New tank syndrome

[Jessika]

Hello everyone
I have new tank syndrome and am trying to keep my fish happy. Wishing I had done some research before adding fish as you can now do fish less cycling. Anyways I have had my fish tank up and running for about 3 weeks now. week one I just let the water run and then week 2 added fish. Yestorday I finally had an amonia reading of 0.6 and it's the same today. I did a 20% water change last night. Ph is at 6.0 and nitrite and nitrate are both at 0. My water has started to look a bit hazy the past few days. My question is because my ph is low does that mean that I have ammonium instead of ammonia? And if so how often should I be changing the water? I am using nutrafin water test kit. I have a 30 gallon tank and the temp is at 27 C. I have 6 zebra Dino's, 3 neons, 6 Plattys and 1 gourami dwarf fish. Any information would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance

 

[threnjen]

Hi there,
You're right (and great job!) that your low pH indicates low toxic ammonia levels. However it is a double edged sword here because your pH is actually so low that it inhibits the growth of the good bacteria (it is really slow under 6.5, and does not occur at all at 6.0)

I don't want to freak you out so don't do anything rash (after all, your toxic ammonia level right now is practically nil). But let's talk a little about your pH. Is that just from the tap, or have you done anything to bring it down?
What kind of water do you have, is it hard or soft?
Are you using tap water in the tank?

We teach not to mess with pH around here, but with a pH this low I will probably advocate some safe messing, after a little discussion.

 

[Jessika]

Thanks for the reply
Yes this is just from my tap, I have not added anything other then prime .yes I'm using tap water in my tank. Our water is soft. I tested the ph of my tap water and it's the same as my tank around 5.5-6

 

[Jessika]

I have been doing a bit of research and was wondering if crushed coral would be a good option to raise the ph?

 

[threnjen]

Howdy!
Yes, crushed coral would be excellent, as your water assuredly has no kH (which protects from pH swings) if it is this soft.

Ideally you'd want to get it to 7.0, this would be good for building your bio filter without being high enough to make your ammonia levels troubling. I definitely agree you need to raise the pH as it is so low that your beneficial bacteria cannot even grow at this time (meaning your tank would never cycle, and who wants to deal with that)

And from that, it's always better to raise it naturally, and crushed coral is the way to go

Two big thumbs up! You seem to have a knack for research yourself
Get some sort of mesh bag to put it in, and add it just a little at a time, like 1/4 cup every few days. This will both make sure it doesn't raise too quickly, and give you a chance to find the "perfect" point
Keep in mind that it loses effectiveness over time, but it does take a while. At some point though it will need refreshing.

 

[Jessika]

Great! Thanks so much I have added a 1/4 cup and will keep checking to see if
It's enough. Now when I do a large water change do I need to add a bit of baking soda to keep the ph up or will the crushed coral be enough?

 

[Tom Fields]

Dont know what your hardness levels are but I want to buy your tap water lol

 

[Tom Fields]

Good advice threnjen.

 

[Jessika]

5ppm lol I was wishing for a different level but I guess it should be happy with what I have!

 

[Caliban07]

Hi Jess

There are a couple of things that you may need to be aware of with regards to tap water ph.

In order to gain a true reading of your tap water ph it's best to leave a container of tap water on the side for 24 hrs and then test.

It may be that your ph reading does alter slightly or largely after 24hrs. However, since you have taken your reading from the tank which has been left more than 24 hrs this is your probable ph

Also just be aware that water supply companies can alter the ph of your tap water periodically without you knowing so just check your water a few more times over the course of the next couple of weeks just to be certain. You can also check your local water supply companies water quality report and see what they expect tap water ph to be.

It's great that you researched and chose to use a natural ph buffer rather than the chemicals such as ph up and down.

You are in good hands with Jen.

Welcome to AA

 

[Jessika]

Thank you caliban07, I will check my tap water over the next few weeks to see if the are any changes I have realized that research is your best friend when it comes to fishtanks! I am happy I have found a place to ask questions and get great advice! I always prefer the natural way and glad there are alternatives to chemicals!

 

[Caliban07]

No probs. Happy fish keeping!

 

[Jessika]

Update: ph is up to 6.5 I added a bit more crushed coral this Am and think that it should get it up to 7! Now I haven't done any water changes since adding the crushed coral and am wondering of it would be okay to do so without lowing my ph?

 

[threnjen]

Sounds like things are going very well!
Water changes will be ok, after a little while the coral will increase your kH and your pH won't fluctuate much with a water change.

 

[Jessika]

Okay great, thank you

 

[Jessika]

My tank is almost finished cycling! Yahoo lol my reading today were ph 7 ammonia 0 nitrite 0.1 and nitrate 10. I think it should be finished by tomorrow as my nitrites were at 0.8 yesterday. Now I am wondering how often I need to do be doing water changes once the tank has cycled and how much water should I remove. I can see some green stuff growing on front of my tank which I assume is algae? Should I be cleaning it off when I do the water change? Thanks for all the help!