29 gallon tank journal

[ErinMcG]

Holy acid water, batman! My pH has dropped to 5.5. Must be the branches.... But I am really attached to them. If I get a buffer, like crushed coral or something, can I keep the branches? Or will I just be causing myself trouble?

And how does the really low pH affect my ammonia readings? My ammonia test has this chart of pH vs ammonia, but I confess that I can't make heads or tails of it, especially as neither my pH nor my ammonia levels seem to fall within the range the chart talks about.

Speaking of ammonia, looks like I have some in the water again and so it's time to get on with my daily pwc. I will test the pH again right after. I am concerned that the daily water changes are making my pH levels swing for the poor fish. (e.g. The wood makes the tank acidic, I change the water and it becomes more basic for a bit, until the wood makes it acidic again.)

Sigh. I hated chemistry n high school.

 

[Jess1ca]

I have driftwood in my African tank, I use cc to keep ph @ 8.2, works great I put it in a media bag and right into one of my filters... I also think I remember reading that very low ph will kill off Ur bb, which would result in ammonia spikes, but I could be wrong lol, hopefully someone else will chime in and confirm that

 

[ErinMcG]

Ok, added some crushed coral. Tested 30 mins after pwc and was at 5.5 still (for pH). Crushed coral in the foot of a stocking in the filter. Fingers crossed. Will test again after get back from Avengers!

 

[Jess1ca]

Ok, added some crushed coral. Tested 30 mins after pwc and was at 5.5 still (for pH). Crushed coral in the foot of a stocking in the filter. Fingers crossed. Will test again after get back from Avengers!

It may take awhile! Give it time! I think mine didn't even out for like a day or 2... I can't remember?!

 

[derail]

Crushed coral will work well. You can also safely use baking soda to raise ph, but the main concern will be adding buffers to keep ph stable. Can you test your kh? Holey rock and limestone will release buffers like CC.will. Good luck, enjoy the movie!

 

[ErinMcG]

Avengers was awesome! So glad someone told me to stay right through the credits. They have something halfway through and something at the very end.

Checked pH and there may be a wee change. Looked a bit less bright orange. I will try to be patient. Thanks for warning me that it might take a couple of days. I had some frustrating conversations in the LFS. One clerk was trying to tell me that I needed to buy the pH adjust stuff and add it with every pwc. When I pointed out that I wanted a long-term solution, he wasn't thrilled. He also told me that crushed coral would bring my pH into the 8.8 range and kill my fish. I waited around to talk to another clerk and pretended I hadn't had the first conversation. I wanted to see what she would say, coming at it cold. She started by suggesting the pH adjust, but when I said I was looking for a more long-lasting solution, she suggested the coral. Of course, then she was on me for changing my water too much. Says I will stall my cycle by doing daily water changes. I pointed out that I had ammonia in the tank every day and fish in it.she said that without the ammonia, the bb wouldn't have anything to feed on. I politely agreed to take her advice under consideration and then left.

If there is ammonia in the tank again tomorrow, I will do another pwc. My fishes don't need to be swimming in ammonia. Not even wee amounts of it.

 

[Jess1ca]

Avengers was awesome! So glad someone told me to stay right through the credits. They have something halfway through and something at the very end.

Checked pH and there may be a wee change. Looked a bit less bright orange. I will try to be patient. Thanks for warning me that it might take a couple of days. I had some frustrating conversations in the LFS. One clerk was trying to tell me that I needed to buy the pH adjust stuff and add it with every pwc. When I pointed out that I wanted a long-term solution, he wasn't thrilled. He also told me that crushed coral would bring my pH into the 8.8 range and kill my fish. I waited around to talk to another clerk and pretended I hadn't had the first conversation. I wanted to see what she would say, coming at it cold. She started by suggesting the pH adjust, but when I said I was looking for a more long-lasting solution, she suggested the coral. Of course, then she was on me for changing my water too much. Says I will stall my cycle by doing daily water changes. I pointed out that I had ammonia in the tank every day and fish in it.she said that without the ammonia, the bb wouldn't have anything to feed on. I politely agreed to take her advice under consideration and then left.

If there is ammonia in the tank again tomorrow, I will do another pwc. My fishes don't need to be swimming in ammonia. Not even wee amounts of it.

Good job avoiding chemical fixes a good friend always tells me "less is more" lol. I fish in cycled all 4 of my tanks, I was/am crazy obesessed with my wc routine always striving for perfect water quality for my Africans and community and everyone is doing beautifully Your fish are lucky to have a responsible keeper

 

[derail]

Great job avoiding the guy who wanted to make cash. She was right about removing the ammonia in one regard-can stall the cycle, however you are doing an impromptu fish in cycle and your fish will naturally create ammonia for the bb. I've never heard of cc bringing ph to 8.8, usually raises to around 7.6-.8 if ph is neutral from what I've read, possibly lower since your ph is slightly acidic anyway.
Keep us posted-to sound medieval, I awate progress with bated breath lol

 

[ErinMcG]

Well, I discovered that I hadn't done a good job on planting the cryptocorye, so I pulled it out separated it into a few smaller plants, trimmed the roots and tried again. I have read that the crypts often melt a bit in a new tank, but should come back. Patience, patience, I suppose.

My wood has all decided that it is no longer buoyant, but I am ok with it. I might think about playing around with the arrangement a bit, but we will see.

My ammonia was back up to 0.3 again, so I did about a 50+% water change. Oh, and the pH is up to 6.0 instead of 5.5, so that's a start. We will see what tomorrow brings.

