Oh No!

[newfishaddict]

Did a check on my stats in my 55 gallon tank this afternoon and this is what I got:
ammonia 1
nitrite 0
nitrate 0
ph 6.0

WHAT?!?

my tap has a ph of 6.8

The ph was the first thing I tested and I just about died. 6.0 is the lowest the test will go so who knows where it is, really.
I did a water change several days ago and didn't bother to test then because it seemed like just a routine thing, but I guess I should have tested.

I have:
5 x 3" gouramis
soilmaster substrate
newly planted
1 med piece driftwood
penguin biowheel filter

I use tapwater for my water changes and add a chlorine/cloramine remover that I got from Wal-mart a few years ago. Didn't think it would expire, could this be it? Didn't have tanks set up for a while and this is from before. Now that I think about it, it might even be around 7 years old since I had for a while and was using it with my old tanks.
My tap has really low KH, does this cause the PH to drop?

I checked my 2 gallon tank, too. It has some gravel which I had previously decided must be buffering the water up because its ph stays around 7.5 even though its 6.8 when I add it. So the stats for that today:
ph 7.5
ammonia 0 (maybe a little something but too close to 0 to be sure)
nitrite 0
nitrate 0 (also, maybe a little something but too close to 0 to be sure)
stock: 3 white cloud mountain minnows, 1 black mystery snail

Of course I could be reading the test wrong but there may be something wrong with the biological filter in there, too. I would expect a much higher nitrate reading in there. I haven't done a water change in over a week. How are these readings even possible?

These are new tanks so things won't be perfectly balanced yet, but this is not what I expected.

The 55 got started a couple weeks ago when I moved the stock and the filter from a 10 gallon tank (3 gouramis, then added 2 more when I moved them). Thought I would use the old filter to seed the new one in the 55 and assumed things would be fine since the bioload wasn't increasing that much. Detected ammonia in very low amounts shortly thereafter but thought it would sort out fairly quickly and didn't test the other things. Obviously you can do everything right and still end up with a mess on your hands. Lesson learned, test more often. I did test on the 10 gallon a lot and it was very stable. It had that same gravel so ph 7.5, ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 10. Results the same every time I tested it. BUT, I didn't really change the water in there much at all. In fact I think I only did once. So it doesn't rule out the water conditioner as the problem.

So the changes I will make are:
Get a different water conditioner
Do something to buffer the water

Which water conditioner?
What should I buffer the water with?
What should I do in the meantime for my fish? I looked closely at them and they have normal behavior but there may be a little bit of red on them. I think this is something that can come from ammonia poisoning, true? I feel sooo bad! All my cycling work down the drain, too! How could all the stats in there be so close to zero? I would expect either higher ammonia or higher nitrates.

So confused! Please help!

With such a low KH, wouldnt baking soda (soduim bicarbonate, I think) be a good idea for buffering?

good luch1

 

[TammyLiz]

With such a low KH, wouldnt baking soda (soduim bicarbonate, I think) be a good idea for buffering?

I have not heard of this. I will do a search on the forum to see if I can find threads with information on people who have done it.

Update: Did another water change today and the ph was up to 6.1 right afterwards. Ammonia still at 1 after 2 20% PWCs. Not good! I don't have any dead plant material in the tank today so I am not sure where all this is coming from. Such a low bioload with the fish. There are under 15" of fish in a 55 US gallon tank. That is only about 27% stocked! I guess something must have really killed off my bacteria.

I had a thought today. I saw my stupid cat stick its nasty little paw into the tank next to the filter opening a couple days ago. I hate this cat. It also got inside my stand and peed. Found that tonight. Obviously the pee in the stand wouldn't affect the water (but gross! what was it thinking?) but that paw could have. Who knows what was on it? I didn't even think about it until today.

