My Water is Killing My Fish :(

[blert]

Don't resort to using any chemicals to adjust your pH. They are dangerous to the health of your fish and are basically marketed so that the companies can make a lot of money on folks that don't know better. These chemicals will end up causing wild swings in your pH that can kill your fish, not to mention drain your pocketbook. Remember, more than any specific value, you are looking for stability. There are better ways, already suggested previously, that will work for the long run and are not just a band aid fix. And 0.50 ammonia in your tap water, cut to 0.25 after 50/50 mix with RO, is not an issue. Your bacteria will be able to chew through that over night. And as MummaOfTwo said, Prime is fine with snails.

 

[Monkey Magic]

I recently read somewhere that a type of vinegar will lower ph is this true if so i eant to start using it on my tank instead of ph down

 

[Mumma.of.two]

I recently read somewhere that a type of vinegar will lower ph is this true if so i eant to start using it on my tank instead of ph down

You shouldn't be messing with the pH at all. Above is an extreme case. What is your pH normally without chemicals? Chemicals can cause major pH fluctuations resulting in the death of your fish. Stability is the key.

 

[Monkey Magic]

Ph comes out of the tap at 7 i try and keep it at around 6.5 and under for my discus and rams. How can i do this without chemicals i dont dose it all at once i do it gradually over a few days havent setup my co2 properly so i know when that happens ill lower it aswell. How can i get stability because i do get minor fluctuations when i test

 

[blert]

Ph comes out of the tap at 7 i try and keep it at around 6.5 and under for my discus and rams. How can i do this without chemicals i dont dose it all at once i do it gradually over a few days havent setup my co2 properly so i know when that happens ill lower it aswell. How can i get stability because i do get minor fluctuations when i test

Try filtering with peat moss.

 

[jlk]

Ph comes out of the tap at 7 i try and keep it at around 6.5 and under for my discus and rams. How can i do this without chemicals i dont dose it all at once i do it gradually over a few days havent setup my co2 properly so i know when that happens ill lower it aswell. How can i get stability because i do get minor fluctuations when i test

Dont let your ph drop below 6.5 or it will start to affect your nitrogen cycle & your bb. They start to slow down conversion as the ph drops below 6.5 and they stop converting ammonia altogether @6. This is a slippery slope your sliding down & you may very well wind up with more problems than you bargained for. The co2 should lower it some as well as natural solutions such as dw or peat as Blert wisely suggested.

 

[jmpgop]

ph

Okay - here's a pic of my ph from one of my tanks. This is the tank I added peat moss to the HOB filter. I have no measurable difference since adding a pouch of it.

So, what the heck is the level. It is definately purple but it doesn't match anything?

 

[blert]

Okay - here's a pic of my ph from one of my tanks. This is the tank I added peat moss to the HOB filter. I have no measurable difference since adding a pouch of it.

So, what the heck is the level. It is definately purple but it doesn't match anything?

That is the high range test, right? Are you adding five drops or three? Supposed to add five.

 

[gabysapha]

I just skimmed this thread so I apologize if I missed something. I just want to add the ph of all my tanks are 8.4-8.8, and I have NOT had issues with fish dying/not acclimating save for one incident with wild-caught sparkling gouramis. So the ph isn't a big deal unless you're trying to breed soft water fish or you're not acclimating them correctly (drip acclimate for at least 3 hrs). Please don't mess with the ph, it will just give you more issues. Stability is the best you can offer and fish will adjust if you do the acclimation right. I will also add peat moss was ineffective for me; I think my water is just too good of a buffer.

I have kept neons and german blue rams, among other popular species. So, I think that's evidence enough that the ph isn't likely the problem.

What gives me more trouble are certain species of plants!

 

[jmpgop]

@ Blert... Yes... I do follow the directions on the high PH test. . . If there is one thing I do right it is testing and following directions

@ gabysapha - most of my fish do great. (knock wood). And I have successfully raised 8 of 14 fry of cherry barbs. As for how babies go, I think that is pretty good IMHO. BUT I killed an entire school of rasboras and drip acclimated for like two hours - Perhaps I was just just short an hour of drip to keep them all from dying in a week? Or just a too high ph?

We all know that a more moderate ph is better than the high in the long run... SO as you probably missed by skimming this very long thread (I don't blame you), I'm going to supplement and do 50/50 tap then with a RO system. I just purchased it and it is on its way.

I think the fact that there is ammonia right from the tap AND a high ph works against me.

.......And I bet you can't keep discus LOL !!!

 

[gabysapha]

Ha, well, I don't ever plan to keep discus nor do I want to. I can keep whatever I want to keep at the moment, and breed whatever I want to breed, so I won't bother changing my water. I don't have the budget nor time for RO, but I wish you luck with it.

With fish I know have come from tanks with completely different parameters than mine, I drip acclimate for 4 hours AT LEAST. I recently got an order of threadfin rainbows. Most arrived dead to my house, the remaining ones survived and I think a 6 hr drip contributed to my success. For any fish I get, regardless of the source, I drip acclimate for at least 3 hrs. It's just standard for me now, and I have not lost a fish within 48 hrs of acclimation since I began with this strategy. It's made quite a difference.

