screwed up and stuck with high ph

zeebo

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Jun 11, 2010
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hi, i base my wc and vacuum routine on how many fish i have . Since the total loss . there are not nearly as many fish as before ...the tanks are very understocked atm, so i lessened the wc's and vacuuming . As I build up to more fish ,when my water permits, and especially with plecs , i will be doing more. In past , yes i did do 10%daily wc's to keep the ph level at 6.8(with the help of crushed coral). So am i doing too few wc's an vacuums, does it matter how many fish are in the tank to determine how often wc's and vacuuming is necessary ? and ususally clean the filter every 2 months in past, staggering the cleanings . Am i doing this wrong? Havent yet cleaned the filters yet since i restated the tank,but plan to do one this weekend and the other one the following.
 

Lornek8

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Apr 21, 2009
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Yes it does matter how many fish are in the tanks.
The question is though how do you know the water change routine is adequate? There should be some basis for water changes. The more often water changes are done the more stable the conditions are and the better for the fish.
 

zeebo

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Jun 11, 2010
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Thanks Lorne, yes, from testing , would be appropriate answer, so by testing for 5 yrs or so, i have pretty much figured out how often ,to keep nitrates down , and by my feeding regement , also. They get enough ,but not overfeed.--that's for vacuuming . and for wc's , every 3 days now and later when i add more , every day ,again.
Is this enough ?
thanks
 

zeebo

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Jun 11, 2010
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hey guys, just an update on things. I have been doing 10%daily wc's for 4 days now and have seen a drop in my ph. It has gone from a steady 8 for over a month (with fewer wc's) and had now dropped to 7.6 . I tested my phospates from tap and tanks . Today's phospate readings were : 54g-1.0 , 30g- .5 , and 20g- 1.0 . The flake food i am using is Omega One ,which has min phosphours- .5%. Tap is 1.0
Have not got a TDS reading yet . I must assume the daily wc's are helping to lower the ph, now need to see if it rolls steady ,or drops more, and go from there.
Seems phospates could be causing the problem ?
 

Brengun

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Apr 22, 2009
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Just want to check, is your api gH test bottle green coloured inside?
Why I ask is I just ordered a new one and when it came it was yellow not green. Didnt matter how many drops I added, up to 45 before I gave up, it was never going to turn the test green.
I went to another lfs and bought another and the drops are a lovely dark green. :)
 

zeebo

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Jun 11, 2010
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Hi Brenda , good eye, I just checked and yep, got a snotty yellow with a hint of green. Seems the gh test is shot, need a new one. Will make sure it had real green drops ...many thanks ,
 

dw1305

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Hi all,
Seems the gh test is shot, need a new one.
Results should be interesting, I've read through this thread several times now, and the water parameters just don't make any sense. I know Lornek has had similar problems with trying to work out what is going on, so hopefully we should have a bit more idea after the new test.

cheers Darrel
 

Brengun

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Also if you do a kh test and it seems a bit odd to the usual test, then do it again.
Just had to throw out an old kh test as well.
First test was 4 drops, perfect. Then I checked my other readings and I hadnt even put a buffer in after wc yet. Same test again, test turned after one drop lol.
I now use a permanent marker on my kh/gh bottles to mark the date and what color has to turn to what color. Saves looking it up all the time. :D
 

zeebo

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thank, Brenda, yes I plan to get a new kh/gh test kit and hope to get an accurate reading . I appreciate eveyone's interest and help here, got me :fr:
but with help here , I have faith this can be sorted out . Thanks !
 

zeebo

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Jun 11, 2010
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Hi again, I have not had the chance to pick up the new kh/gh test kit and the TDS meter yet, plan to this weekend, however, I contacted my water company to find out what they put in our tap water. Not sure if any of this info helps , but the lab tech just e-mailed me the info I requested. This is what he wrote : " Raw surface water (from resavoirs) comes into the plant , we add chlorine , activated carbon, potassium permanganate , and aluminum sulfate. After filteration we add caustic soda , flouride , ortho/poly phosphate and more chlorine. Well water (from the ground) skips aluminum ,carbon and caustic. " FYI- I was told at times they need to mix our water with local well water.

If any of this helps , I would love to hear about it and a fix.

Another note, my ph was stable at 7.4 in the 54g for 6 days ( no wc as was sick) then yesterday did a 10%wc and tested today and got 7.4 again. So does this mean the ph is stable now or not long enough time to tell ? Please hoping for a response soon. Thanks ,
 

zeebo

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Jun 11, 2010
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oops , forgot to add readings -54g A-0 , ni-0 .na-.5 . 30&20g -A-0 ,ni-0, na-10.

There are 11 fish in 54g, 5 in the 30, and 4 in the 20g. I plan to swap some fish in the 30 and 20 when i can get what i really want, crazy platy keep having babies.:wb::wb: When all is said and done, i wont have any platy.

