PH level in my fresh water tank

3112 Views 35 Replies 8 Participants Last post by ROCKgurl, 5 mo ago

fish_tank_lady

Discussion Starter · Mar 16, 2017

Hey guys,

Just wondering all about the PH levels in my fresh water 20 gallon tank. I noticed my guppies and platies acting weird and laying at the bottom of the tank, not moving much, I did a PH test and it turned orange/red. The chart reads that as 5.0, the only internet info I could find said it was too low.

I haven't done anything different, I add the same tap water which I tested to a 7.0.
No new fish, plants or accessories.
Filter is clean.
I did change the food but its tropical flakes and I add the appropriate amount they can eat in 1 min.

I noticed all my cherry shrimp have disappeared, I assume this is because of the PH? I had over 40+ and they were still multiplying.

I added 6L of fresh water and allowed to filter over night, when i rechecked it was 6-6.5 but I would still like it to be 7.0

Any suggestions as to what might have happened?

Thanks a bunch!
P.S NEW TO THIS SO HANG IN THERE IF I DON'T RESPOND RIGHT AWAY! LEARNING TO NAVIGATE THE PAGE!!

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jeffkrol

· #2 · Mar 16, 2017

pH (dropping that low) seems to be symptom of something else..

Where did your shrimp go? If they rotted in the tank that def. can be a problem..
ammonia or Nitrite problems probably..
You need to test for them.

What do you have for decorations/soil/rocks ect?

fish_tank_lady

Discussion Starter · #3 · Mar 16, 2017 (Edited by Moderator)

Hi there,

The shrimp have definitely rotted, I cant find a single one and like I said there were a ton!

But I am assuming they died because of the problem not causing the problem, up until then my tank was happy and healthy.

For decorations, I have marbles, which were cleaned thoroughly. I have a real plant and its large, there are a couple of decorations in there that are prefab, from the pet store. All of this was in the tank prior to the problem occurring.

1 fish died, but I removed it right away as to not make the others sick and such.

I will test for ammonia and see what it comes out as and get back to everyone.

okay so the ammonia is reading at .5-1PPM
What do I use to correct this?

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clownplanted

· #4 · Mar 17, 2017

fish_tank_lady said:
okay so the ammonia is reading at .5-1PPM

What do I use to correct this?

Water change and get rid of anything dead/rotting. Any left over food, dead leaves, etc. check your nitrates.

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fish_tank_lady

Discussion Starter · #5 · Mar 17, 2017

clownplanted said:
Water change and get rid of anything dead/rotting. Any left over food, dead leaves, etc. check your nitrates.

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How much of a water change? 1/4 tank or half?
thank you

BettaBettas

· #6 · Mar 17, 2017

50 I suggest (percent)

clownplanted

· #7 · Mar 17, 2017

fish_tank_lady said:
How much of a water change? 1/4 tank or half?

thank you

Yes agree do a 50%. Then wait an hour or so and test again. Should be down. Monitor closely and if needed keep doing 25% water changes every other day if needed to get it down.

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Zoidburg

· #8 · Mar 17, 2017

Please test your tap water. We need to know...

Ammonia
Nitrites
Nitrates

Ditto on tank stats.

Also.... how old is this tank? How long has it been set up for?

As for the shrimp... it's possible that the fish ate them. Even if the fish never bothered them before, a fish could suddenly decide to go after shrimp and decimate a colony. Or... they died from whatever is going wrong in your tank.

clownplanted

· #9 · Mar 19, 2017

Did you do the water change? Is your ammonia down?

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fish_tank_lady

Discussion Starter · #10 · Mar 26, 2017

clownplanted said:
Did you do the water change? Is your ammonia down?

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So i don't know what to do here, I have literally tried everything. I have changed the water by 50% two times now I have added a new filter just in case, i took out the ornaments and cleaned the bottom of tank again. I have used ammo lock 3 times now with no luck and the other day I went to the pet store and asked for some more suggestions. I added distilled water, 50% worth and I added another bubbler to increase the oxygen I even purchased a little tea bag like thing that you put into the filter and its also supposed to help remove the ammonia and fix PH. I can't remember the name of it sorry! I also added two more plants per the pet store suggestion for oxygen ect.

