Random level changes

[NBfarmboy]

1~What type of fish is afflicted? In addition, please describe what is wrong with the fish to the best of your ability (i.e. cotton like growth, bloatedi, etc.).
Glow fish, fancy tailed guppy,neon tettra

Random death with no obvious symptoms
2~What are your tank parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, temp, pH)? Please give exact values.
1ppm
10ppm
0
80*
6.0

3~ How large is the tank? How long has the tank been set up?
10 gallon, fish living in tank for 3 months

4~What type of filtration are you using? Please give the name and number (i.e. Fluval 304) and amount of gph if known.
Penguin 100 biowheel

5~How many fish are in the tank? What kinds of fish are they and what are their current sizes?
2 glow Terra's (1.5") 3 neon tettras (1.5") 1 fancy tail guppy (1.5") 1 Corey (2")


6~When is the last time you did a water change and vacuum the gravel? How often do you do this? How much water do you remove at a time?

4 days ago, every 5 days, 25%

7~How long have you had the fish? If the fish is new, how did you acclimate it/them? 3 months for the neons, 2.5 months for the rest

8~Have you added anything new to the tank--decor, new dechlorinator, new substrate, etc.?

Bubble stone 10 days ago

9~What kind of food have you been feeding your fish, have you changed their diet recently?

Same diet, tettramin flakes nightly, and algae pellet every 3 days for Cory


So I have had my 10 gallon tank setup for about 3 months now
I started it like a complete newb, because at the time I was one
I started the tank with 10 gallons of tap water , a bowl buddy tablet and after letting the water get to ambient temp, the fish were floated and put in tank -_-

So for the last few month I have been trying to get all my levels in check
My ammonia had been about 0.25 for a month
Nitrate has been about 0.15
Nitrite about .25 ppm
Ph has been about 6.8

I check every 2 days
Today my ammonia spikes to 1ppm
Nitrate all the way to 10 ppm
Nitrites to 0
Ph dropped to 6.0

I lost a glofish and a guppy yesterday so I'm down to my number o fish posted above

My levels were stable for over 5 weeks an then freaked right out within the past 48 hours

Can anyone offer me some insight on this

I am starting a 40 gallon pretty soon so if I have to restart the tank I will with the larger tank

 

[meegosh]

How long were the dead guppy and glofish in the tank before you netted them out? Decomposing fish can give you horrible spikes. I would start by doing large water changes to get your ammonia and nitrites down below .25ppm.

If the ammonia was a little higher than the .25ppm for a while that could be the cause of your deaths. It sounds like your tank hasn't completely cycled and is still struggling to keep up with the bioload.

 

[christine2012]

Since your tank has been running for awhile and you're getting those readings, I'm gonna ask what may seem like a really dumb question.

Do you dechlorinate your water?
:hides:

 

[NBfarmboy]

How long were the dead guppy and glofish in the tank before you netted them out? Decomposing fish can give you horrible spikes. I would start by doing large water changes to get your ammonia and nitrites down below .25ppm.

If the ammonia was a little higher than the .25ppm for a while that could be the cause of your deaths. It sounds like your tank hasn't completely cycled and is still struggling to keep up with the bioload.

The fish were in the tank 9 hours before when I went to bed
They well but the guppy had been swimming the top of the tank allot for a few days but would swim the bottom as well
I do a complete fish count before bed, when I wake in the morning, and at noon when I come in to eat for lunch

Since your tank has been running for awhile and you're getting those readings, I'm gonna ask what may seem like a really dumb question.

Do you dechlorinate your water?
:hides:

not a dumb question at all
Yes I do dechlorinate my water, 5ml of solution to 10 gallons of water as per the instructions on bottle
I live out in the country so there really is no chlorine in my well water but I do it anyway
The water from my well is about 6.2 ph which I though was weird
There is a natural spring up the road that everyone raves about for fish water
Might give it a try
Just not looking forward to toting 40 gallons of water around when I get the new tank

 

[NBfarmboy]

Aquarium Home tank parameters are:

Temperature: 80
Ammonia, NH4: 0.5
Nitrate, NO3: 10
Nitrite, NO2: 0
pH: 6
Alkalinity, KH: 0
General Hardness, GH: 120
I took these results 20 minutes ago

My nitrites are gone
My nitrates are high
My ph is still very low
My kh I have no clue

I'm doing a 50% water change tonight

 

[christine2012]

It looks like your Ph is swinging. Can I suggest you add some crushed coral or some kind of buffer to your tank?
Perform pwcs as needed, it'll level out.
Did you happen to change your filter media or anything?

A bottle of seachem prime is going to be your best friend through this

 

[NBfarmboy]

It looks like your Ph is swinging. Can I suggest you add some crushed coral or some kind of buffer to your tank?
Perform pwcs as needed, it'll level out.
Did you happen to change your filter media or anything?