2 AC70's on the 54, 2 marineland biowheels on the 30 and 1 AC50 on the 20g. All have an air stone. HTH
 

zeebo

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Jun 11, 2010
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Hi , went to the lfs to have my TDS tested ,results : 54g -667 / 30g-757 .

I also purchased a new kh/gh test kit , results : kh 4 /gh 7 from the tap.

Can anyone please help determine what is wrong with my water, the gh7 seems high,so is this the cause ?

Any feedback appreciated .
 

bigbird

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Sep 9, 2010
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ok can we have a photos of the tank and also in details what you have in it. I mean colour gravel, rocks etc. cheers jk :thumbup:
 

Lornek8

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Hi , went to the lfs to have my TDS tested ,results : 54g -667 / 30g-757 .

I also purchased a new kh/gh test kit , results : kh 4 /gh 7 from the tap.

Can anyone please help determine what is wrong with my water, the gh7 seems high,so is this the cause ?

Any feedback appreciated .
TDS is pretty high for the corresponding gh/kh readings. There's something else going on there. GH of 7 is usually closer to a TDS readings of 125 (ppm to deg dh is usually about 17.9 to 1) or so if all that its picking up is magnesium and calcium. What this means is that you've got a lot of other stuff in your water that the gh/kh tests aren't picking up. This is like salt or some other compound. We know that your phosphate readings are elevated but i've had higher phosphate with lower tds and similar gh/kh readings. Another question to add to the pile.
 

zeebo

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Hi, ok,I add no salt , and previous page shows what the town puts in ,some things I have heard of , others , no idea what they can do to the water. So any suggestions where I go from here ? thanks for responding .
 

Lornek8

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I don't really think what you're water company adds to the water is any different than what other municipalities add around the country. Drinking water is after all highly regulated. Its just a matter of how much gets added depending on what the prevailing water sources are like in your area.

The tds readings you're getting is kinda alarming. Although the gh/kh/ph readings aren't overly alarming in themselves, the tds reading is really high. This can lead to problems on its own as fish can react badly to high levels of tds. Total Dissolved Solids are also important for proper osmotic regulation, which is the relationship of water versus dissolved solids in the cells and the external environment. The greater the amount of solids in the water versus the solids in the tissue of the fish will result in a fluid loss via the gills.

I really think the answer is RO or demin water or even exploring the use of a water service. The more we dig, the more we find is in your water. The problem is, like the discussion we had about using buffers, the more you try to add to your water to counteract what is already there, the more issues you might bring about yourself. The best bet is to start fresh, with as pure water as you can get, then add small amounts of things to get what you need.
 

Lornek8

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Did you get tds readings of your tap water?
Did you test your tap water gh/kh?

I'm wondering how your tank water is compared to your tap water.
If there is a drastic difference between the tds of the tap and your tank then you need to look at your decor. While you stated that you tested your rocks using vinegar, maybe there is something else going on with the rocks. At this point we need to be looking at everything.

When you accomplish water changes do you use hot water from the tap?
There are concerns with using water from a water heater as all sorts of metals and stuff can come from the heater. I've read a report of someone who actually meauserd harder water out of the heater than from the cold tap due to it sitting in the heater. Guess it could be possible especially if the heater isn't flushed regularly.
 

zeebo

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Jun 11, 2010
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Did you get tds readings of your tap water?
Did you test your tap water gh/kh?
When you accomplish water changes do you use hot water from the tap?
There are concerns with using water from a water heater as all sorts of metals and stuff can come from the heater. I've read a report of someone who actually meauserd harder water out of the heater than from the cold tap due to it sitting in the heater. Guess it could be possible especially if the

I'm wondering how your tank water is compared to your tap water.
If there is a drastic difference between the tds of the tap and your tank then you need to look at your decor. While you stated that you tested your rocks using vinegar, maybe there is something else going on with the rocks. At this point we need to be looking at everything.
heater isn't flushed regularly.
hI Lorne, no TDS tap water test, but will go to lfs this week to get it done.
Yes, I tested my tap kh/gh -kh is 4 and gh is 7.
As for wc's yes, i mix hot and cold to get water temp to 79d to replace the water I removed. I had thought if I added only cold tap water it could kill the fish. Are you saying to use only cold water to replace at wc day ? I understand what you say about metals in the hot water. Heater is not flushed regularly.

Rocks; all 3 tanks have different rocks but I can remove them . Let me know.

Odd, now i have noticed my ph has remained stable at 7.4 for the past 10 days , but i still have a TDS and or gh problem :wb::wb: the stupid kid at the lfs said the TDS numbers were fine and only high if they hit the 1,000 mark, so again, shows how much they know.

thanks and pls let me knw if it's ok to do my 10%wc's via python with cold tap water . thanks