[silvershark]

hi everyone
i have been doing a 60 ltr water change once a week with buckets for the past year now and i have been having problems with low ph, i have a 200ltr community tank with LIVE PLANTS AND 16 fish left out of 22 since last year, i have been struggling to keep the ph up to 7.0 or more, at last i have got round to doing water changes with a hose (emptying and refilling) and things are much easier now,
my ph was below 6.0 and for the last 4 days i have been doing a 60 ltr water change, and it is now 6.4 everything else is fine (ammonia 0ppm nitrite 0ppm nitrate 5.0 ppm) i also added 5 ml of ph up on the first day but haven't added any since, SHOULD I CONTINUE DOING DAILY WATER CHANGES UNTIL I GET THE PH TO 7.O, ALSO I HAVE BEEN ADDING STRESS COAT DIRECTLY INTO THE TANK JUST SECONDS BEFORE I FILL WITH TAP WATER IS THIS OK DOING IT LIKE THAT. ANY ADVICE MUCH APPRECIATED, THANK YOU.

 

[DKRST]

We need more info. Test your water from the tap - what's the pH, GH, and KH?
What is your tank setup? Size, decorations, substrate, plants, etc? Filters and types? All this will help us recommend things that will help, but we need more information to be most effective.

I know you listed some info, but specific on fertilizers, Co2 if used, etc.

 

[silvershark]

ph

We need more info. Test your water from the tap - what's the pH, GH, and KH?
What is your tank setup? Size, decorations, substrate, plants, etc? Filters and types? All this will help us recommend things that will help, but we need more information to be most effective.

I know you listed some info, but specific on fertilizers, Co2 if used, etc.

thanks for replying, sorry i haven't contacted sooner been very busy, the results from the tetra test strips on the tap water read, (ph 6.4) (gh 0d) (kh 0d) (no2 mg/0) (no3mg/0) (ci2 0) i have a fluval 4 submersible filter- a 200ltr fluval tank- 4 solid rock fish tank rocks i don't know what they are made of but they are very heavy and solid i have had them for 30 years now and they look very natural with algae on them, i also have live plants that are growing very well since last year, amazon swords-cabomba- (anacharis has just been planted) i have tetra plus substrate and gravel on the top, i use API tap water conditioner stress coat-API stress zyme- i have also been using aquarium substrate fertiliser plugs that i bought on ebay from the nutrient company, i have been adding 6 of them at 6 month intervals so twice in the past year, now i am going to write down the analysis that is stated on the back of the packet as i haven't a clue what this means but i hope it will help solve the problem,
N.......15%
P.......4%
K.......9%
MG....1.2%
FE.....0.45%
MN....0.06%
CU..0.055% ZN..0.02%
B....0.02%. MO.0.02%
EDTA
i dont use co2
i have been adding API ph up every couple of weeks about 5ml to get the ph up and i feel that this is killed fish over the past year corys etc, so i would rather not use anymore, i have 16 fish 2 silver sharks-5 angelfish-3 platys-3 corydoras-3 mollys.
i hope this helps to let me resolve the ph problem, thank you .

 

[BWG]

Just curious, but why are you concerned about messing with your pH? Is it for the livebearers? All my aquariums run in the range your's is testing at and the fish are fine. I don't keep livebearers though, just acid loving fish.

When you tested the tapwater did you let it sit out for 24 hours? That will give you a better reading than straight from the tap. If you already did that and 6.4 was the result, then no amount of daily water changes are going to get you to 7.0 pH.

Adding the Stresscoat directly to the tank is fine.

 

[DKRST]

Ditto - my planted tanks all run around 6.5, which is perfect for most aquarium plants. I think you are fighting a battle that doesn't need to be fought! If you had cichlids or certain Australian Rainbows, that's different, but your pH is fine overall for what you have.

 

[silvershark]

ph help

Ditto - my planted tanks all run around 6.5, which is perfect for most aquarium plants. I think you are fighting a battle that doesn't need to be fought! If you had cichlids or certain Australian Rainbows, that's different, but your pH is fine overall for what you have.

ok guys thank you, it was mostly for keeping livebearers as I love the colours on them , my mollies and platys have survived well anyway with the same (ph levels 6.4 ) what would be the best temperature for keeping the fish I have, I have had it at 80f is this to high should I lower the temperature, please advise me and even let me know what other species would be suitable for the tank ,
ps I will leave the tap water out for 24 hours next time before taking the tests, thanks again.

 

[DKRST]

might want to drop the temp a tad. What species of corys do you have? many like it a little cooler, 76-78F is a good compromise.

If you have lost fish for no apparent reason, it could be protozoan or parasites occasionally popping up - any signs/symptoms you noticed with the fish that died? Many, many fish from "big-box" and local stores come with some parasite issues, including internal worms. No knock of the stores, it all originates from the mass-production fish farms. Can't really blame them either, we all like our fish less expensive...but inexpensive sometimes comes at a cost.

 

[DKRST]

i have 16 fish 2 silver sharks-5 angelfish-3 platys-3 corydoras-3 mollys.

Shoot, I wish Byron still hung out here, he was always great with the fish advice. Well, I'll take a stab at it. First possible issue is the mollys - they can be fin nippers and may harass the angels. Second, by "Silver Sharks", do you have a better description or a picture?

The angels, corys, and platys should get along fine, and if the molly's haven't caused an issue, don't worry about it. Only other note is that mollys often do better with some salt in the water BUT DO NOT ADD SALT - the corys and plants will not tolerate salt well at all.

 

[BWG]

By silver sharks do you mean Bala sharks?

 

[silvershark]

ph help

By silver sharks do you mean Bala sharks?

hi
I do mean bala sharks , and the corydoras are 2 albino-2 bronze and 2 pepper, also I have lowered the tempeture to 77f I bought a chineese algae sucker and a white dotted pleco and 2 bonze and 1 albino corry today and everything seems fine now I also know I will have to rehome my silver or bala sharks as soon as possible, thanks again for advice, bye for now.

 

[DKRST]

hi
I do mean bala sharks , and the corydoras are 2 albino-2 bronze and 2 pepper, also I have lowered the tempeture to 77f I bought a chineese algae sucker and a white dotted pleco and 2 bonze and 1 albino corry today and everything seems fine now I also know I will have to rehome my silver or bala sharks as soon as possible, thanks again for advice, bye for now.

First, ditch the Chinese algae eater ASAP - not suited long term to a community tank. Good decision on the Bala sharks. Possible bad news for your plants also, plecos are not plant friendly to all plants (even BN plecos will eat some plants). If you don't have broad leaf plants like swords, you may be ok for a bit. Not certain what you mean by white spot pleco, but I'm assuming a BN (Bristlenose/bushynose)?

Nor certain what products you have locally, but if you just added new fish without using a quarantine tank, I'd recommend a prophylactic treatment of the entire tank with a copper sulfate produce. I use CopperSafe, and usually follow that up with an anti-nematode treatment of Flubendazole (dewormer) before fish get near my main tanks.