A bottle of seachem prime is going to be your best friend through this

My tap water is very acidic it comes from the tap at 6.2 just tested it

I modified my filter 3 weeks ago because I had a case of ich I had to remove the carbon
I have had this filter installed for 6 weeks

I will buy some prime as soon as I get my next payday, just dropped 2k on a new tractor yesterday

I will see if I can get some crushed coral
I just want to have this figured out before I get my big tank

 

[christine2012]

My tap water is very acidic it comes from the tap at 6.2 just tested it

I modified my filter 3 weeks ago because I had a case of ich I had to remove the carbon
I have had this filter installed for 6 weeks

Hmmm. But the same Bio wheel is still in there? How do you normally clean it? Just trying to eliminate the obvious so forgive me for all the questions!
Did you test Ph straight from the tap? Or did you gas it off to get a true Ph reading ?
You've hit a cycle. For whatever reason. Ph is liable to take some pretty wild swings during this process. Just keep a close watch on everything, just focus on keeping your wet pets healthy for the time being, and I promise that this cycle WILL complete.

 

[NBfarmboy]

Hmmm. But the same Bio wheel is still in there? How do you normally clean it? Just trying to eliminate the obvious so forgive me for all the questions!
Did you test Ph straight from the tap? Or did you gas it off to get a true Ph reading ?
You've hit a cycle. For whatever reason. Ph is liable to take some pretty wild swings during this process. Just keep a close watch on everything, just focus on keeping your wet pets healthy for the time being, and I promise that this cycle WILL complete.

Original bio wheel
Never touched it in 3 months

I test ph straight from the tap and once I have introduced it to the tank

Gas it off???? Explain please...

 

[christine2012]

By gas it off I mean fill a glass of water and stir it every few hours for 24 hours to release gasses. Test it afterwards and This will be your true Ph. This is also probably why your tank sits just a little lower that your taps Ph.

 

[NBfarmboy]

Today's results after yesterday's PWC

Temperature: 80
Ammonia, NH4: 0.35
Nitrate, NO3: 10
Nitrite, NO2: 0
pH: 6.0
Alkalinity, KH: 40
General Hardness, GH: 60

for date: 10:15 pm, July 20, 2012
The ph Measures below 6.0 on my test strips
I'm worried my liquid ph test doesn't measure low enough

Ammonia is better but my nitrite and nitrate are still pretty messed up
Alkalinity and general hardness have changed as well

The fish seam to be a bit more active tonight
But one of my glow tetra's that looked great just before dinner just passed on

And the last guppy I have is now hanging around at the top of the tank for the past hour so that really does not prove much

My 3 neon tetras keep soldiering on, and my Cory is doing a great job as always

Could not enough or to much light be to blame in this???
What Effect does the amount of light play in this whole thing???

Picture of my tank included


Thinking of getting a clean up crew
Will this help things???

 

[NBfarmboy]

Can you recommend a buffer to me
I am looking now and am overwhelmed by all the nonsense adds

 

[christine2012]

Can you recommend a buffer to me
I am looking now and am overwhelmed by all the nonsense adds

I know exactly what you mean
Some natural buffers are crushed coral and argonite, both of which you would put in a pantyhose and stick it in your filter. Another option is (and this is what I do) is to use sand for the substrate. Not just any sand, you would want some actual aquarium sand, and not all of them buffer. It will say on the label though. I wouldn't suggest a substrate swap until your numbers are steady as your bacteria have colonized on your substrate as well as your filter.

I'm sorry to hear about the recent deaths. Ammonia isn't THAT high, and your nitrite and nitrate are fine actually! It isn't those that messed with your fish. A Ph swing that dramatic is sure to cause a few deaths. A Ph swing like that can stall your cycle completely as well. So most important thing is to keep that constant. Above 6.5 is a good number to shoot for. Once you add buffers, things should be smooth sailing

Let me find an article for you, I know it can be a lot to take in at once. One moment.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/i-jus...g-but-I-already-have-fish-What-now/Page2.html this explains cycling well, but ill have to find a different one for Ph

 

[christine2012]

This is excellent on Ph adjustment
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/adjusting-ph-in-the-freshwater-aquarium/

As for the light, no it has no effect at all. A clean up crew will only add to your bioload potentially making things worse for awhile. You could always add once your numbers are at a desirable level!

 

[NBfarmboy]

So this morning my last glow Tetra was swimming around fine
Lunch was fine
This evening she is an inch from death and is laying sideways in a plant before I moved her

What can I do at this point

 

[NBfarmboy]

More bad news
My Cory has now succumb to whatever is causing all this
Cory is laying sideways at the bottom of the tank
Looking to be finishing his time...
The three neon terra are acting normally