help with o tank

[modda]

i to regular water changes and test my water weekly this morning when i did my test for the first time i had a nitite reading and a very low ph of 6 dont know how this would be happening can someone help me the only thing i have done recently is ad a couple of rocks but i did all the necissary precausions with them like scrubbing them and all that any suggestions would be appreciated could it be my tank is just going through a mini cycle

[kimmers318]

How long has the tank been set up? Adding rocks shouldn't put you into a mini cycle...that usually comes from cleaning too much or using a med that kills the biological bacteria.

[Fishguy2727]

how big is the o? how big is the tank? what filtration do you have? how much water do you change at a time and how often? any ammonia or nitrates in the tank? what is your tap water's pH, ammonia, and nitrate readings? any other tankmates? (if so, what and how big?)

[modda]

male O is approx 10in long femal about 9in long live in a 3ft tank with a 5-6in festae tank has been set up for nearly 12 months now i do weekly 30-40% water changes and i am on rain water so ph is 6.2-6.4 and no ammonia or nirite or nitrate

[Fishguy2727]

what filtration? how big is the tank? length just gives me an idea, but either way its too small. those fish should have a 75. that water change schedule isnt enough for that bioload. test your nitrates, most likely because of the inadequate water change schedule in the overstocked cichlid tank your nitrates are high, which can bring down pH. most likely your alkalinity/carbonate hardness is extremely low meaning anything that can alter pH will. if you are coming up with nitrites in an established tank most likely you recently cleaned too well. cleaning the filters within about 3 days of a water change/gravel vacuuming will remove too much good bacteria, causing a re-cycle. is the water slightly cloudier than usual? if so it is probably the good bacteria blooming as the tank rebalances out the bacterial load for your bioload.

[modda]

i have an external canister filter which cycles the water in my tank 4 times an hour water isnt cloudier then normal havent done filters since june nitrates are 5 ammonia is 0 nitrites 0.25 and i am clean my tank all the time just water changes once a week my tank volume is 150 litres

[Fishguy2727]

what brand canister filter? tank is definitely way too small. you want at least 300 liters for those guys.

[fishgurl]

what kind of rock did you add?? other than cleaning it did you test it?? where did you get it. some rocks are not good to add to tanks. although i agree with reptileguy that the filtration is not enough. did you add rocks at same time as water change? how many did you add?

[modda]

ok update on my situation ph has stabilised at 7.2 and back to zero nitrItes after a water change will check it again this afternoon but i cant remember if i stabilized the water before i put it in last change so could have been the reason why water was acidic and now all seems good so who knows what was going on??

[Fishguy2727]

in aquariums there are many times when things cant be explained. there is a 20 gallon at my work that always stays down at 6.0 and very soft, yet is the only tank that many types of fish will live in.