Need help with tank parameters

[K69ace]

Soooooooo, I've got a new neon who is flashing bad. And he has a 'scrape' on his head. I checked my water and even after my 20% WC yesterday I still had .25 ammonia 0 nitrite but nearly 40 nitrate. Yikes. I did fert with root tabs yesterday. That might cause the spike.
I did a 50% water change and my nitrates didn't change. I then tested my tap water and it's at least 20ppm nitrate itself. I don't have access to ROI so I hope my plants get hungry! Any other ideas? The other fish seem fine. Although they are hiding a bit more than normal. Help?


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[K69ace]

Oh the neon has been in there for 5 days. Was drip acclimated.


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[ImACoolguy]

Soooooooo, I've got a new neon who is flashing bad. And he has a 'scrape' on his head. I checked my water and even after my 20% WC yesterday I still had .25 ammonia 0 nitrite but nearly 40 nitrate. Yikes. I did fert with root tabs yesterday. That might cause the spike.
I did a 50% water change and my nitrates didn't change. I then tested my tap water and it's at least 20ppm nitrate itself. I don't have access to ROI so I hope my plants get hungry! Any other ideas? The other fish seem fine. Although they are hiding a bit more than normal. Help?


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See if your LFS sells RODI. Even the chain stores here sell it. If you use PPS PRO or EI Dosing just remove the Nitrate compound. Get plenty of plants to soak it up. Hornwort grows like a weed and is great for eating up nitrates.


Caleb

 

[K69ace]

Is Rodi a plant? I have a LOT of plants in there already. S.Repens, Bacopa, swords, crypts, red Rubin, Java fern and Java moss, and ludwigua.


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[K69ace]

What's PPS pro or El dosing?


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[ImACoolguy]

Is Rodi a plant? I have a LOT of plants in there already. S.Repens, Bacopa, swords, crypts, red Rubin, Java fern and Java moss, and ludwigua.


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RO/DI= reverse osmosis/distilled water. It's pure and free of even chlorine.


Caleb

 

[ImACoolguy]

What's PPS pro or El dosing?


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These are dry fertilizers you can manually mix. Basically you can leave out the nitrate compound if it is not needed to sustain the plants(if the fish or tap produce enough).


Caleb

 

[K69ace]

Oh. Duh. RO water. Got it.


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[Mebbid]

Most people mix their tap water with ro water. It would be worth looking into. Straight RO is bad for fish though, so you have to decide on how much to mix it and be consistent with that.

 

[K69ace]

Is there a good percentage? RO 20%?


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[Mebbid]

Is there a good percentage? RO 20%?


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Giving an accurate answer would really depend on what you kH is. If you cut it too much it will cause large pH swings. I would say 50/50 would be safe.

 

[K69ace]

I'll check my KH. My ph is higher that I'd like. 7.6. And I can't get it lower. It's the tap.


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[ImACoolguy]

I'll check my KH. My ph is higher that I'd like. 7.6. And I can't get it lower. It's the tap.


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Your pH is fine. Fish will adapt to it.


Caleb