# got this odd ph colour



## iFxWolf (Aug 1, 2011)

hey 
i just done a ph test and got this really odd colour.. its like a orangly yellow. iv always had a problem with ph it keeps going down and up never stopping at one level.. i have tryed corals.. but doesnt seem to work for me. anyway todays i get this odd colour. is it bad?


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

Looks like that pH color belongs on the high range test side. Is that the pH test you used, on accident?


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## iFxWolf (Aug 1, 2011)

Gizmo said:


> Looks like that pH color belongs on the high range test side. Is that the pH test you used, on accident?


yeah thats what i first thort. but when i do a high range and normal test this is what i get


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

Looks like you might have either some VERY basic water, or there's another chem in the water screwing with your mid range pH test.

Try testing your tap water and seeing what you get.

Also, what are you doing (if anything) to try and change your pH? I generally leave mine alone....


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## iFxWolf (Aug 1, 2011)

Gizmo said:


> Looks like you might have either some VERY basic water, or there's another chem in the water screwing with your mid range pH test.
> 
> Try testing your tap water and seeing what you get.
> 
> Also, what are you doing (if anything) to try and change your pH? I generally leave mine alone....


ok the only chems iv added is API ammo lock.. but only jst started using this as i have abit of fish poo problem. 

the ph from my tap water is 6.0. 

iv been getting rain water when it rains.. and the ph is 6.6 which seems beter than 6.0 too me. 

iv haded crushed corals about 1/4 of a bag which your fish came in. and that took it up to 7.6 for about 3 days then it started this droping and going all funny on me.. the corals have helped but isnt keeping it at around 7.6 or 7.0


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Not addressing the funky test results, but why have you been letting your tank go with up and down ph? If the ph goes up and down very easily it probably means that your kh is very low and you should probably confirm that with a kh test. Kh and ph are fairly easy to increase. Get the kh in the 3-5 range and it should stable out and you should be able to maintain a ph. Do you have a softner on your home by chance?


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

From what you said if I understand this is a marine tank and from the picture you are getting a yellow brown ph result with the high level test kit.

If you want a more accurate test result try the pH test kit not the high range test kit.

But that is really not important as a pH under 7.6 in a marine tank is all you need to know.

1) low pH is a side effect of ammonia lock/dechlor chems.

2) pH is low because of a build up of carbon dioxide. 

3) low pH is common during cycling tanks.

solutions:

1) let the tank complete its cycle.

2) stop using the chemicals.

3) Most importantly add macro algaes to balance out the tank.

the macros in and of themselves will result in higher pH along with consuming ammonia/nitrates while returning oxygen

my .02


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Still trying to figure out where it said it was a marine tank.....


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## iFxWolf (Aug 1, 2011)

right.. thanks for everyones help.. its not a marine tank. i said corals.. as in crushed corals to try and get the ph up.. so fair thats not worked. and im using the fresh water test kit from API i done a high range ph test.. and a normal ph test both giving me that odd colour. and im using the chems to try and keep the ammonia in check as it wont stop going up and up.. i tryed doing 30% waterchanges and cleaning the filter and it jst went up at up till it was at 8.0 ppm and then i gave up and jst got ammo lock from api. which helped a great load.. its a 100L so about 25Gallon tank with 3 female bettas 1 mollie 3 guppies and 7 tetras and one snail.. dont know were it came from but theres 1 snail in the tank.. how will i get the kh up and iv tryed spring water and rain water both with a ph of around 6.6 or 6.8 but when i put it in my tanks just drops down to 6.0 or that odd colour which iv started getting im using a fruval U3 filter..


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

I knew what you meant using the crushed coral.

With that stocking level, there is no reason why you shouldn't be able to get your ammonia down. Do a 50-60% water change daily if necessary until it is at 1ppm or below. "Having" to use ammo-lock because your ammonia is out of control is not addressing the bigger problem. Sounds like this tank is cycling still. How long has it been running?

Spring water/RO water, etc, likely will have a very low kh, which drives your overall kh even lower when mixed in with the rest of the water....making the problem worse. Do a 50% with only tap water. Get a kh test kit and test. Test your tap also for ammonia and kh. You have to determine your kh first before you start adding stuff to increase it.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

jrman83 said:


> Sounds like this tank is cycling still. How long has it been running?


