What's new
By:
Filters

Did I Just Poision My Fish ?

S

s_anthony

New Member
Joined
Dec 3, 2006
Messages
16
Reaction score
0
Ok, I won't bore you with the long story (if your interested search for my posts).

Ive been having PH issues and no one seems to be able to figure out what the heck caused it...

I did a lot of reading and research and I want to find out if I basically poisioned my own fish... :unsure:

Does anone know if either hematite or snowflake obsidian is either a sulfides, arsenides, selenides or antimonides? I thought they were of the quartz family, but i cant seem to find any info to back that theory up... I'm wondering if they are the source of my low PH (were talking 6.0 or less)...
 
http://www.emporia.edu/earthsci/amber/go336/inmon/

BINGO! Good article - this was exactly what I was looking for.... Now if I can find something about the obsidian I'd be happy....


"This gives the water a very acidic ph (4.5) The altering of the ph and the introduction of larger quantities of iron and aluminum sulfate degrades the water quality killing off native plants and animal species (source 4). "

I guess this would be PERFECT for discus keepers.. I'll have to tell the LFS fish guy about this one, cause he said they were OK to use.... and he keeps discus and tries to lower his PH, so maybe this is his answer...
 
After I removed the hematite, I did a WC (20%).. I'm now seeing changes in PH!!! I wasn't before and it was so frustrating.

Now I just get to monitor it over the next few days and do WC watching how fast the PH goes up..

As soon as I finish cooking dinner, I'll WC the other tank that had the fatalities and see if I get a change....

I don't want either tank to drastically change, but I also don't want more dead fish. It's so hard to balance everything sometimes :(
 
That's good news :)

Obsidian from what I can gather is a volcanic glass, which seems safe to use apart from having very sharp edges.
Read this in a couple of fishkeeping articles.

;) Anita
 
Anita said:
That's good news :)

Obsidian from what I can gather is a volcanic glass, which seems safe to use apart from having very sharp edges.
Read this in a couple of fishkeeping articles.

;) Anita
Click to expand...

This is tumbled obsidian, so we're good there :)
 
Test kits say 6.2 and 6.6 for PH in the tanks.. it rose way too fast for my liking almost as if it is fixing itself... the 20% wc i wouldn't have expected for it to make this much of a change...

I just hope the fish don't stress too much over the change...

My juli cory is acting a little lethargic...
 
This might sound like a bizarre suggestion, but if anyone is considering putting any kinds of rock crystals into the tank as decor, it may be a good idea to do a websearch for new-age crystal sites first. According to some of these sites, certain crystals require 'spiritual cleansing' by submerging them in salt crystals, as immersing them in water causes them to dissolve. From this info, it's possibe to work out which minerals will leech salts and minaral ions into the water. :)
 
While Obsidian is ~70% silicon dioxide, darker specimens and very black pieces are certain to contain ferromagnesian impurities. Basically not all that great either.

I'd be inclined not to use either.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

N
My platy has not eaten in 2 or 3 or more days
Replies
10
Views
1K
emeraldking
emeraldking
PackardG00SE
I think the Water Department screwed up my aquarium.
Replies
9
Views
1K
MaloK
MaloK
C
Julii Corys acting strange...and I'm getting worried.
Replies
8
Views
1K
TwoTankAmin
TwoTankAmin
G
Platy Mystery Bump (pls help I got square brain)
Replies
4
Views
768
Ginger Otter
G
E
Problem with popular Algae solutions, raising pH, and my barbs being affected. Help!
Replies
3
Views
961
EllenAliciaJordanScusa
E

Most reactions

Useful Links

Back
Top