PH crash after cycle, need an expert!

[Deckape]

Its paid for, what could it hurt?

Sent from my DROIDX using Aquarium

 

[eco23]

Wow. I never googled this product before even though it's been sitting under my tank this whole time. Virtually nobody on the planet has ever heard of it... the people that have swear on their children that it works. Apparently it's starting to build a reputation. Think I'll go pour some in tonight unless another member would like to talk me out of it. Again it's called Start Smart made by Tender Living Care. Apparently people in the hobby just refer to it as TLC since that's what it says on the label.

 

[eco23]

It's even got it's own Facebook fan page - StartSmart | Facebook

I think I'm gonna start a new thread asking if anyone's heard of it before I pour it in. I trust this site a little more than Facebook, lol.

 

[Deckape]

Never saw that.Where did you get it?

Sent from my DROIDX using Aquarium

 

[eco23]

LFS. The owner says he uses it for every one of his tanks. I didn't believe him but I bought it anyway.

 

[AdamHorton]

That third member with the pH problems, that would be me. I made a thread about it with a whole lot more detail, in case it helps at all. Here's the link:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f15/fishless-cycle-oddity-146464.html

Today I did a large (>80%) PWC and after a half hour or so, I took another pH reading and ammonia reading.

pH: 8.0 (I think that's pretty close to where it comes out of the tap)
Ammonia: 0
NitrAte: 10 ppm

I'm going to dose it back up to 2 ppm and see where it is after 24 hours.

 

[eco23]

That third member with the pH problems, that would be me. I made a thread about it with a whole lot more detail, in case it helps at all. Here's the link:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f15/fishless-cycle-oddity-146464.html

Today I did a large (>80%) PWC and after a half hour or so, I took another pH reading and ammonia reading.

pH: 8.0 (I think that's pretty close to where it comes out of the tap)
Ammonia: 0
NitrAte: 10 ppm

I'm going to dose it back up to 2 ppm and see where it is after 24 hours.

You're PH was really low before your pwc, right?

 

[AdamHorton]

Yeah, I only have a high-range test kit at the moment, but it was somewhere below 7

 

[Deckape]

http://www.google.com/m/url?client=...kQFjAA&usg=AFQjCNGUr9lea6WwGrnF6EOLyvm5MmSHhQ

Check this out. Go figure you were right about the nitrate off gassing and more...

Sent from my DROIDX using Aquarium

 

[eco23]

Okay, I've been researching this to death and here's what I think is going on. Adam and Deckape, do you guys have soft water? I have really soft water here which basically has no buffering capacity which allows the PH to swing wildly in either direction.

Apparently the fishless cycle does discharge acidic properties into the water which can cause the crash. If we had harder water it's more buffered and wouldn't have swung so crazy low, but since I do, I just need to stay on top of it and make sure it's stable.

I'm gonna keep up with the PWC's and try to make it to the LFS this weekend to get some crushed coral or something else to help buffer the water.

If anyone sees holes in my theory please point them out... and what are some good ways to buffer your water and keep the PH higher if you have soft water?

 

[AdamHorton]

Deckape - Very interesting article: even with 10 ppm nitrate do you think that could be the cause?

eco - I performed a quick alkalinity test, which I'm not really sure completely answers your question. I got a reading of 1.5 mEq/L, which I believe is kind of low. I believe my water isn't particularly hard, so it kind of lines up for me.

 

[eco23]

I think that just by chance we all have similar water quality in our homes, so we had similar crashes dependent on the slight differences with our water. I need to do more research on using buffers in the tank. I want to avoid chems if possible. I know crushed coral raises PH, but does it buffer it and help keep it there?

 

[Deckape]

I have not checked the hardness of my water. I will tomorrow, do they sell test kits for that?

Sent from my DROIDX using Aquarium

 

[eco23]

They do, but you can generally tell if you have hard/soft water based on if it dries your skin, leaves deposits in shower, doesn't sud up= hard water. Soft skin, lots of bubbles = soft water.

 

[Deckape]

Water must be soft. My old skin isn't particulary soft but I don't get deposits from rust in the toilets and showers.

Sent from my DROIDX using Aquarium

 

[Deckape]

Soap bubbles fine too

Sent from my DROIDX using Aquarium

 

[eco23]

Yeah, there seems to be a common thread building here. We all need to buffer the water to keep these swings from happening. Apparently a PH crash can be instantly deadly to the fish we're gonna get in there. I wish someone else would chime in with some experience, but I think we've figured out the problem.

 

[eco23]

It's too bad my buddies are having problems too, but this is one situation that pure coincidence has helped every one of us. So just to reiterate, all of us should probably hold off until next weekend before we start stocking to make sure we've got this under control. We need to buffer the water (still waiting on answers how), make sure it stays stable and then we're good to go. We don't want to do all this work of the fishless cycle just to have another crash and come home to all our new beautiful fish floating upside down.

 

[Deckape]

Concur.

Sent from my DROIDX using Aquarium

 

[AdamHorton]

I've been holding off for over a week now and I wasn't planning on adding fish anytime soon.

...how exactly should one buffer their water to prevent bad things from happening?