That's what it sounds and looks like to be judging by the test results.

pH looks yellow by the pic. Just curious here...for the low test, you are using (3) drops of the reagent correct? Just checking. You'd be surprised at how many times I've heard of people confusing that with the high range which will cause odd colors. ;o)

Knowing more about the tank may help as well such as substrate and decor.

Try testing your tap water after it has aged. Put some in a bucket (or glass) and let it sit for say 24hrs. Then test your pH again and see what it comes out to. You may need to age your water with CC to get the buffering ability.


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## iFxWolf (Aug 1, 2011)

James0816 said:


> That's what it sounds and looks like to be judging by the test results.
> 
> pH looks yellow by the pic. Just curious here...for the low test, you are using (3) drops of the reagent correct? Just checking. You'd be surprised at how many times I've heard of people confusing that with the high range which will cause odd colors. ;o)
> 
> ...


we were told 3 weeks is the right time for the tank to cycle but from what iv read that is wrong. im adding 3 drops of the ph test into 5ml and 5 drops of the high range test into 5ml. and iv have 5 live plants bubble machine with 2 air stones. but dont always use this because the filter makes loads of bubbles and have blue gravel and substrate and a fake peace of wood as the decor and some stones and 2 sea shells..


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

iFxWolf said:


> we were told 3 weeks is the right time for the tank to cycle but from what iv read that is wrong. im adding 3 drops of the ph test into 5ml and 5 drops of the high range test into 5ml.


Excellent of the test.

As for the cycling, yeah, unfortunately that can be a farce. There is not set time frame as to when a cycle will be complete unfortunately.

And, as much as I hate to do it, I have to give you some more bad news. That nice looking plant in the middle...it's not an aquatic species. Sry.


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## iFxWolf (Aug 1, 2011)

James0816 said:


> Excellent of the test.
> 
> As for the cycling, yeah, unfortunately that can be a farce. There is not set time frame as to when a cycle will be complete unfortunately.
> 
> And, as much as I hate to do it, I have to give you some more bad news. That nice looking plant in the middle...it's not an aquatic species. Sry.


yeah iv guessed it wasnt 100% aquatic as its been slowly dieing since i got it. so what should i do about the tank?? jst leave everything to do whatever it wants for a couple of weeks or keep adding chems and changing water??


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

NO! STOP adding chems, do a big water change, and let it finish the cycle. Chemicals can delay and/or stall the completion of the cycle. You need to get the ammonia levels to below 1, so it may require a couple of successive days of water changes. 50% at a time will be fine. Put straight treated tap water back in. After you're there, monitor ammonia and nitrites. If the value gets to above 1ppm, do a water change. If it stays below, leave it. When ammonia and nitrites are down to zero and you have some nitrate value, your cycle should be completed.


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## iFxWolf (Aug 1, 2011)

jrman83 said:


> NO! STOP adding chems, do a big water change, and let it finish the cycle. Chemicals can delay and/or stall the completion of the cycle. You need to get the ammonia levels to below 1, so it may require a couple of successive days of water changes. 50% at a time will be fine. Put straight treated tap water back in. After you're there, monitor ammonia and nitrites. If the value gets to above 1ppm, do a water change. If it stays below, leave it. When ammonia and nitrites are down to zero and you have some nitrate value, your cycle should be completed.


ok thanks two more things.. should i had API stress coat and APi stree zyme?? because my tap water will have chlorine in it ?? and what about the fish i already have?? will they die?


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

iFxWolf said:


> ok thanks two more things.. should i had API stress coat and APi stree zyme?? because my tap water will have chlorine in it ?? and what about the fish i already have?? will they die?


You do want to use a decholorinator like Prime.

With the fish you already have, you want to be very careful with them. Have to get that NH3 down.


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

I use API Tap Water Conditioner and that's it (aside from an iron supplement for my plants). I've used Stress Coat + during times of medication to help make my fish more comfy, but I'm kind of a minimalist when it comes to adding chems to my tank - the less the better, if you ask me.


