What Am I Doing Wrong ?

[Faythee]

I am referring to my 30 gal.

Housing:
3 Corys
8 Danios
5 Phantom Tetras
2 Pearl Gouramis

None of these fish seem really happy except the Corys. The Tetras and Gouramis mostly hide except for at feeding. Today I came home to 1 dead Danio. Only thing I noticed is that his gills seemed a little red.

I decided a week ago to rehome the fish except for the Corys so I can add maybe an Angel or a pair of Rams. I will be removing the fish tommorrow after this Danio incident. Obviously I need to straighten things out before adding any new fish.

I tested the water and all seems fine except the ph has seem to risen. Nitrate about 10, nitrite 0, ammonia 0, ph at least 7.6 (this is as high as my test goes. The color matches but darker than before...I am willing to bet it may be around 8.0). The water is also on the hard side.

Here is what I have done recently:
-3 weeks ago added some live plants:Green and golden lloydelia, broad leaf ludwiglia, and cryptocoryne lutea. I also added a piece of driftwood with plant attached. I put a new light on for the plants and have been leaving lights on about 10-12 hrs.
-1 week ago put PhosGuard in my filter to help with the crazy brown algae which didn't work. The algae is out of control. No where near what I went thru with my bigger tank !
-Used Flourish Excel and Kent Freshwater Plant supplement.

My tap water is around 7.5 ph and 3 ppm ammonia so I have been using spring water for water changes in this tank. The ph of the spring water is 7.5 but at least no ammonia.

One of my plants is dying.

Unhappy, ugly, algae ridden tank. Should I just strip it down and start all over

Somthing I have done wrong here ? This sucks

 

[Faythee]

I just used a ph test strip for the pool and it shows between 6.0 and 7.0

I am confused. Think I will take a sample of water to the LFS tommorrow along with all my fish except the Corys.

They sell reverse-osmosis water for .50 a gallon. Anybody know anything about it ?

I think a large water change is order and maybe remove the dying plant, or trim it to the roots ?

I'm lost

 

[rdd1952]

If you have 3 ppm of ammonia in your tap water, you need to contact your water company. It shouldn't be that high (shouldn't be any).

What type decorations do you have in your tank? That would be the only way the pH would rise. As a general rule the pH will fall a little in the tank.

Stop using the PhosGuard. Brown algae is common in new tanks. It is actually diatoms that feed on the silica that is leeched from the slicone that seals the joints of the tank. it will clear up on it's own once the silica is all leeched out.

I know people use RO water all the time but you have to add minerals back since it doesn't have any. Not sure what a normal price is though as I've never used i.

 

[Faythee]

Only decoration in the tank is live plants, the driftwood, and a resin ornament. I will let the water dept. know. I looked it up and apparantly can be naturally ocuuring in water ? All I know is we drink bottled and now, so do the dogs...lol.

I have sand substrate. I can't remember...but does it contain silicate ? Maybe why the algae is so bad ?

 

[Colin_T]

if the fish are acting nervous it is often caused by something in the water. perhaps too much fertiliser or something from the spring water. Also if the tank is not covered on any sides then the fish are probably stressed from being in an open tank. Make sure you have a backing on the tank and maybe even the sides to make them feel more secure.

You can use R/O water if you want but as rdd1952 mentioned, you should add some minerals to it to get the general hardness up a bit otherwise the PH can drop really quickly.

Make sure you are using a clean bucket that has not been used for anything but the fish. If you use a container that has had chemicals in, there might be some residue left over that is causing the issue. Also try not to smoke around the tank or use paints or anything like thinners. The fumes can sause similar symptoms. And no sprays in the room either if you can help it.

try doing a few more partial water changes (30% each day for a week) and see if that helps. If there is a water quality issue it should clear it up with the water changes.

Test kits that use the paper strips are not as accurate as the liquid ones.

 

[vinylman]

If you suspect something is wrong, don't add any fish. Angels need top-notch water quality, plus a tall tank. Rams can be very sensitive, too; I'm sure they need acidic water, not alkaline. Try cutting your lighting down to around 8 hours - that should help with the algae. Keep an eye on your plants; some start to 'close up' their leaves when they've had enough light, just make a note of how long the lighting's been on when they do.