Hi everyone. I'm a freshwater beginner and I recently purchased a 45 gallon aquarium and set everything up to cycle (without fish). I let it go for about 5 1/2 weeks before finally putting in live plants and a few fish (2 Rainbow Sharks, 2 Angels, 2 Loaches, and a school of 6 Neon tetras). My levels all seemed pretty good. pH 7.0, Ammonia below .25, and low N2 and 3.
I had the tank going what seemed really well for about 3 weeks. I did 25-30% water changes every week, and then all of a sudden a couple of my tetras died. I started testing the water and my pH shot up to 7.6. I tested my tap water and it has always been at 6.8. About a few days later one of my Angels died and then the other. I just did another 25% water change and my pH is still at 7.6. I made the mistake (or what i hear) of throwing in some pH down once a night for two nights. It obviously doesn't work. I've heard about the peat in the filter thing, but I'd rather not have yellow/brown water.
What are some other things I could do to slowly/safely lower the pH and get the aquarium stable again? Also, what would be the cause of the quick rise, and what can I do to not let it happen again?
I had the tank going what seemed really well for about 3 weeks. I did 25-30% water changes every week, and then all of a sudden a couple of my tetras died. I started testing the water and my pH shot up to 7.6. I tested my tap water and it has always been at 6.8. About a few days later one of my Angels died and then the other. I just did another 25% water change and my pH is still at 7.6. I made the mistake (or what i hear) of throwing in some pH down once a night for two nights. It obviously doesn't work. I've heard about the peat in the filter thing, but I'd rather not have yellow/brown water.
What are some other things I could do to slowly/safely lower the pH and get the aquarium stable again? Also, what would be the cause of the quick rise, and what can I do to not let it happen again?