Carbon dioxide high - help please

[Cato]

Hi all,

I am new to this hobby. So here we go. I got a fish tank. Set it up. Tried many best. Testing the water every day. PH and Ammonia and the 6in1 Test. I bought everything which was there to help me looking at the water.

And then 2 guppies died after 3 days being with me. As soon as they came they were Swimming on top of the tank. Constantly. Me looking this up. Maybe Carbon Dioxide too high. Me running to the shop buying an air pump and this pipe. (See picture). In between ammonia little high and PH. Both controlled wirh Ammonia block and PH down. And then again high next day. Suddenly. And I can’t get the carbon dioxide down. One day showing good. Next day showing bad. 6in 1 showing different PH than the liquid test. I searched and searched and searched. Please help me. Also one small pecto died. I have all pictures attached. Not in th picture is aqua safe I have used to condition the water when I started the setup a few days ago.

Please advise kindly. Thanks so much.

 

[Aiken Drum]

This is new one for me. Ive never come across an issue with too high CO2 except where people are injecting it into a high tech planted tank where they want the high CO2.

I hope someone who has seen this before chips in, but ill give you my opinion for what its worth.

Is it that high out of the tap? Try testing some tap water. Does it degas after a period? Try retesting the same tap water after its been left standing overnight.

Are the higher CO2 reading in your tank immediately after or before a water change?

A few other things. I presume you didnt do a fishless cycle before adding fish and are now trying to cycle the tank with fish in it. If so you want to control ammonia and nitrite through your water changes keeping them no higher than 0.5ppm combined. Dont rely on ammonia detoxifiers. The only surefire way to reduce ammonia without being cycled is through water changes.

Fish are very adaptable to pH levels. Unless its way out there dont try chemically altering pH. Its more important to maintain steady pH than trying to achieve what you think is ideal. All you will end up doing by trying to control pH is it swinging about between what it naturally is in your tank and what the chemicals are trying to force it be.

pH should go up as CO2 degasses. Is this what you are finding, when your CO2 reads high, your pH is lower? As the CO2 degasses throughout the day your pH rises?

You could try leaving water you intend to use for water changes standing overnight so the CO2 degasses. This will in turn lead to your pH being at a steadier place, albeit a bit higher than you might ideally like it.