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## iFxWolf (Aug 1, 2011)

James0816 said:


> You do want to use a decholorinator like Prime.
> 
> With the fish you already have, you want to be very careful with them. Have to get that NH3 down.


alright thanks will let everyone know how it gos


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Your fish should be okay as long as you get those levels down. Your cycle should only have maybe a couple of weeks left. Keep the levels down and it should go easy. I would also stop feeding for 4-5 days until the ammonia/nitrites is under control. I have left town for a week here and there and all of my fish have been fine through that, so they will be okay.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

iFxWolf said:


> right.. thanks for everyones help.. its not a marine tank. i said corals.. as in crushed corals to try and get the ph up.. so fair thats not worked. and im using the fresh water test kit from API i done a high range ph test.. and a normal ph test both giving me that odd colour. and im using the chems to try and keep the ammonia in check as it wont stop going up and up.. i tryed doing 30% waterchanges and cleaning the filter and it jst went up at up till it was at 8.0 ppm and then i gave up and jst got ammo lock from api. which helped a great load.. its a 100L so about 25Gallon tank with 3 female bettas 1 mollie 3 guppies and 7 tetras and one snail.. dont know were it came from but theres 1 snail in the tank.. how will i get the kh up and iv tryed spring water and rain water both with a ph of around 6.6 or 6.8 but when i put it in my tanks just drops down to 6.0 or that odd colour which iv started getting im using a fruval U3 filter..


My mistake and I did read corals thinking it was a marine system.

Additionally I was looking at the purple in one of the charts and thought that was the api high range test kit. But that was probably the nitrIte chart.

So it looks like your pH is very low.

I would test carbonate hardness (kH) and if that is below 2 degrees then add a teaspoon of so of baking soda to get it up to 4 degrees.

I also would measure pH just before lights out. pH by plant action (even small amounts of algae) will increase pH with the lights on.

I also highly recommend you add fast growing plants like anacharis. 

I think you will find the anacharis by itself will bring pH up. Again measuring pH just before lights out.

Sorry about confusion.

But then I am perfectly capabla of making mistakes all on my own. *old dude

my .02


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## iFxWolf (Aug 1, 2011)

ok. iv been feeding my fish 2 times a day.. is that right?? and iv had anacharis plant in my tank.. it jst seems to die is it maybe a cold water tank.. please remeber mine is a tropical tank


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

iFxWolf said:


> ok. iv been feeding my fish 2 times a day.. is that right?? and iv had anacharis plant in my tank.. it jst seems to die is it maybe a cold water tank.. please remeber mine is a tropical tank


cut back to one time per day.

IMHO something is wrong if anacharis dies. It thrives in either a cold water or tropical tank and actually comes from south america.

You're having this pH reading because plants are not thriving. I would try the anacharis again or other fast growing plants. When you get those thriving, the pH will rise.

also it might help is post you lighting/substrate and so on.

my .02


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## iFxWolf (Aug 1, 2011)

beaslbob said:


> cut back to one time per day.
> 
> IMHO something is wrong if anacharis dies. It thrives in either a cold water or tropical tank and actually comes from south america.
> 
> ...


iv tryed that anacharis 2 times.. but im not so sure if it was anacharis or not. i looked it up and i may have been sold a pond weed Canadian pondweed (Elodea canadensis) 

the photo is of the plant which does grow really well i only started with 2 of them and now have 3 because i have to keep cutting them back..


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

iFxWolf said:


> iv tryed that anacharis 2 times.. but im not so sure if it was anacharis or not. i looked it up and i may have been sold a pond weed Canadian pondweed (Elodea canadensis)
> 
> the photo is of the plant which does grow really well i only started with 2 of them and now have 3 because i have to keep cutting them back..


Sounds like a good plant for ya.

Just keep expanding it and eventually the pH will rise.

my .02


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## iFxWolf (Aug 1, 2011)

hey i just came home and everyone of my guppies are dead!! :S i dont even know why the other fish are fine :/ anyone know what could have happend all the guppies are diffo ages


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

iFxWolf said:


> hey i just came home and everyone of my guppies are dead!! :S i dont even know why the other fish are fine :/ anyone know what could have happend all the guppies are diffo ages


sorry to hear and that really sucks.


worth much more then

.02


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

How are your ammonia and nitrite levels? They can spike very quickly if you're not careful. Just to be safe, in addition, I would do an immediate 50% water change and add dechlorinator/tap water conditioner to the fresh water.


