Crucial Help Needed

[IgsPoke3]

Hey everyone,

I decided to set up a freshwater betta tank last week and because I had to, it was a fish in cycle. The tank is 5 gallons with filter, heater, live plants and sand substrate. I’ve been taking readings daily and the most recent one reads:
PH - 6.0
NO2 - 0
NO3 - 0
NH - 0.25
GH - 30
KH - 20
I have used API QuickStart as well as Aqueon ball of beneficial bacteria. The water has been treated of chlorine and ammonia with prime sechum in order to detoxify the ammonia. The tank has not cycled as you can tell from the reading but there are some new problems rising.

Since I’ve moved houses this past couple of months the water quality is certainly different. It used to be 7.0 and now the tap water is 6.4 and somehow in the tank is 6.0-6.2. My understanding is that this ph is not harmful for the betta but rather for the cycle. I’ve never run into the problem before so I added PH up solution and will test tomorrow to see how it changes.
One other thing to note is that the KH is 20 and at the other house used to be 80. I have no idea how to fix this or if this even needs fixing. This KH means the water has the ability to change Ph easily and since this is new territory I’m frankly lost. I don’t know if these conditions are slowing down the beneficial bacteria. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you for your time!

 

[Colin_T]

You don't need to raise the pH, GH or KH for the Betta or the filter. The filter bacteria is fine in water with a pH above 6.0 and usually above 5.5.

If you have concerns about the pH dropping too much, add some shells, limestone rock, or dead coral rubble to the tank. You won't need much. Monitor the pH for a couple of weeks and if it still drops rapidly during the week, add a bit more limestone, shells or coral rubble. Monitor and keep adding a little bit at a time until the pH stays put.

If the tap water is coming out at 6.4, try to have the tank's pH on 6.4 so there is no variation when you do water changes. If you want the tank's pH higher (say 7.0), then you will have to buffer the tap water before using it in the aquarium. The easiest way to buffer the tap water is to get a large container and fill it with tap water, add some shells or limestone and let it aerate for a few days. When the pH is correct, remove the shells or limestone and use that water for water changes.

 

[IgsPoke3]

Thank you for the reply. Do you think cuttlebone would do the trick? It is the easiest thing bc for me to grab at the moment as every pet store around me is out of crushed coral and limestone rocks.
I’m thinking of putting a cuttlebone in a media bag and putting it in my tank. My water changes are usually 20% so that shouldn’t fluctuate the ph massively but I will have to test that. Thank you !

 

[Colin_T]

Cuttlebone can work but limestone or shells works faster.

Nurseries (garden centres) and hardware stores sometimes sell limestone rocks. Just make sure it's free of chemicals. You can also find it on most beaches (if you live near a beach) or there might be a limestone quarry around where you can grab a few pieces.

 

[Caliban07]

Hey everyone,



I decided to set up a freshwater betta tank last week and because I had to, it was a fish in cycle. The tank is 5 gallons with filter, heater, live plants and sand substrate. I’ve been taking readings daily and the most recent one reads:

PH - 6.0

NO2 - 0

NO3 - 0

NH - 0.25

GH - 30

KH - 20

I have used API QuickStart as well as Aqueon ball of beneficial bacteria. The water has been treated of chlorine and ammonia with prime sechum in order to detoxify the ammonia. The tank has not cycled as you can tell from the reading but there are some new problems rising.



Since I’ve moved houses this past couple of months the water quality is certainly different. It used to be 7.0 and now the tap water is 6.4 and somehow in the tank is 6.0-6.2. My understanding is that this ph is not harmful for the betta but rather for the cycle. I’ve never run into the problem before so I added PH up solution and will test tomorrow to see how it changes.

One other thing to note is that the KH is 20 and at the other house used to be 80. I have no idea how to fix this or if this even needs fixing. This KH means the water has the ability to change Ph easily and since this is new territory I’m frankly lost. I don’t know if these conditions are slowing down the beneficial bacteria. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you for your time!

Bacteria only play a key role in the nitrogen cycle if the ammonia is high. How high I don’t know but we are likely talking water treatment facility levels. These bacteria use alkalinity carbonate during nitrification which, when exhausted will lower the pH.

Here’s the interesting bit. The primary microbes responsible for nitrification in aquarium filters are types of Archaea. Therefore any reference to beneficial bacteria is not strictly accurate. Archaea use primarily ammonium and at much lower levels as their substrate which is much more likely in an aquarium filter. Some of these archaea can even bypass the entire nitrite stage. They also have a much wider tolerance to pH levels and can use co2 as their energy source.

In other words, one should not worry about nitrogen cycle stalls or crashes under normal aquarium conditions because nature has all angles covered.

If you are doing a fishless cycle (which is completely pointless) you are adding ammonia and dosing at levels much higher than what is typically seen in aquarium filters. It’s very possible that we encourage the growth of nitrifying bacteria which rely on alkalinity. Of course, after a number of weeks ammonia stops moving in a fishless cycle and a water change is necessary to add some alkalinity back in to finish off the cycle. When you add fish and stop adding ammonia, the microbes will slowly transition to archaea anyway.

KH is good for the most part though. Most plants like a bit of KH for example.