Ph

[phodson]

Hi i'm new to here, i've got a little problem with the fish in my tank, i'm loosing about one to two a week, i've tested the water every other day and Nitrates, Nitrite and ammonia a all ok, but the PH level is up to between 8.0 and 8.2, i've tried using PH down but this doesn't seem to do anything, any ideas.

Tank size: 40 litres
pH:8.0 to 8.2
ammonia: 0 to 0.25 ppm
nitrite: 0ppm
nitrate: 0ppm
tank temp: 26

I complete a water change every two to three weeks, however i have a problem with this, that when i use the siphon pump it empties the water out too quickly for me to clean the tank with only doing a 10% change, and it ends up being about 90-95% water change (with topup inbetween) any help on how to make this easier aswell would help. I have 7 live plants in the tank, 6 neon tetras, two platys, 2 guppies, 1 molly, 3 cleaners.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Your fishes' biggest enemy here in the short term is your 0-0.25ppm ammonia reading, if necessary you should be doing huge water changes (over 75%) and you should be prepared to do this twice daily if your test kit is showing ammonia (and while you have a positive reading it is worth testing at least daily until you have 7 days of unmistakeable 0 readings).


pH Down and similar products are very dangerous to use in water like we have (I also have 8.2 on the south coast). While they may change the pH slighly in the very short term, all the carbonate minerals in the water will resist the change and try to return the pH to its original state. A stable pH is far better for fish than a rapidly changing one.

For a 40l tank, your stocking (6 Neons; 2 Platies; 2 Guppies; 1 Molly; 3 cleaners) is massively overstocked and is the likely reason why you are getting ammonia readings, but with infrequent water changes every two to three weeks, I expect nitrates will be getting pretty high too. In all honesty your tank would be nicely stocked with just the Neons, possibly the cleaners (depending upon what they are).

Small tanks are far harder to maintain a good environment for fish, as water chemistry can rapidly change, due to the small volume of water to dilute any toxins or any other chemicals.