# my water is very acidic



## cutlass79500 (Oct 29, 2011)

nitrate 15
nitrite 0
hardness 75
total alkalinity 30
ph 6.0

nitrates are a bit hi i checked the tank about 1.1 hrs after feeding before they ate it was 5. I just put another filter on it because till i get my other 125 cycled.It is a bit overstocked I had to put 6 huge angels in with my 8 large silver dollars. I am going to say about 25 fish in the tank. Its a 125 gal. The nitrites have always been a bit hi. I have 2 60 gal hang on filters i have a canister filter that is supposto be good up to 175 gal. Right now i have my de filter on it and just put an aquaclear 110. I have 2 HO power heads on my underground filters. I am not 100 percent sure the Angels came with my other 125 gal i just bought was really dirty and the fish had white spots that got worse after they came out of the 5 gal bucket they were transferred to the house with. So i slowly raised the temp to 86 just in case it was ick. The next morning all the spots were gone i still have 8 days to go at that temp. I am trying to get thru the overcrowding but it takes time. I have been changing about 25 gal a day of water the past few days. Before i raised the temp both nitrites and nitrates were 0. Is the low ph something i should be worried about. My other tank runs low about 6.2 must be the water here. I live on a culdisac the very last house. What is best to use to bring up ph and alkalinity if i need to?
I have another question I just retired as a senior operator for a water plant so i am used to getting chemicals just right. I worked an one of the few state of the art facilities we used ozone instead of chlorine. We also used uv to kill residual bacteria before we pumped it back into the lakes. I have uv system for the aquarium with a power head wouldn't that help the ick spores and any other parasites. I am not sure how efficient aquarium uv is compared to a 160mgd water plant. If i do use it i need to clean the bulb one of the many fun things with uv.


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## NeonShark666 (Dec 13, 2010)

Your ph is fine for Tetras, Rasboras, Corys and none Rift Valley Cichlids. The easiest and safest way to raise your ph is to purchase some Rift Valley Cichlid Salts and follow the directions on the jar. If you are interested in Livebears or Brickish fishes, use an Oceanwater Salt mix instead.


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

Your water is fine for the fish you are keeping. How long has this tank been running as you should be showing nitrates before water changes. The low ph also helps with ammonia so it isn't quite as toxic.

Don't add cichlid salt to your tank as you don't need it. The uv will help with parasites but it would cost you a lot to run it all the time. Just run it for a couple of weeks.


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## cutlass79500 (Oct 29, 2011)

susankat said:


> Your water is fine for the fish you are keeping. How long has this tank been running as you should be showing nitrates before water changes. The low ph also helps with ammonia so it isn't quite as toxic.
> 
> Don't add cichlid salt to your tank as you don't need it. The uv will help with parasites but it would cost you a lot to run it all the time. Just run it for a couple of weeks.


Thats good to hear. Tank has been up and running about 3 months now. I think it finally got cycled a few weeks ago. Before that the nitrates were hi changing 40 percent of the water did not bring them down much. Did that a few times a week and it went down a little then all of a sudden everything zerod


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Agree with Susan,leave the PH alone.Most fish can acclimate to your water if done slowly.


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## Kelvinlim11 (Nov 5, 2011)

My ph was a whopping 4.78 a few days ago. I used some coral chips and filter to bring the ph back up in a controllable way.

I have done the write up on my blog. Do give it a visit and see how it is done.


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