Raising carbonate hardness

[Juannie]

Ok, having trouble with my pH levels dropping way to much. i did the carbondate hardness test and it came up as 10ppm - one drop turned the water green straight away. Does anyone know how I can fix this? I'm desperate, my white red tailed shark is now dear, I have 3 kribs dying and i don't want to loose anyone else - it's freakingme out.

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

Your kH sounds like mine. Crushed coral can fix your problem. Are you sure the low pH is killing everything? My KH is that low and I've never had a problem with it harming my fish in any way at all.

[Juannie]

That's all I can think of, it's only when the pH drops too low and the kribs get really sick really fast, nothing else does so it's a pain. I'm going to try the coral.

Cheers

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

That's really odd. What is your pH dropping to?

[Juannie]

I would say around 4.5-5 - it's very yellow.

[cocoa_pleco]

wow, thats pretty low. somethings up

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

Wow, that is really low. What is the pH of your tap water? Also, what kind of substrate is in the tank and is there any driftwood? Are you running any CO2 injection in the tank?

[spudbuds]

You might want to grab a cup of your tank water and run an airstone in it for 15 minutes or so, then test the pH. If it goes up, then your have an aeration problem that is causing too much CO2 to build up in the water (or a CO2 dosing problem as mentioned by ILuvMyGoldBarb).

How are the fish behaving that are causing you to think there is something wrong? Are they at the top gasping for air? If so, the CO2 may be the problem more so then the pH.

- Bill

[Juannie]

You might want to grab a cup of your tank water and run an airstone in it for 15 minutes or so, then test the pH. If it goes up, then your have an aeration problem that is causing too much CO2 to build up in the water (or a CO2 dosing problem as mentioned by ILuvMyGoldBarb).

How are the fish behaving that are causing you to think there is something wrong? Are they at the top gasping for air? If so, the CO2 may be the problem more so then the pH.

- Bill
I have sand as the substrate & removed the 2 pieces of wood that were in the tank. I put coral in this afternoon, the pH has increased quite a bit so I'll keep an eye on it as it may be too fast. I'm trying the airstone as we speak so that will be interesting. My kribs have been really pale on and off, some have gone a greyish colour which means they're very stressed and another couple went very dark - then died. My white red tail shark died overnight for no reason, it had been fine. I have noticed that my original female krib has been ill and her eyes started bulging - she's gone very dark so I say she's going to die and another one I noticed blood on - so it's been all bad news really. My severums, gourami, corys, firemouth, gibby and tetras have all been good but I'm watching very closely everyday.

[Juannie]

Ok freaking out now, put the crushed coral in like everyone said but it's increased the pH wayyyy too fast - it's over 7, i'm about to go take some out because my poor fish are going to be stressing big time.

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

How much did you put in? You don't need a lot of it.

[Juannie]

bugger - I must've put too much in the fluval tray, I've emptied out most of it and left a little in there, I hope this stops increasing. damn it works fast tho!

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

Yes it does. You will likely only need a small amount.

[Fishguy2727]

What is the nitrate concentration?

Certain pH changes are not as bad as you may think.
What kind of fish do you have?

[Juannie]

What is the nitrate concentration?

Certain pH changes are not as bad as you may think.
What kind of fish do you have?

nitrates and ammonia - 0. I have kribs, 2 severum, 1 gibby plec, 1 firemouth, 1 gourami, 3 corys and a few sm tetras

[Fishguy2727]

Nitrate is 0 or just nitrite?

[Juannie]

Oh dear, it was the nitrates, I didn't know there was such a thing as nitrite, what is that?

[Fishguy2727]

The nitrogen cycle in the aquarium goes from ammonia to nitrite to nitrate. If the tank is cycled all you should ever be able to detect is nitrate. It will slowly build up over time. It can become nitric acid and bring the pH down.

[RainMan]

Ok freaking out now, put the crushed coral in like everyone said but it's increased the pH wayyyy too fast - it's over 7, i'm about to go take some out because my poor fish are going to be stressing big time.

Let it ride on the Ph... taking your fish out might stress them out even more. That water was really acidic.

Oh dear, it was the nitrates, I didn't know there was such a thing as nitrite, what is that?

Do a google search on aquarium nitrogen cycle.... this is a very important part of keeping fish. Short explanation: Fish create ammonia... which turns into nitrites, and finally turns into nitrates. Ammonia and nitrites kill fish... nitrates in low concentrations is less harmful... but, build up of nitrates can kill fish too.

How often are you doing water changes?? How long has your tank been setup? Size?

[Juannie]

Let it ride on the Ph... taking your fish out might stress them out even more. That water was really acidic.



Do a google search on aquarium nitrogen cycle.... this is a very important part of keeping fish. Short explanation: Fish create ammonia... which turns into nitrites, and finally turns into nitrates. Ammonia and nitrites kill fish... nitrates in low concentrations is less harmful... but, build up of nitrates can kill fish too.

How often are you doing water changes?? How long has your tank been setup? Size?

Nitrates are all ok they read very very low (not quite 0). How do I know if it's nitrites? The tank has been set up for approx 8 months, the same fish have been together longer in another tank. I do water changes every week. The size is 5 foot x1x1. Since I've put the crushed coral in, there have been no changes (thank goodness) and the fish seem pretty happy, but I shall keep watching....

[RainMan]

Well... besides fish deteriation... buying a test kit is the only way to determine the nitrite level.

Your tank being setup up for 8mo. is a pretty good indication that you are okay.... Unless something was changed with your biological filtration system. You're probably okay. However, it would be a good idea to get a nitrite and ammonia test.

[Juannie]

Well... besides fish deteriation... buying a test kit is the only way to determine the nitrite level.

Your tank being setup up for 8mo. is a pretty good indication that you are okay.... Unless something was changed with your biological filtration system. You're probably okay. However, it would be a good idea to get a nitrite and ammonia test.


The ammonia levels are fine so I'll have to look further into the nitrite levels, i've never heard of these before. Thanks for the info.