Ph Dropped Too Low!

[s_anthony]

Hi folks,

I need some help!

I have 2 15 gallon tanks, both with PH issues. The tanks have been perfect until recent, and I cannot think of any changes that caused this rapid drop in PH.

I noticed my plants were yellowing, but the fish were okay. I figured, that since I havn't been feeding my plants that I just yanked all the minerals out of the water they needed. So I went and bought some plant food and fed 1/2 of a dose just to see what happened. The next 2 days I started noticing changes in my fish. I do water changes and tests weekly, and there hadn't been a problem until this point. I did a water change the next day and tested, and my Ammonia was off the charts. I tested with a different Ammonia test kit, same issue. I tested with a third and it showed 0. The PH showed 6.0 and Nitrates and Nitrites were 0.

I figured out the ammonia test issues.. 2 of the 3 tests test for NH3 and NH4, and what is off the charts is the NH4 since the PH is so low...

I lost my 2 synodontis petricolus and my 2 mollies. I panicked - and not being able to find good info on upping PH w/o chemicals, I did a 50% water change in the tank I lost fish in - I didn't change the 2nd tank since I know low PH can balance the ammonia issues. I know that PH has to be changed slowly to not shock the fish. I've been doign 10% water changes daily, but are not seeing any changes.

I thought about adding acid washed activated carbon to up the ph to balance the tank. My normal tap wter is 7.2 so once I get the tank balanced, the tap water wont be a problem when I change the water again.

I need suggestions on how to get this PH up, slowly, so I don't loose any fish! I don't know what caused it, and I know if I bring it up too fast then I might have imbalance issues and will have to monitor the tank for a while..

Should I mix up a batch of Biospira and start changing the tank water with that, since the current bacteria is dormant in the tank due to the ph? Suggestions greatly appreciated

Help!

 

[kev350d]

Cant you add some crushed coral or shells to your filter to raise the ph then remove it once its served its purpose ? or increase the percentage of your water changes gradually so it gets the desired effect.

 

[WILDER]

If you have a high ammonia reading the ph will drop as the ammonia is turning the ph to accidic.
Need to look at your fish stock in the tank, how many fish and which type.
Also rotting plants can cause an ammonia spike.

 

[s_anthony]

If you have a high ammonia reading the ph will drop as the ammonia is turning the ph to accidic.
Need to look at your fish stock in the tank, how many fish and which type.
Also rotting plants can cause an ammonia spike.

Thats the main reason I started yanking the plants... they were too yellow and i didnt think plant food was going to make a difference..

Tank 1 has 6 neons, 2 small juli cory catfish, 2 synodontis petricoli) and the 2 mollies.. I had one "visiting" tiger barb in there too only becasue i had to temporarily move her because she was being picked on. I did loose the 2 synodontis petricoli and the 2 mollies. The neons are still around I guess cause they like low ph (although not this low).

Thank 2 has 4 small tiger barbs in it. I have a 30 gallon that will soon be their new home, but I have to get the floor supports redone before I can add weight in that area of the house. No fish loss at all in this tank.

So my question is how the heck do I get rid of NH4, I know all the tricks of getting rid of NH3 - and have never had a problem with ammmonia (NH3) in my tanks before. I do normal maintenance, I don't overfeed, and I don't typically overstock. Tank 1 did have probably more fish in it than I wanted, but I adopted the 2 mollies not realizing how big they do normally get...

Do plants help with negating NH4, or NH3 ? If that is the case, couldn't I restock the tanks with some plants and possibly some shells to help up the PH slowly or acid washed carbon in the filters?

 

[WILDER]

Yes live plants do help lower your nitrate reading.
Something caused the ammonia spike which altered the ph.
All you can do is small water changes and a gravel vac to make sure you have got rid of the rotting waste in the tank.

 

[xoedusk]

Regarding immediate help...

anything you can do to increase number of bacteria would help. Yes, Bio-Spira may help as an instant bacteria booster. Haven't tried it myself.

Regarding the cause of the ammonia spike...

did you clean your filter well just before your fish started acting weird?
is your filter's gallons per hour up to snuff? not clogged by debris?
you are still dechlorinating your tap water?
dead fish under any decorations?
are you gravel vaccing? not just siphoning?

 

[s_anthony]

Regarding immediate help...

anything you can do to increase number of bacteria would help. Yes, Bio-Spira may help as an instant bacteria booster. Haven't tried it myself.

Regarding the cause of the ammonia spike...

did you clean your filter well just before your fish started acting weird?
is your filter's gallons per hour up to snuff? not clogged by debris?
you are still dechlorinating your tap water?
dead fish under any decorations?
are you gravel vaccing? not just siphoning?

I cleaned the filter about 2 weeks before the wierdness occured... Just a normal rinse.. The filter media is just barely approaching 2 months - I'm afraid to change it cause of loss of bacteria...

Gallons per hour are good on both. The filters are both less than 6 months old. No clogging, regular checks of the tube to make sure it's clear is part of my monthly maintenance..

I do dechlorinate - NovAqua is what I use

No dead fish - all fish have been counted and accounted for

I gravel vac in the open area of the tank and siphon near the plants because otherwise I'd uproot them.. in this case though, I can pull the anachris and do a full vaccuum if needed because the anachris dont have long roots...

 

[WILDER]

I always remove my ornaments and plants don't use real ones as snails freak me out.
Be surprised how much waste can accumulate underneath them.

 

[s_anthony]

Yes live plants do help lower your nitrate reading.
Something caused the ammonia spike which altered the ph.
All you can do is small water changes and a gravel vac to make sure you have got rid of the rotting waste in the tank.

My nitrates and nitrites are both at 0...

I have no idea at this point what caused the NH4 spike... I do weekly WC of about 20 to 25%, its worked all a long this way. No new fish added other than the one tiger barb in tank one, but she was taken from tank 2, and I have a feeling this started before her addition.

The only thing I can think of that occured was the plants yellowing initially - I pulled a lot of them. Maybe that's what set my cycle off? I never would have thought that pulling out the plants would throw the tanks this much though.

The snowflake obsidian and hematite was added a little over a month ago, but so far anything Ive read about them - they are not limestone based and shouldn't alter ph...

 

[WILDER]

Maybe posting in the plant section might help you.

 

[s_anthony]

Thinking about it... Im pulling out the hematite and obsidian.. I thought they were members of the quartz family (silica based), but I cannot find anything to back that up so far...

I think thats probably a good first step to trying to eliminate some things that could be causing this..

 

[Anita]

IMO you need to know the kH of your water, without a reasonable kH your pH will never be stable.

Anita

 

[WILDER]

So true, yes it eliminating process, same with desease.

 

[s_anthony]

While Im removing my rocks - does anyone know if either hematite or snowflake obsidian is either a sulfides, arsenides, selenides or antimonides?

 

[WILDER]

Good god science lesson.
Best bet is tropical chit chat loads of experts over there.