 

[jmpgop]

The bottom line is this: Everything else is good and has been good for a while... It is the best as I can get it. I have a ammonia issue right out of the faucet but yes, it is usually gone quick because my tanks are established. Trates 20-40 variable if I see 40 I change the water and then it is good. I don't overfeed. I am now only feeding once a day and only what they eat before it touches the bottom of the tank - this is to keep trates closer to 20 and under. I feed spot on...

My ph is high. Really high.

If I am changing water weekly & vacuuming as needed, not over feeding, and I have great filtration and good water conditioner - - - there isn't much left except for the water and ph. AndI know that my village uses chloramines to clean the water = ammonia. And they have admited that the water is really hard. I can show you pics of my shower to prove how bad it is

So - what else could it be except for my source of water?

Really.

So I know some of ya'll are *perfect* fish keepers and never seem to lose a fish... They all live to be 20 years old in your tanks I guess...??? But this time it isn't the Indian. No matter how much some of ya'll try to say it is all me (it must be me because YOU have no problem with it) Well... NO... this time it isn't me. Thanks for your *help*.

I'll go RO.

 

[jlk]

Theres nothing wrong with using RO water in fw tank as long as you are adding back the minerals. I would honestly prefer to use it because my city water isnt so great (not as bad as yours though!) but right now its just too cost-prohibitive for me with a family & budget. I think this is a wise choice for your situation. Good luck!!!

 

[jmpgop]

Thank you JLK... The small system I'm purchasing for under my sink is like $240.00. VS. buying Ice Mountain water (which I noticed today says purified by reverse osmosis) that would cost me around $50.00 a month min. I'll have the system paid for in 5 months.

But I feel bad for my fish. And I want to keep more fish which is why I have 128 gallon of fish tank Looking at my 72 gallon with 3 fish in it is quite sad but I'm afraid to buy anything else for fear of their ultimate quick demise.....

I'll keep ya informed on how it goes.

 

[Iodizedfate]

Good luck! I have about 1 ppm ammonia out of the tap where I am and the PH hits a solid 8 so I feel for your crazy water parameters. Lucky for me my fish seem to be doing fine in it.

I agree with getting the R/O unit and dosing with minerals. I wish I had the money to do it because it would give me the piece of mind of having a water source with constant readings for my water changes.

Good luck with your tanks. I'll be watching this thread to see how it goes.

 

[jmpgop]

Yeah @ iodizedfate - and there's a sign at our entrance to our subdivision that they're flushing the water mains over the next two weeks! Guess I won't be changing the water at all after tomorrow! Yikes! BRUTAL!

 

[skiweeangel]

let me know what buffer you decide on! and I'm glad to hear this is going to work for you.

 

[BillD]

Let me throw out a few things I haven't seen mentioned here. The pH test picture looks like the pH is under 8. A level of .5ppm ammonia could be due to chloramine added to the water instead of straight chlorine. With a pH of 8, I wouldn't even be concerned. It has been years since I checked pH, as I don't believe it matters what it is. What does matter is the Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) in the water. A drastic change in this can cause osmotic shock, which is probably the true culprit behind "pH shock", which probably doesn't exist.

 

[jmpgop]

The RO system has shipped. I'm picking up the minerals today. I am getting 6 bottles of ice mountain on Tuesday so I can do some partial changes over the next two weeks while I'm getting my under the counter RO system installed AND my village is doing water main flushes.

There is a local fish show here in the area on the 22nd of April. All independent breeders. I am hoping to get my water chemistry stabalized before then so that I can grow my fishy family!

Thanks ya'll.

 

[librarygirl]

Let me throw out a few things I haven't seen mentioned here. The pH test picture looks like the pH is under 8. A level of .5ppm ammonia could be due to chloramine added to the water instead of straight chlorine. With a pH of 8, I wouldn't even be concerned. It has been years since I checked pH, as I don't believe it matters what it is. What does matter is the Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) in the water. A drastic change in this can cause osmotic shock, which is probably the true culprit behind "pH shock", which probably doesn't exist.

I'd have to agree with Bill. In fact I ran my own experiment accidentally this weekend. The PH out of my tap is at least 8.4. After it gasses out it settles down to about 7.2 which is what my tanks are. Due to the PH difference I had been aerating water in buckets for 2 hours to do water changes. I have an Aqueon water changer but was afraid to use it due to the PH difference. A friend uses a Python and his municipality changed his PH to something much higher out of the tap and he used his Python for smaller water changes without any issue so I tried it and it was fine, I changed out about 25-30% of the water twice per week.

Anyway this past week I was doing a water change and cleaning out my canister. I thought I had turned off the siphon but I didn't and when I looked up I had about 3 inches left of water in the tank (29 gal). I didn't have any choice but to refill it back from the tap. Due to the larger water change, the PH must have increased drastically and then came back down as the water gassed off. I didn't lose any fish nor did they show any signs of distress.