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## iFxWolf (Aug 1, 2011)

Gizmo said:


> How are your ammonia and nitrite levels? They can spike very quickly if you're not careful. Just to be safe, in addition, I would do an immediate 50% water change and add dechlorinator/tap water conditioner to the fresh water.


yeah i dont know why its odd how all the same fish died not even my tetras died. im jst going to do a 50% change now.. i jst done a test and ammonia is 0.50ppm it was 1.0 lastnight and the nitrite was 0ppm

should i be cleaning the filter out aswell?? i done that last night


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

No, don't touch the filter unless the filter inserts are pretty much falling apart or so clogged that no water is flowing - your filter is the source for much of the nitrifying bacteria that helps remove ammonia and nitrite from the water, with nitrate being the end product. Every time you clean the filter you kill or remove a bunch of that bacteria. Carbon inserts in the filter usually lose their effectiveness after about 2 weeks, so in between you really don't need to worry about it.

I clean my filter once a month, on average.


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## iFxWolf (Aug 1, 2011)

Gizmo said:


> No, don't touch the filter unless the filter inserts are pretty much falling apart or so clogged that no water is flowing - your filter is the source for much of the nitrifying bacteria that helps remove ammonia and nitrite from the water, with nitrate being the end product. Every time you clean the filter you kill or remove a bunch of that bacteria. Carbon inserts in the filter usually lose their effectiveness after about 2 weeks, so in between you really don't need to worry about it.
> 
> I clean my filter once a month, on average.


ok thats another thing iv been told wrong.. my filter has foam pad then a poly carbon cartridge then bixmax stones in it.. i changed the biomax stones about 1 month ago and my nitrite and nitrates went really really high


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

That makes sense - bio-max is called such because it provides lots of bacteria-friendly surface area for said nitrifying bacteria to set up shop in. The only time you will EVER need to change biomax media is when the bag containing them is falling to shreds. I've kept biomax in my filter for 6 months before changing it.

Carbon and other chemical filtration pouches like NitraZorb, PhosZorb, water softening pillows, etc. are the ones that need to be changed the most. The others can just be wrung out in old tank water to remove the excess amounts of crud that might restrict flow in your filter. Also, it's a good idea to clean the impeller and impeller housing once a month or so to keep it so it runs smoothly. And clean the inlet pipe a LOT, including any foam prefilter you might be using so small critters don't get sucked up (like baby shrimp).

The release of nitrite and nitrate when you took your biomax out was because, like the muscles in a human body, the bacteria release a good portion of the stuff they're consuming when disturbed. The same spikes will happen when/if you ever disturb your gravel substrate.

Your fish might be dying from something other than the ammonia and nitrite. Chlorine, chloramine, high alkalinity or hardness, high phosphates, and other chemical compounds like alcohol can kill a fish if they're in the tank in sufficient quantities. See if you can get your hands on a chemical composition chart from your public water municipal - they'll send you one if you request it online or over the phone. It's a great way to tell exactly what you're putting into your tank.

For example, my city is in the mountains so we alternate between water taken from snowmelt to well water when the snow packs dwindle during the late summer. When that happens, the hardness and alkalinity of my tap water elevate and I have to mix in a little distilled water to keep them at the right level.


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## iFxWolf (Aug 1, 2011)

jccaclimber said:


> The brown sludge in your filter's foam contains the good bacteria that keep your ammonia and nitrite down. If you do need to clean that out, rinse it gently in water from your aquarium (in a different container of course), not tap water. The chlorine in the tap water will kill things off otherwise. Also, you need to find out if you have chlorine or chloramine in your water. Your local water board is required to tell you. It is probably on their web page (google it), and if not find the number and call them. My dechlor takes both out, but you have to use twice as much to remove chloramine.


this is what im using 
Stress Coat® - API

is that right?? and also i wont clean the filter out for a couply of weeks then and see how it gos. when i did clean it. u used the same water from the tank.


