting over?
How long would it take for the little bit of Calcite that is left to diminish in it's ability to drive up PH... How quickly does it dissolve and go away? If it is not touching the water directly but is buried under an inch of sand dose that make a difference?
Is there something else that could be going on. Some cycle related thing? Or could the black sand be bad too? Could it be the play sand (I used it per instructions I found on several pretty in depth internet planted aquarium sites, so I am inclined to think not). Any other ideas?
I really don't want to take the aquarium down again, but most of the fish in there will not be healthy in 8.0 for long.
Hi,
I am not exactly a newbie, but I don't know if this would be considered a newbie question or not. I am posting it both places, so that people can respond on the forum that is appropriate. If one gets no response or a moderator tells me it belongs in one or the other forum, I promise to delete the other.
This is just Background Info on the tank.....
I have a new 37G Tall tank. I used a mixture of play sand, fluorite (the premixed stuff), aquarium grade peat, and your basic gray colored gravel as my sub layer plus a top layer (but more about that in a bit). I also mixed in gravel from my 500G Koi Pond and filter media from my 5.5 and the Koi filter, plus heavily planted the tank to get the cycle jump started. I put in five Black Skirt tetras, as they are pretty hardy and I like them (I was big into the hobby about ten years ago, I had never heard of fishless cycling till after I started this tank. I seeded the 5.5 with gravel from a little Betta tank my daughter had been given.) I had no ammonia after the first week. I talked to my family-owned LFS guy, and he thought it was likely that much seeding had made the tank a cycling tank form the get go, so I tried three smallish Congos (which were on sale). I had tiny ammonia spike on the second or third day they were in the tank, so I did a 25% water change and added a few small black lava rocks in the filter and tank floor. I have had 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrites ever since, and been slowly adding fish.
Here is the problem... My PH is at 8 and I want to add Ottos.
The PH thing started just a few days after I set up the tank. I was surprised since I thought it might drop a bit during cycle or because of the peat and fluorite (I was counting on that in fact), but not go up. I discovered the culprit.. I think.
My top layer of substrate is now a black commercially available sand that says it is safe for fresh and saltwater aquariums. However, the FIRST time I set up the tank I used Calcite gravel sold for saltwater aquariums (I though was beautiful and would still look good when it settled into the gray bigger gravel, AND I wasn't paying attention). This of course drove my 7.6 water to 8.0 in no time. So I took down the tank, and tried to remove as much of the Calcite as I could without taking off my expensive fluorite mix layer, I think I got all but about one or two cups of it, which is dispersed through out the tank.
SO... I bring the tank back up (ie 100% water change) and within a few days the PH is back up to 8.0.
Do I have a choice other than tanking the whole thing down throwing out the expensive fluorite mixed gravel to get rid of the Calcite and starting over?
How long would it take for the little bit of Calcite that is left to diminish in it's ability to drive up PH... How quickly does it dissolve and go away? If it is not touching the water directly but is buried under an inch of sand dose that make a difference?
Is there something else that could be going on. Some cycle related thing? Or could the black sand be bad too? Could it be the play sand (I used it per instructions I found on several pretty in depth internet planted aquarium sites, so I am inclined to think not). Any other ideas?
I really don't want to take the aquarium down again, but most of the fish in there will not be healthy in 8.0 for long.
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