My PH and switching to RO water....

[woofwoofgrrl]

Now that the usually pushy Danio is hiding and acting slower than usual (if he dies that would be 3 dead Danios in 4 weeks) I've decided to switch to RO water to gradually bring (and keep) my PH down. It's at 8.2 usually. I discovered I can get RO water at my grocery store for $.40 a gallon so it's way more affordable that I thought.

I know I don't want to change the PH too quickly. So I bought 5 gallons of water today, and have been adding a gallon of RO water to my 30 gallon tank every several hours. So far theres been no change in my PH at all. My tap water has a huge buffering capacity, it's very hard. Should I continue in this way over the next several days or go slower or use another method?

When I finally get my PH below 8, for my regular water changes, should I mix part RO and part tap water (treated with prime, obviously) to put minerals back into the RO or should I use all RO and a mineral additive?

Also the RO measured a PH 7.6 after sitting for 6 hours - is that normal, I would have expected it to be a bit closer to 7....

Thoughts?
Thanks!

[James_in_MN]

I don't think that high pH is what's killing your fish. Danios are one of the hardiest fish you can find, so if they're dying off, you have something more serious going on.

Did you cycle your tank already? What are your water parameters (ammonia, nitrIte, nitrAte)?

[mfdrookie516]

I agree.. I think RO is going to cause you more headache in the long run. I wouldn't try and keep rams or discus in that water, but most any fish will be fine. My tanks pH has always been 7.8 and I've kept quite a variety of fish with no problems.

[itsgracia]

Agree..I have Danios in my tank and have a 8.2 ph. They have been in there for 2 months with no problem.

[severum mama]

I agree with everyone above. IMO it might be time to consider a different supplier for your danios. They should be fairly bulletproof.

[woofwoofgrrl]

Where does GH fit into the equation? Is it possible that my water just too hard, regardless of the pH?

My tank is cycled. I just tested my water and I'm at ammonia:0, nitrites:0, nitrates: 10ppm; and pH 8.2; temp:76.

The fish don't look particularly sick before they die, they just slow down and hide behind the bow of the big ship. The only obvious thing is their tailfins start to look like crap just before they die but they aren't discolored in any way, so I think (and I could totally be wrong here) that it's from bullying by the other fish that sense the illness.

What should I be looking for or testing for?
Thanks for any help. I'm at a total loss here.

[severum mama]

Hmm, do you have any other fish with your danios? Your water's testing out fine and you should not be having these issues with them. Have they all come from the same store? Sometimes a store will get a bad batch, sometimes the supplier sends the fish in sick. I still think it might be time to try a new shop.

[woofwoofgrrl]

I have some white skirt tetras I got at the same place and they have been fine so far. I switched to this place because other LFS in town gave me a nasty case if ich. <sigh> Hmmm.... there's always Petco and Petsmart - that's ick in a different way!

So would my kids toy pirate ship decor be doing something to make them sick? I prepped it with a bleach soak, major rinse, and it was in my tank while it cycled. It's a molded plastic Imaginext toy. The research I did before I put it in there suggested that plastic kids toys are okay.... It does look really cool in there.... Thoughts?

Any thoughts on GH vs. pH?

[Lengelund]

I like that pirate ship!

[woofwoofgrrl]

Thanks! You can get one on ebay! FISHER PRICE IMAGINEXT PIRATE SHIP #G8738 - eBay (item 170619299187 end time Mar-29-11 18:09:14 PDT)
This one has even more parts than mine does!

Anybody have any thoughts on GH and how it relates to freshwater fish health?

[woofwoofgrrl]

So is the general consensus that I got a bad batch of Danios? Is there anything I can do or do I just get to wait and see who survives?

[r_nichols7]

Shot in the dark... Check and observe the fins closely... is it bites from other fish or are they suffering from fin rot? (a common disease in aquarium fish) I'm no expert but I just started an aquarium recently and have experienced several diseases with my fish due to overfeeding and rotting food in the tank and without a proper cycle. If fish become docile and do not eat well, look for common diseases. Some are not visible to the unaided eye but the symptoms are telling.