Help

[moodymatt]

Can somebody please advice me on what to do ?

For some time now i have been getting very high Ammonia levels, no nitrate/nitrites and a very low pH ( usually around 3.0-4.0 ) in my tank.
I know this is probably due to the biological filtration system not functioning but i cannot understand why,the tank is about 2 year old and is far from being over stocked,i do regular water changes ( about 20% every few days) but as soon as i have done this a few days later the levels are back to being out of control.
Apart from buying a completely new filtration system i do not know what to do to remedy this problem.

any advice would be greatly appreciated

Matt

 

[Colin_T]

The low PH is preventing the beneficial filter bacteria from developing. This is why you have an ammonia reading and no nitrite or nitrate.
Your water is probably very soft (has little or no mineral content) and as such there is nothing to stop the PH from dropping. Check the water for general hardness (GH) and carbonate hardness (KH). If you don't have the test kits for it, take some water to the LFS and have them check it.
You can increase the GH & KH of the water with Rift Lake Water Conditioner. This is mineral salts you add to water to increase the hardness for African Rift Lake cichlids. You can use it at about 1/3 dose and it will buffer your water and help to stop the PH dropping.
You can also use a KH buffer, sodium bicarbonate (baking soda, not baking powder tho, they are different). You can also add some shell, coral rubble, or limestone to the tank and it will help to bring the PH back up.

There is no need to buy a new filter unless your current one doesn't work. Make sure the filter is run continuously and when you clean the filter materials, wash them in a bucket of tank water. Then tip the dirty water onto the lawn or garden.

Once you get the PH back up to 6 or above, the filters will start to develop. At this stage you should reduce the feeding during and do regular water changes to keep the ammonia & nitrite levels low while the bacteria establishes. In a month or so when the filter has developed you can increase the feeding and decrease the water changes back to once a week

 

[guppy fan]

if you are woundering why he says to poor the dirty tank water into your lawn or garden, it's because it acts as afertilizer. Pooring dirty tank water down a drain might also clog it. The nitrates, nitrites and ammonia help benificail bacteria to grow on plant roots.

 

[Rick A]

OK, a quick - and cheap - fix is to go and buy some Baking Soda - yes, 'Baking Soda'.

The suggested approach is to dilute one teaspoon for every 5 UK gallons in some warm water and add that to your tank - it will raise the PH and the KH - BE CAREFUL THOUGH! You should probably add just one or two teaspoons for the whole tank at first as it is dangerous for the fish if you raise the PH too much in one go. Read this:

http/mchportal.com/fishkeeping-mainmenu-...-chemistry.html

Then afterwards, just add enough for the amount of water you change when you do future water changes - at the rate of one teaspoon for every 5 UK gallons. It is far cheaper than Malawi water conditioner. You can also add one tablespoon of Epsom Salts for each 5 UK gallons if you want to raise the GH... And for your stress, take a few deep breaths and DON'T PANIC!

Hope this helps.