ph keeps falling?

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meinporsche

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
May 18, 2010
Messages
42
is a marine buffer and water changed the only way to keep my ph up? it keeps dropping and my fish keep dying...it really sucks...thanks
 
My light schedule is 12/12...i think i have a lot of movement...i have a powerhead that ripples the surface, my protein skimmer return and my filter return...when i look in the tank i have a pretty movement of water...i started having trouble after we had a tornado and i lost asll my fish except for a damsel. i let the tank sit for about 6 months just keeping up the regular maintenance. When i started adding livestock again they all have been dying within 2 or 3 weeks of getting them...but, the damsel lives on...any suggestions?
 
Help with tank recycle...all my fish are dying...

Ok, here is the deal... I have a 125g FOWLR...When I set it up I let it run for about 6 months. I had a good cycle and my water parameters were always fine. I had a nice livestock with 2 damsels, a clownfish, foxface rabbit, blue tang, lion fish, humu humu trigger, and some snails and crabs. We had a tornado come through the area in May and I lost all of the fish except for the damsels. So I let the tank sit again for about 6 months and kept doing the regular maintenance. I started adding fish again and they all die except for the damsels. My LFS says my ph is low, which it is, but I cant seem to get it to stay up...My maintenance is as follows...10% water change every week, cleaning my canister filter every 2 weeks, and adding a marine buffer every week. I keep my lights on a 12/12 timer. Any suggestions or should I do like a 50% water change and just basically start over? It's getting expensive and depressing...The weird thing is, is that the fish act fine and when I check the next day they are dead. It's very strange. Any help is appreciated...Thanks
 
meinporsche said:
I get it 8.2 to 8.3 and it falls to 7.8...

Hmmm... 7.8 pH shouldn't kill a fish. What is your temperature set at? And what salt mix are you using?

I noticed my pH goes up when I raise the temperature in my tank (not sure why). I also use Instant Ocean and it stays around 8.0pH.
 
I use instant ocean and keep it at 1.023...my temp is 80 I did have it at 78 but the same the thing was happening with the fish
 
That pH swing will not kill fish. For starters I would raise the salinity to a more natural level of 1.026. How are you measuring salinity? What is your ammonia and nitrate reading?
 
I am using an instant ocean hydrometer...they checked at my lfs as well....my ammonia is 0 and the nitrates are at 10...the lfs is blaming the Ph but I'm not really buying that
 
a 50% water change would not be starting over. how are you adding fish? how many at a time and how do you acclimate them? how long after you add them do they die?
 
I doubt its the PH causing the deaths,I think I would retest your water with a liquid test kit,also how do you acclimate and how long,those hydrometers are very inaccurate,get yourself a refractometer
 
I acclimate for around an hour. i open the bag and place it in the tank and add a small amount of my water to the bag every 10 minutes...i only add one fish at a time...i guess i need to look at a refractometer...they have been lasting about 3 weeks after i add them...
 
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