Ph Dropped To 6.6
- Thread starter yuki71
- Start date
I'd suggest a big water change and add some bicarb of soda to get your pH up. At that level, it can stall the cycle. You want it up around the 8.0-8.2 mark.
ok can do it saturday
when i do the water change can i add prime straight into the tank?or will it mess up the good bacs in the filter
Def use the Prime - if you don't, that will mess up the bacs!
You can either add the tank's worth of Prime direct into the tank, or add a bucket's worth of Prime to the bucket.
I would do a massive water change. There's no sense in letting all the excess nitrite just sit in the tank. The bacteria you are trying to cultivate prefer levels on the order of 0.14ppm, not 5+ppm. So, the water change will do TWO things for you. First, it will enable you to easily raise the pH by taking out the nitrAtes that caused the creash. Second, it will remove the excess nitrItes that will cause the wrong bacteria to increase.
Add baking soda to raise the pH after refilling with dechlorinated water. You can either add the dechlorinator to the tank for the entire volume of water the tank holds, or you can add it to each bucket individually for the amount the bucket holds. The baking soda will raise the pH, and you want it to be around 8.4 or so. That is the range that is optimal for the bacteria growth you are trying to achieve.
It looks like you've already dropped your dosage, so just wait it out a little more.
Add baking soda to raise the pH after refilling with dechlorinated water. You can either add the dechlorinator to the tank for the entire volume of water the tank holds, or you can add it to each bucket individually for the amount the bucket holds. The baking soda will raise the pH, and you want it to be around 8.4 or so. That is the range that is optimal for the bacteria growth you are trying to achieve.
It looks like you've already dropped your dosage, so just wait it out a little more.
currently cycling 160litre tank, by adding a small splash of pure ammonia in each day. The ammonia is getting processed quickly (partly due to tank being planted). Tank at 30C degrees
had nitrites off charts for about 3 weeks.
eventually tested pH and realised it was low too (6.2 ish)
did 95% water change, nitrites still off charts, chucked some 'pH up' powder (which is prob just bicarb) in
next day...nitrites still off the charts
did 2nd 95% water change, nitrites at 0.5ppm
next day...nitrites back off the charts
did 3rd 95% water change, nitrites at 0.5ppm
next day...nitrites back off the charts.
started to get a bit miffed at this point, so got an eyedropper and started measuring the ammonia drops each day
(yes i should have done that from day 1
)i added 8 drops a day, and changed 27Litre of water a day (got tired of doing 95%)
still getting nitrites off charts 24 hours later
added a 2nd airstone to tank
started just putting in 4 or 5 drops of ammonia a day
finally i've had a couple of days in a row where nitrites are 0.5ppm without doing water change..so hopefully i'm close now to being cycled
just posting this as FYI for the OP, confirming that the same things eagleaquarium said to do, seem to work..just might take a couple of days to see results
Aqua Tom
Fish Gatherer
You are doing well. How is the Ph doing now?
You are into your second phase now. Any day now you will see the nitrites dissapear realy fast. Fingers crossed for you.
You are into your second phase now. Any day now you will see the nitrites dissapear realy fast. Fingers crossed for you.
good question...i just checked!
my ph is 8.2 still, ive been chucking in a random amount of aquamaster "pH up" each day. sure enough, the active ingredient is bicarb
without it, the ph will go back down, as the water is soft where i live (ph usually is high out of tap)..and i also have driftwood in the tank, if you believe that drops ph too.
my ph is 8.2 still, ive been chucking in a random amount of aquamaster "pH up" each day. sure enough, the active ingredient is bicarb
without it, the ph will go back down, as the water is soft where i live (ph usually is high out of tap)..and i also have driftwood in the tank, if you believe that drops ph too.
Aqua Tom
Fish Gatherer
The best bet is to just keep checking the Ph rather than dosing every day. Then dose if & when it drops.
Agreed.
chokko,
The key is to only take steps to fix problems when needed. It's cheaper that way too! Right now you need to practice patience and monitoring water parameters of the tank. Don't dose anything into the tank unless you've first tested to see where the current levels are. Do only what is required, and nothing more. For example, feeding: Fish always seem hungry. And if you feed them, they will eat. All the time, day or night. But, as the fishkeeper, you have to be responsible and only feed them what they need. Their stomach is roughly the size of their eye. Too much food is dangerous. Not only does is create excess ammonia in the water, but it also can lead to digestive issues, swim bladder troubles, etc. None of these are good for the fish. In the wild, these fish eat whenever they can and are always looking for food, because it isn't readily available. In your tank, they will follow the same behaviors. But, if they are fed constantly, they will eat constantly. Many fishkeepers adopt a fasting regime for their fish. I do it once a week, and occasionally twice a week. There are some folks who only feed the fish two or three times a week. The fish don't need lots of food. They need far less than we generally give them. They are our pets and we want them to be "happy", so we feed them a lot, because we see them coming to the top and begging for more. But, the reality is that it is our job to keep them healthy. Too much food is bad. It's a learning process. You are doing very well so far. You just need to refine your technique a bit.
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