The neons are chasing bubbles just now, trying to see if any of them are food.

Oh, and on another note, I picked up a small siphon today from used Victoria for cheap, cheap. While I was there, the lady showed us (my 9 yr old came too) her Pleco fry. Freaking cute! She was trying to talk me into a couple for this tank. They are bristle noses. I will have to do some research to see if they are suitable. She also had a bunch of swords she was trying to convince me to take. Really not convinced that I want live bearers.... Though, swords do look cool.

 

[derail]

Swords are great little fish, easily the toughest of the livebearer fishes. IME, they are (in the case of males) easily more aggressive than molly fish at times. Interestingly, I had a group of 4 male swordtails that I used as ditherfish for my yellow lab cichlids when I first had them. They can take care of themselves well, and are very fast. In the case of males, they can get quarrelsome, and with a ratio of 1m to 3f, you will have babies lol. Females don't seem to be as aggressive.

Personally, I find livebearers to prefer a range that is slightly basic (7.5-8), but of course fish are widely adaptable. I think they'd look great in the tank, but i'm slightly biased toward livebearers lol

 

[ErinMcG]

Nice thing about the tank journal is that when I start getting impatient, I can look back through and see that it hasn't been long. The crushed coral went in late on the sixth and today is early on the eighth. It has not yet been 48 hours. If the pH is still at 6.0 tomorrow, then I will consider adding more crushed coral.

Slow and steady wins the race, right?

 

[Jess1ca]

Nice thing about the tank journal is that when I start getting impatient, I can look back through and see that it hasn't been long. The crushed coral went in late on the sixth and today is early on the eighth. It has not yet been 48 hours. If the pH is still at 6.0 tomorrow, then I will consider adding more crushed coral.

Slow and steady wins the race, right?

Right how much did ya use? Just curious!

 

[ErinMcG]

I used about 3 good sized teaspoons. As in, the small spoon in my cutlery pile, rather than the actual measuring spoon.

But, when my reading was still at 6.0 tonight both before and after my pwc, I decided to test my tap water. It's coming up at 6.0 too! So, my plan is to go to my LFS tomorrow with samples of tank water and tap water. Maybe it IS my tap water, but maybe it is my test. (Though the test was new in Jan or Feb and worked fine the last few times I tested, which was all at least two weeks ago.)

Any other suggestions?

In other thoughts, it still feels like the top third of my tank is bare now that the branches have decided to sink. I can't decide what to fill it with.

Oh, and is $5 a reasonable price for a bristle nose Pleco baby?

 

[ErinMcG]

Argh! So, when I decided to test my pH after the pwc, I thought I would test my ammonia again, just because. It's still at 0.3 in spite of the pwc! And I changed out 69% of my water. Definitely taking water samples to my LFS tomorrow. I am frustrated.

 

[derail]

Price sounds right.
As far as ph increase, holey rock is my vote, or some limestone, but something needs to be said about adding water with lower ph to a tank that is established: you will want plenty of kh-buffering capacity.

 

[derail]

Wow you totally ninja posted there lol. Your tap may have ammonia in it? Have you tested that yet?

 

[ErinMcG]

Wow you totally ninja posted there lol. Your tap may have ammonia in it? Have you tested that yet?

Running low on my tests now. I think I am going to take a sample of tap water and a sample of tank water to my LFS tomorrow. Should I take them water direct from my tap (that is how I fill the tank after all) or should I pour the tap water and let it sit a few hours? I have seen people suggest it, but I have never understood why...

While I am at the LFS, I can pick up more chemicals for the ammonia test. That's the one that is running low.

 

[ErinMcG]

Just realised that I said I changed 69% of my water.... I am not that precise! Lol. 60% is what I meant. I must be getting tired.

Actually, I must be getting really tired. I think that may be the first time I have ever used 'lol'! Obviously time for a whiskey.

 

[ErinMcG]

Ok, so I took water samples to my LFS today (this tank, tap water, and a sample from my office tank because I think my betta is starting to show some fin rot, but that's another thread). Verdict is that my pH is fine in both tap and tank, and so the problem must be the test. Didn't keep the box and I can't find an expiry date on the bottle. I think I will try contacting Nutrafin about it to see what they say. Bought a new test kit though.

Now, although the pH is fine, the IS definitely some ammonia in both tank and tap. Apparently, Victoria has been having ammonia problems with the water lately. But, she says it is trace and I shouldn't worry about it. The readings keep coming up at 0.1 and 0.3, the two lowest readings on the chart for the Nutrafin test. She says that with there being trace amounts in the tap, doing a pwc daily isn't going to make a difference for my fish as I will just being replacing ammonia with ammonia. And she insists that it will slow down the cycle. When I suggested that the bb is in the substrate and the filter media, rather than the water, she said that was only partially true and that I should really just try leaving the tank alone for a wee bit. *sigh* Sometimes it is hard to know what to do!

 

[ErinMcG]

Looks like we may be moving for July 1 or Aug 1. Just have to find out when the new place is ready and get the official ok from the co-op board. It's smaller, but very nice. Now, this relates to my tank in 2 ways.

1. I am going to need to research how to move an aquarium. Somewhat intimidating.
2. If I can put the tank where I am hoping to put it, I will invest in an aqueon water changer and can stop carrying buckets. This would be awesome! I think I may have done my neck and shoulders in with all the buckets of water I have been carrying lately.