Nothing has changed, its still in the orange. I have done the PH an hour after the water changes and even a day after and two days after that.

Im getting super frustrated!!! Do these PH tests expire or something?

Zoidburg

· #11 · Mar 26, 2017

fish_tank_lady said:
So i don't know what to do here, I have literally tried everything. I have changed the water by 50% two times now I have added a new filter just in case, i took out the ornaments and cleaned the bottom of tank again. I have used ammo lock 3 times now with no luck and the other day I went to the pet store and asked for some more suggestions. I added distilled water, 50% worth and I added another bubbler to increase the oxygen I even purchased a little tea bag like thing that you put into the filter and its also supposed to help remove the ammonia and fix PH. I can't remember the name of it sorry! I also added two more plants per the pet store suggestion for oxygen ect.

Nothing has changed, its still in the orange. I have done the PH an hour after the water changes and even a day after and two days after that.

Im getting super frustrated!!! Do these PH tests expire or something?

Yes, although test strips are more likely to be inaccurate than liquid test kits. Liquid test kits, although more accurate, do expire after a time. If you are using strips, then change to liquid kits. API is a good basic test kit, although if you want something broader and easier to read, then go with either Sera or Nutrafin test kits. You could also look into a pH test pin, although it will need to be calibrated to make sure your results are accurate.

Please test your tap water. We need to know...

Ammonia
Nitrites
Nitrates

Ditto on tank stats.

Also.... how old is this tank? How long has it been set up for?

Reactions: 1

clownplanted

· #12 · Mar 26, 2017

I am thinking your test strips must be bad. Definitely get the API water test kit. I think you will find your water is good after all but no way to know unless you get another test kit to compare against. Not sure what chemical filtration you are using but I highly recommend Seachem Purigen.

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Colin Wrexham

· #13 · Mar 26, 2017

If you have used aquasoil amazon or something similar as a subtrate, it spikes amonia etc and goes nuts for a few weeks but its said to happen to help plants establish if its heavy planted. I use a pond compost and tropica subtrate mix then zambezi gravel to layer it to seal and stop it leaking out. Another trick i heard was to soak news paper in your tank for an hour or 2. The toxins are said to absorb into the paper and there is something that acts as a leveler. Tried it a few times when doing a new scape from scratch in this order.
Subtrate, gravel, hardscape, water up to gravel level, plants, news paper, then fill tank. Paper floats up to surface. Leave for an hour or so, remove paper. Not all gravel comes washed and bagged so i rinse mine now before it goes in. Wish i was a chemist. Still learning about water issues lol. Good luck

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fish_tank_lady

Discussion Starter · #14 · Mar 26, 2017

clownplanted said:
I am thinking your test strips must be bad. Definitely get the API water test kit. I think you will find your water is good after all but no way to know unless you get another test kit to compare against. Not sure what chemical filtration you are using but I highly recommend Seachem Purigen.

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okay I will get a new one, i tested the tap water to see and it went green, so I don't know.
thanks for the advice!

Bump:

Colin Wrexham said:
If you have used aquasoil amazon or something similar as a subtrate, it spikes amonia etc and goes nuts for a few weeks but its said to happen to help plants establish if its heavy planted. I use a pond compost and tropica subtrate mix then zambezi gravel to layer it to seal and stop it leaking out. Another trick i heard was to soak news paper in your tank for an hour or 2. The toxins are said to absorb into the paper and there is something that acts as a leveler. Tried it a few times when doing a new scape from scratch in this order.
Subtrate, gravel, hardscape, water up to gravel level, plants, news paper, then fill tank. Paper floats up to surface. Leave for an hour or so, remove paper. Not all gravel comes washed and bagged so i rinse mine now before it goes in. Wish i was a chemist. Still learning about water issues lol. Good luck

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Hi Colin, I don't use any type of soil or Gravel. I have been using marbles for the last year with out any problems.