 

[steelhealr]

It can help. Occasionally my 46G will drift. My tap water is very soft, kH is usually 0-2 and gH is usually 0-1. My tank's pH is usually very stable. If I catch a drift I don't like, I will add one teaspoon of baking soda very slowly and that's it. Otherwise my tank is on autopilot. SH

 

[TammyLiz]

It can help. Occasionally my 46G will drift. My tap water is very soft, kH is usually 0-2 and gH is usually 0-1. My tank's pH is usually very stable. If I catch a drift I don't like, I will add one teaspoon of baking soda very slowly and that's it. Otherwise my tank is on autopilot. SH

Thats very good to hear. I read some older posts on the subject of baking soda and decided that 1 teaspoon was what I should do, too. If you're talking UK gallons my tank is about the same size as yours. I had another thought that I didn't find the answer to, though. My GH is higher so is upping the KH going to have a greater affect on the PH because of that? Or am I just overspeculating?

 

[steelhealr]

gH in general is a measure of water hardness, or, the content of minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron, etc. Sodium, as in bicarb, does not generally figure into the equation and shouldn't significantly bump up your gH.

Bicarb WILL bring your pH up a bit as well as the kH since you are increasing the buffering capacity. The bicarb will neutralize some hydrogen ions, therefore raising the pH. In my tank, 1 tsp of bicarb brought my pH from 6.6 to 7.0 and kH from 0-1 to 1-2 which is fine by me. My inhabitants for the most part enjoy soft water and I like to have just a 'bit' of buffering capacity for a slight cushion. SH

 

[TammyLiz]

Alright, I don't mean to be annoying with so many posts but I did a 20% water change today for the third day in a row and my water stats have not changed at all.

Ammonia 1
Nitrite 0
PH 6.0


I am getting worried about my fish living in all that ammonia. Is there anything I can do? Why isn't the ammonia going down with the water changes? Does this mean my filter truely is completely dead? Or does someone know of some other possible scenario?

 

[tttnjfttt]

You can begin doing two 20% water changes in a day, one in the morning, one at night.

 

[steelhealr]

You may have old tank syndrome....look it up. In aquariums that are kept over a long period of time with low buffering, the pH can drift downward. As the pH falls, the bacteria in your biological filter can be inhibited and thus ammonia appears and can crash the tanik.

As we discussed before, an acidic tank will acidiify ammonia into the ammonium ion which is less toxic, however, rapidly correcting this will release the ammonia back into the system. Water changes are key..if you buffer...GENTLY. The key is to gently bring the pH back up so that the system recovers. SH

 

[reg2k2]

Another scenario: You're using a test kit w/ Nessler reagent, which will give a false ammonia reading with some water conditioners, including Prime. What test kit are you using?

My tap measures 0dKH, 0dGH. I filter over crushed coral in a bag to bring it up.

A minimum of 4-5deg. KH is recommended to keep pH steady. The above brings mine to 3deg.

If you choose to continue w/ the b.soda, I would run some tests on a bucket of water, see where different additions bring your KH and pH. According to this site (see Water Chemistry), 4tsp. added to 50l should raise KH approx. 4deg. Adding 1tsp. to 55gal., it would seem, should raise it by 1deg. at best.

 

[TammyLiz]

You can begin doing two 20% water changes in a day, one in the morning, one at night.

Yes, this is a good idea. Lots of work, though.

You may have old tank syndrome....look it up. In aquariums that are kept over a long period of time with low buffering, the pH can drift downward. As the pH falls, the bacteria in your biological filter can be inhibited and thus ammonia appears and can crash the tanik.

I am familiar with the concept of old tank syndrome but feel like it must be impossible to happen in such a new tank! And an immaculate one! But I do see how the drop in PH could set it off and start off that way even if the nitrates aren't rising. Old tank syndrom because of low KH? If thats the case then it needs to be renamed.

Another scenario: You're using a test kit w/ Nessler reagent, which will give a false ammonia reading with some water conditioners, including Prime. What test kit are you using?

