Ph And Ammonia Dangerously High?

[AnotherRandomHero]

Hey guys, apparently my PH levels and Ammonia are dangerously high in my tank.

I just found this out after purchasing a $30.00 Chiclid, watching it die, and the LPS telling me I can't have a replacement because my water is bad.

I did a 35% water change last night and only lost that one (he was new, apparently hadn't adapted).

What can I do to fix this? The lady said to do water changes every week and it should help but the water is murky and doesn't seem to be getting any better and last night didn't help.

I'm so frustrated right now and have about $200 invested in fish and it's a $400 tank...this isn't what I planned.

 

[n3ont3tra]

Read this:
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...t=0&start=0

Do you have any fish in the tank?
How big is the tank?

I would invest in a test kit. Preferably a liquid one. The dip strips aren't very accurate.

 

[AnotherRandomHero]

Read this:
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...t=0&start=0

Do you have any fish in the tank?
How big is the tank?

I would invest in a test kit. Preferably a liquid one. The dip strips aren't very accurate.

It's a 60 gallon bow front with like 15-17 chiclids in it.

 

[n3ont3tra]

How long have you had fish in the tank, and how quickly did you add them (eg. all at one time, ore one or two every week)
Do you know how high your ammonia and nitrite levels are?

 

[AnotherRandomHero]

How long have you had fish in the tank, and how quickly did you add them (eg. all at one time, ore one or two every week)
Do you know how high your ammonia and nitrite levels are?

The tank is about 3-4 weeks old. Most were added all at once, with no deaths. I added about 10 baby Angels and 3 died, but most were added in the beginning. The test was done after the water change, so I don't know.

I dont know the exact number, but the PH and Ammonia are "Dangerously High" according to the Pet Supermarket manager.

 

[Tolak]

Without knowing the rest of the fish I can already tell you the tank is overstocked. That, along with it being a new tank that probably isn't cycled will give you some high ammonia readings. A stable pH is more important than a certain target pH, and adjusting the pH of most tap water is nearly impossible.

You will need to be doing 50% water changes daily until the ammonia, then probably the nitrites are at zero. The next time you have the water tested have them write down the numbers. Angels need 10 gallons per fish when they are adults, so anything beyond the surviving angels is too much. Not knowing what type of cichlids they are tells me they are probably not compatable with the angels.

 

[Liam]

Some of the fish just wont get on, its not about them looking crowded its about territory for chiclids. Sorry to be so negative but you will have a lot of dead fish with the combinations you have. The JDs and the seven African cichlids are not compatible with angels. Normally the African cichlids have a tank to themselves all the cichlids are territorial and it would only take a few months before they will kill your angels. The other issue with your tank is that it is not cycled read the pinned topic of the link that n3ont3tra gave. As Tolak said you would need to do big water changes until the tank is cycled to save the fish from the ammonia. The ph is not much of an issue the African cichlids need a ph of 8 usually. If you can get some filter media from a mature tank it would help save your fish i.e a tank that has been running months. There is a pinned topic in the new to the hobby forum of members willing to donate filter media is anyone lives close, you could get some from them. You need to decide what fish you want to keep reading about them and their needs in the fish species profiles will give you an idea of what ones will get on and help you make some choices.
Lots of us have made similar mistakes starting out, it’s more complicated keeping fish that it at first looks. You can have a nice tank of healthy fish. Like I said in my post to your other thread the murky water will clear up, if the water turns more green then limit the amount of time the light is on to about five hours.

 

[grimmy]

ya get rid of atleast 4 angels and get ammo lock which will turn ammonia to less harmfull ammonium then get this stuff might help with the ph http/www.petco.com/product/100591/Tetra-...-Treatment.aspx or


http/www.petmountain.com/product/water-c...nk-buddies.html

 

[dwarfgourami]

Grimmy, it is better that you don't answer posts that are beyond your experience. Tolak, who is a highly experienced breeder, has just explained why it is better not to try to adjust the ph with these products. And Liam who seems to know the tank contents (presumably from another thread) has showed that giving back 4 angels is not going to be enough to sort this tank.

 

[AnotherRandomHero]

Thank you for the help guys,

I guess it might be overstocked. I realized this once I saw how big my little 1" Cichlids will be in a year or two. To be honest, it looks understocked in a sense at the moment, but that's why I have stopped for the time being and realized there are plenty/too many fish in there. To be honest, every fish in there is getting along. I'm amazed. The place where I got the angels said they would "out-run" the Cichlids...lol. I guess that's wrong seeing that 3 have already disappeared.

Good News though, the tank is clearing up. So I'm extatic about that.

No more fish for me, I'm set with these guys and when the tank get's looking really clean after a few water changes, I'm going to get some river rock and switch to sand. The guys have ZERO hiding places right now.

Anyways, thanks for all the help guys.

One more question:

I want to get one more filter just to make sure I get everything filtered properly. Is there any harm in doing this?

 

[Tolak]

There's no harm at all in overfiltering, and this is probably one of the best things you could do in this situation. What you can do as the fish grow a bit is trade them to your local shop for credit.

It looks a little sparse now because those fish are small, when they get adult size, which will be tough in a tank that size with that stocking it will be really overstocked.

 

[grimmy]

Grimmy, it is better that you don't answer posts that are beyond your experience. Tolak, who is a highly experienced breeder, has just explained why it is better not to try to adjust the ph with these products. And Liam who seems to know the tank contents (presumably from another thread) has showed that giving back 4 angels is not going to be enough to sort this tank.

yes i know but this might help a bit with fish loss

 

[Underwurlde]

1) Get a test kit & then tell us what you read for: Ammonia. Nitrite, Nitrate and pH. Without actaully knowing these levels, everything is pure conjecture. If the LPS didn't actually test your tank water, then he is guessing too. Nothing worse than assumptions and guessing.

2)

I want to get one more filter just to make sure I get everything filtered properly. Is there any harm in doing this?

Filters will only filter 'properly' when they are mature, i.e. CYCLED. therefore, utterly no point in getting a new filter as that wont be mature / cycled either.

Listen to Tolak....

Andy