PH and fish death

[Jimmyhetten9]

I have a 40 gallon heavily planted high-tech tank.

I've been noticing when I do a 15-20% water change my fish are freaking out afterwards. I've also lost 2 fish now the last 2 times I've done a water change.

I'm realizing now that my PH on my tap water I'm putting into my tank is much higher than the PH of the pressurized CO2 aquarium water. I think my fish are freaking out and sadly, dieing because of the difference.

Can any high-tech planted tank owners help me figure out the best way to add new water with a matching PH. My tap is around 7.5 and maybe even as high as 8ppm PH. My tank is around 6.4 PH.

thanks,

James

 

[UABsleeperSRNA]

I am completely unfamiliar with CO2 System setup as i do not have one but yes the CO2 combines with hydrogen ions in water to form carbonic Acid which is why your aquarium is more acidic which i'm sure you probably know.. again i don't know exactly how the system works but is their a way to run the a tube from your co2 pressurizer to your tap water? Or i guessing you would not want an ro filter b/c it would remove the minerals you want in the water..?

I would be interested to see what others had to say but my thoughts would be adding ph down decreasing the ph closer to your aquariums ph thus decreasing the shock your fish experience when introducing the water..

Then again this could also be bad..? once the water is introduced into the aquarium and pressurized with co2 it is going to become just as acidic as the rest of the aquarium and with the ph down added in theory could have a cumulative effect causing the rest of the aquarium ph drop even more.. i guess depending on the half life oh ph down and it's exact Mechanism of action which i don't know ..?

i guess another thought would be change less more frequently.. like 5 % 3 times a week?

have you measured your aquarium ph after adding the water to see how much it raises
Sorry i guess i'm not much help ha i will continue to follow though

 

[schoeplein]

A single water change isn't going to kill your fish unless you're literally dumping the water on their head or the water you're putting into the tank is toxic. I would also look at the water temp and speed with which you're adding water to the tank. A 7.5 to 6.5 pH isn't going to harm *most* fish, since your tank is going to dilute the water you're putting into the tank anyway.

How long has your tank been setup?
What fish have died?
What symptoms did they experience before water changes?
What's your NO2, NO3, NH3/4?

 

[treemanone2003]

The difference between the tank and tap pH could be a problem but I'm not overly convinced it is. I agree with the questions schoeplein is asking. Also, just for giggles, have you aged any water and tested it ? Pour a nice big glass and let it sit out for 8 hours then test some. Allow the same glass to sit for another 16 and retest. See if there's a difference. Are you on well or city ?

 

[Jimmyhetten9]

Wow, thanks everyone for the quick responses.

Answer to some of the questions:

We are on city water
Tank has been set up about 3 months now
Spotted Cory Cat died
Zebra Danio died
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 2ppm
Ammonia: 0ppm
I haven't aged water and tested but I will do that

Regarding the 2 deaths. No symptoms before hand. However after the water change, I had the 2 deaths. Also, 3 other Cory's and another Danio seemed dazed and confused after the water change as well. I thought I was going to lose them as well. They would swim for a second or two and then go limp. All of them perked back up though after about an hour and are still living. I try to make the water changes as stress less as possible.

Do I need to treat my water with PH down or something before I refill tank? Should I just do smaller water changes (5-10%)? Would adding new water at a slightly higher temp cause it to stay at top of tank and not reach my Cory's as fast? I'm worried for the next water change.

thanks,

James

 

[aqua_chem]

What you're describing sounds like a non-pH, non-CO2 related issue. Your fish might just be dying at coincidental times to your water changes, or they're barely hanging on and the stress from the water change in general pushes them over the inevitable edge then rather than in 10 hours. Either way, you need to start looking for other possible causes of fish death.



For the record, I've basically abused my water chemistry in the past, ie, pouring in water with pH in the low 8s to tank water in the low 6s. For those not familiar with pH units, that about a 100x change in water acidity between the two. The fish, including rams, didn't seem to care.

 

[treemanone2003]

Wow, thanks everyone for the quick responses.

Answer to some of the questions:

We are on city water
Tank has been set up about 3 months now
Spotted Cory Cat died
Zebra Danio died
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 2ppm
Ammonia: 0ppm
I haven't aged water and tested but I will do that

Regarding the 2 deaths. No symptoms before hand. However after the water change, I had the 2 deaths. Also, 3 other Cory's and another Danio seemed dazed and confused after the water change as well. I thought I was going to lose them as well. They would swim for a second or two and then go limp. All of them perked back up though after about an hour and are still living. I try to make the water changes as stress less as possible.

Do I need to treat my water with PH down or something before I refill tank? Should I just do smaller water changes (5-10%)? Would adding new water at a slightly higher temp cause it to stay at top of tank and not reach my Cory's as fast? I'm worried for the next water change.

thanks,

James

Here's what I would consider doing if it were me.

Contact your water company and ask for a water report. Granted, this will change daily depending on a multitude of things but, at least you can have a baseline of parameters to work with.

As far as them leaving, it may not have been anything you've done. Are you using a dechlorinator during WC's ? Are you treating for tank volume or WC volume ? Personally I would stay as far away from any products unless it's a medication. Simply, IMO, they're useless and you could use the money for something else. DO NOT add water at any different temp than what the tank is !!!! There are reasons you could do that but this is not one of them. I would not worry so much just yet. Let's see how the aged water test turns out. It may be a much closer match. I can't remember if it was asked, test strips or liquid kit that you use ? Liquid is much more accurate.

 

[anteatergoanna]

The water you put in your tank, is that the same temp as your tank?

 

[Jimmyhetten9]

I try to match the temperature of the new water as close as possible to the tank water. Also, to answer the question, I'm using a liquid test kit.

I've got water sitting at home which I plan to test after work and we'll see where the PH is at.

All in all I feel as though my fish are healthy and happy except for after the water changing. However, there may be something I'm not seeing day to day that's causing them stress, sickness, etc.

For my next water change I'm going to do a small one and just be as unobtrusive as possible.