My tap measures 0dKH, 0dGH. I filter over crushed coral in a bag to bring it up.

A minimum of 4-5deg. KH is recommended to keep pH steady. The above brings mine to 3deg.

If you choose to continue w/ the b.soda, I would run some tests on a bucket of water, see where different additions bring your KH and pH. According to this site (see Water Chemistry), 4tsp. added to 50l should raise KH approx. 4deg. Adding 1tsp. to 55gal., it would seem, should raise it by 1deg. at best.

Interesting. The ammonia reading was there before I started using prime, when I was using the other water conditioner, but the old conditioner could have been doing the same thing. I assume this false reading is because the chloring/chloramine is being broken down with ammonia as a byproduct? If that was the case, then it would be a TRUE reading, of ammonia being added in with the new, treated water. My test kit is Aquarium Pharmaceuticals brand.

 

[tttnjfttt]

Another scenario: You're using a test kit w/ Nessler reagent, which will give a false ammonia reading with some water conditioners, including Prime.

I use prime and have never had an ammonia reading in my main tank. (i also use the aquarium pharmisuticals test kit) I know prime does neutralize the ammonia, but it still can show up in test kits? Is this what you are refering to? Personally, i still like to know if i have ammonia in my tank, even if it is in a neutral form, because that means my bio filter is not keeping up.

 

[reg2k2]

Freshwater or Freshwatr/Saltwater kit...one bottle or two? Single bottle = Nessler.

Before last night, I only specifically knew of Amquel giving false readings. I do use Prime myself. I just happen to use the fw/sw kit from API because I never did like the color chart on the fw-only kit.

The manufacturers of both Amquel and Prime state that they are not compatible w/ Nessler reagents.

 

[tttnjfttt]

the API freshwater kit has 2 bottles.

 

[newfishaddict]

With such a low KH, wouldnt baking soda (soduim bicarbonate, I think) be a good idea for buffering?

I have not heard of this. I will do a search on the forum to see if I can find threads with information on people who have done it.

Update: Did another water change today and the ph was up to 6.1 right afterwards. Ammonia still at 1 after 2 20% PWCs. Not good! I don't have any dead plant material in the tank today so I am not sure where all this is coming from. Such a low bioload with the fish. There are under 15" of fish in a 55 US gallon tank. That is only about 27% stocked! I guess something must have really killed off my bacteria.

I had a thought today. I saw my stupid cat stick its nasty little paw into the tank next to the filter opening a couple days ago. I hate this cat. It also got inside my stand and peed. Found that tonight. Obviously the pee in the stand wouldn't affect the water (but gross! what was it thinking?) but that paw could have. Who knows what was on it? I didn't even think about it until today.

The cat would have intestinal bacteria on his paws, from the litter box. Many different possibilites, eg pseudomonas commonly grows in tanks and can cause problems....My cat gets the water pistol if he goes near my tanks...amazingly , my cat "listens"

Alright, I don't mean to be annoying with so many posts but I did a 20% water change today for the third day in a row and my water stats have not changed at all.

Ammonia 1
Nitrite 0
PH 6.0


I am getting worried about my fish living in all that ammonia. Is there anything I can do? Why isn't the ammonia going down with the water changes? Does this mean my filter truely is completely dead? Or does someone know of some other possible scenario?

I would really get your ammonia test readings double checked, can you take a water sample into your local fish store? If you have $$$ about 100$ will get you an ammonia test in a chemistry lab, it would be a very accurate test....

 

[TammyLiz]

I would really get your ammonia test readings double checked, can you take a water sample into your local fish store? If you have $$$ about 100$ will get you an ammonia test in a chemistry lab, it would be a very accurate test....

I am starting to wonder if the readings are correct, too. This morning I tested ammonia before and after a 20% water change, and there was absolutely no difference in the color of the tube. Not even a hint of a change. I would think it should have been 20% closer to 0. Very frustrating since there are a bunch of fish at the store just begging me to add them to my tank!