I don't know about adding the news paper to my ank at this point, I would be afraid the ink would leak into the water and cause further problems. I'm going to try new test strips and hope for the best. Other then that I fear I am going to have to strip my tank and scrub everything. I will have to make a small set up on the side for the fish until I can regulate the other tank and use some Cycle to speed up the process.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Reactions: 1

fish_tank_lady

Discussion Starter · #15 · Mar 26, 2017

Zoidburg said:
Yes, although test strips are more likely to be inaccurate than liquid test kits. Liquid test kits, although more accurate, do expire after a time. If you are using strips, then change to liquid kits. API is a good basic test kit, although if you want something broader and easier to read, then go with either Sera or Nutrafin test kits. You could also look into a pH test pin, although it will need to be calibrated to make sure your results are accurate.

Please test your tap water. We need to know...

Ammonia
Nitrites
Nitrates

Ditto on tank stats.

Also.... how old is this tank? How long has it been set up for?

Okay so the new plan is to get test strips. Mine are old, however when I test the tap water it is 7 and green. When i test the tank, from which I added distilled water it is 5 and orange.

The ammonia is sitting at 5-6 PPM. Like I said i used distilled water from the grocery store and not tap water. I don't have a test kit for the nitrates/nitrites. I will get one tomorrow.

My tank is around 3-4 years old and this is the first time I have experienced any trouble with it at all.

How long after a 1/2 tank water change should this go back to normal? I had said before I have done pretty much everything anyone suggested.

Thanks for the suggestions!

clownplanted

· #16 · Mar 26, 2017

fish_tank_lady said:
Okay so the new plan is to get test strips. Mine are old, however when I test the tap water it is 7 and green. When i test the tank, from which I added distilled water it is 5 and orange.

The ammonia is sitting at 5-6 PPM. Like I said i used distilled water from the grocery store and not tap water. I don't have a test kit for the nitrates/nitrites. I will get one tomorrow.

My tank is around 3-4 years old and this is the first time I have experienced any trouble with it at all.

How long after a 1/2 tank water change should this go back to normal? I had said before I have done pretty much everything anyone suggested.

Thanks for the suggestions!

You should see almost immediately the ammonia to drop quite a bit just from a 50% wc. Should in reality cut the ammonia level in half doing a half water change.

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Colin Wrexham

· #17 · Mar 26, 2017

Hi buddy. Just thinking, no gravel or subtrate....using marbles. Could be that when you feed, some will be droping between the marbles and decaying as there is quite a bit of space between them. It will be harder to get it all out when you clean. That will cause continued issues. Fine gravel stops that happening and is easier to clean with a pump along the bottom. Hope that helps

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Colin Wrexham

· #18 · Mar 27, 2017

2

Plant Vertebrate Botany Organism Pet supply

Green Gadget Organism Display device Electronic device

This is mine. You can see the gravel and layers idea. How big is your tank? What fish are in and how many? Any plants or ornaments? Its mad, i thought fish were an easy hobby lol. Oh wow was i wrong. Loads of knowlege on here for you. I have algae probs i am working on and water issues. Learning loads still after 10yrs. Keep us posted 😀

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Zoidburg

· #19 · Mar 27, 2017

Please do not get test strips.... get one of these instead.

https://www.amazon.com/API-Freshwater-Master-Test-Kit/dp/B000255NCI/
https://www.amazon.com/Aqua-Test-Freshwater-Pet-Supplies-Online/dp/B00IKM4IRQ/
https://www.amazon.com/Nutrafin-Master-Test-Contains-Parameters/dp/B0002568FO/

Sera is cheaper on Petco... although it's not something they carry in store.
http://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcos...ra-aqua-test-set-for-saltwater-and-freshwater
http://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcos...sera-aqua-test-box-freshwater-master-test-kit

Reactions: 1

clownplanted

· #20 · Mar 27, 2017

Zoidburg said:
Please do not get test strips.... get one of these instead.

https://www.amazon.com/API-Freshwater-Master-Test-Kit/dp/B000255NCI/

https://www.amazon.com/Aqua-Test-Freshwater-Pet-Supplies-Online/dp/B00IKM4IRQ/

https://www.amazon.com/Nutrafin-Master-Test-Contains-Parameters/dp/B0002568FO/

Sera is cheaper on Petco... although it's not something they carry in store.

http://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcos...ra-aqua-test-set-for-saltwater-and-freshwater

http://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcos...sera-aqua-test-box-freshwater-master-test-kit

I second this. Like I said in my post get the API test kit. Not the strips.

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