Ph help - new tank

[kwandrsn]

I started my tank about a month ago. Things have been going good except I noticed my Ph is high.
As of this morning
Ammonia 0.25
Nitrites 2.0
Nitrates 5.0
Ph 7.8

I done a 50% water change Monday as instructed by the petco aquatics lady. I also have been doing 20% changes every Saturday. I've been using API Stress Zyme. My Ph was around 8 and she told me to buy a product called Neutral Regulator. Do I did and it called for 1 TSP per 10-20 gallons she also told me I may have to double or even triple dose it. I added 6 TSP so far and only got the Ph down to 7.8. If anyone has any advice please let me know. The fish seem to be doing great. Haven't had a single problem out of them other than one of the guppies is a bully
Thanks,
Kevin

 

[fort384]

I would be far more concerned about your nitrite reading than your pH. Most common FW species can adapt to a wide range of pH and attempting to lower it using chemical additives often ends in a giant pH crash/massive fish death. Fish need stable pH, not necessarily a specific value.

I would recommend discontinuing the additive, and start performing 50% PWCs ASAP to get your nitrite down to less than 0.25ppm. Monitor daily, as your tank is still cycling - and do a PWC any time you see nitrite climb above 0.25ppm.

 

[Hholly]

I would be far more concerned about your nitrite reading than your pH. Most common FW species can adapt to a wide range of pH and attempting to lower it using chemical additives often ends in a giant pH crash/massive fish death. Fish need stable pH, not necessarily a specific value.

I would recommend discontinuing the additive, and start performing 50% PWCs ASAP to get your nitrite down to less than 0.25ppm. Monitor daily, as your tank is still cycling - and do a PWC any time you see nitrite climb above 0.25ppm.

+1 very good advice

 

[kwandrsn]

Ok I will do a water change now. Yeah I'm going to stop using the regulator.all it seemed to do was make my water cloudy

Another dumb question. Don't I want the nitrite level to be a little high for the cycling to work right.I man I know nitrite is bad but doesn't it have to be there for the bacteria that eats it to form quicker

 

[fort384]

it is toxic to freshwater fish in very small quantities. Your tank will cycle, even with keeping it low. For a good chance of success, I would follow the steps in this article, which will help explain fish in cycling.

I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?! - Aquarium Advice

 

[kwandrsn]

Ok I will check that out.I'm in the process of adding water back to NY tank.here is what petco lady has me using. aqueon water conditioner for chlorine. Flora pride for the plants and stress zyme. She told me I didn't have to use the water conditioner anymore with the.neutral regulator but I'm gonna stop using it

 

[fort384]

You still need water conditioner to neutralize chlorine. You are unfortunately getting bad advice from that source.

Flora Pride is a source of K and trace elements. You may or may not need it - especially this early on in your setup.

I would recommend: Discontinue pH additive, discontinue flora pride (for now), and use a water conditioner that neutralizes chlorine (aqueon is fine, Prime is better).

Get NO2 levels down to 0.25 or less by doing large PWCs using your water conditioner to neutralize chlorine. Nitrite poisoning can occur in very short order in many FW fish.

 

[kwandrsn]

The neutral regulator says it removes chlorine that is why she told me I could stop using the conditioner. I'm using the conditioner now.

how long do I wait to check water after doing a water change?

 

[fort384]

you can check it a couple minutes after the change.

 

[kwandrsn]

Ok done a 50% water change.
Ammonia almost 0
Nitrite about 1
nitrate almost 0

 

[fort384]

I would do another change, and knock that nitrite down further.

 

[kwandrsn]

Ok going to do that now.I was not sure if I should wait to do another change or not

 

[kwandrsn]

Ok after another 50% water change
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0.25
Nitrate 0
Ph 8

 

[fort384]

looks good! I would check it again tomorrow. It will probably require a change every day or 2 until the cycle completes. The fact that you have detectable nitrite means your tank is close to being cycled. Once the nitrite hits 0 consistently, you are in the clear.

 

[kwandrsn]

Ok thank you do much. I was taking my water sample every week to petco cause we live about an hour from any pet store. one week it was ok. Next week the nitrites were 5. She had me do a 50% and got it down to 2. I bought the API master kit so I don't have to go there so often. She told me that the tank has to go thru its cycle and the nitrites should start going down soon. But she didn't tell me to change the water again. She explained everything to me very good. She has been over the aquatics dept for 5 years do when she told me to get the neutral regulator I did. They don't even carry it she sent me to another port store. She said she uses it in her tanks and out works great.

 

[fort384]

The problem with using a product that lowers pH is that once a critical mass is reached, there is no more buffering capacity, and the pH can drop almost instantly lower than your test kit can even resolve. There is too much emphasis placed on regulating pH. Fish are highly adaptable, especially the common ones kept in our home aquariums. What they cannot handle is a rapid shift in pH which can cause osmotic shock and death in short order.

I have no doubt that it would work out great for a time, and maybe even in perpetuity if water changes are performed regularly and the water has a lot of buffering capacity. I can tell you that there are dozens, maybe hundreds of threads from people on this forum over the years that have used similar pH reduction products, and the result was great results for awhile, and then a massive pH shift and complete tank die off. There are also dozens of threads with folks who have pH on the high side for FW tanks and keep very successful aquariums despite it. It is easier to just acclimate new inhabitants, and not mess with the pH of the water.

 

[kwandrsn]

I've looked up the fish we have and the fish she wants and they say they adapt well. We have guppies . A variatus which I think is a form of a platy ,cory cats, and bristle nosed plecos. She wants a few more platies and some schooling fish like Danios or something. We have 12 fish in a 20 gallon tank

If we can get this tank going good I want to start a 20 or 30 gallon salt water tank for a few clownish

The lady at petco also told me to stop feeding twice a day and only feed once a day for a few days.or should I keep feeding 2 times a day

 

[fort384]

Once a day should be more than adequate.

 

[kwandrsn]

Ok so I checked water this morning

Ammonia 0.25 ppm
Nitrite 0.50 ppm
Nitrate 5.0 ppm
Ph 8.0

Should I wait until the nitrite gets up a little more before changing water again.

on a different subject i noticed this morning one of my cobra guppies has a tear in his tail fin. Looks almost split in 2. He seems to be swimming fine and none of the others has a tear that I can see. Is it something I should worry about? Will it heal. The guppies like to chase each other around but never noticed them nipping or anything.

 

[fort384]

It should heal but poor water will lengthen the process and cause undue stress.

I would do another change. Any time it is above 0.25ppm I would do a 50% change.