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## iFxWolf (Aug 1, 2011)

jccaclimber said:


> I don't have a copy of the directions on a bottle of stress coat, so I don't know if the chlorine and chloramine directions differ, nor do I know which is in your water supply.



ok says on the bottle stress coat fish and water conditioner removes chlorine and chloramines & ammonia in tap water

this is from scottish water which is my water company 

What's in your water?

Depending on the natural environment found near the water supply source, your water may contain traces of some of the substances listed below.

Aluminium
Some aluminium does occur naturally in water, however in some areas aluminium may be present in minute quantities where it has been used as part of a treatment process to clarify and cleanse the water. The regulation level is set at 200 micrograms per litre.

Fluoride
Some fluoride does occur naturally in water, the regulation level is set at 1500 micrograms per litre. We do not add any additional fluoride to your water.

Iron and manganese
Upland surface water can be naturally acidic and can dissolve to form compounds of iron and manganese from the soil and minerals.

Levels of naturally occuring iron and manganese can vary from season to season
and according to rainfall. The regulation level is set at 200 micrograms per litre for iron and 50 micrograms per litre for manganese. There are no health risks from either of these substances, the regulatory levels are set to avoid colouring, tastes and staining.

Lead
In Scotland lead does not occur naturally in significant concentrations in the water supply, and is only a problem when the water comes into contact with lead pipes, joints and cisterns. The regulation level is set at 25 micrograms per litre (reducing to 10 micrograms in 2013). dont know if that helps thats all i could find out without phoning them up


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

just a thought that perhaps others can shoot down or confirm.

guppies can survive at high ph and harder water but tetras are listed as needing lower ph softer water. perhaps the low pH caused the problems.

my .02


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## iFxWolf (Aug 1, 2011)

beaslbob said:


> just a thought that perhaps others can shoot down or confirm.
> 
> guppies can survive at high ph and harder water but tetras are listed as needing lower ph softer water. perhaps the low pH caused the problems.
> 
> my .02


thats what i was thinking.. as the ph had only gotten this bad in the last couple of weeks and the guppies where always at the top of the tank and never went down.. also the one mollie isnt looking so great.. but my bettas seem fine alone with my tetras


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Difficult to say what may have killed your fish when the tank is still in the middle of creating bacteria colonies from the nitrogen cycle.

When you changed your water, was it 100% tap? Did you happen to get a kh test kit? Do you have a water softener on your place?


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## iFxWolf (Aug 1, 2011)

jrman83 said:


> Difficult to say what may have killed your fish when the tank is still in the middle of creating bacteria colonies from the nitrogen cycle.
> 
> When you changed your water, was it 100% tap? Did you happen to get a kh test kit? Do you have a water softener on your place?


yes the water was from my tap.. left in a drum for 24 hours and iv jst ordered a gh and kh test kit.. and im not sure if i have a water softener in my house or not.. asfar as i know it jst comes from the pipe and thats it..

the first photo comes from bottled water.. and the second is the tank water third is tap water stored in the drums and 4th is from the tap itself 

btw my mollie also died today.. guess its helping with all the poo levels thow


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

So, do I read it right that your tap is 6.4, but after it sits for at least 24hrs it is 6.0? And your tank is about 6.0 also?


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## iFxWolf (Aug 1, 2011)

jrman83 said:


> So, do I read it right that your tap is 6.4, but after it sits for at least 24hrs it is 6.0? And your tank is about 6.0 also?


yes my tap is 6.4 and then when it sits for 24hours it gos to 6.0 and my tank seems to be below 6.0 it more orange than yellow

im going to a friends house tonight and will test there tap water see if its anybeter as there on a diffo supply


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

How are your ammonia and nitrite levels this morning?


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## iFxWolf (Aug 1, 2011)

jrman83 said:


> How are your ammonia and nitrite levels this morning?


look for yourself. iv never had any problem with nitrite its never gone up.. only does when i add plants then gos down the next day or so.. and the ammonia has gone down helped with the dead of more fish for somereason.. im thinking the ph is behide it all


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

iFxWolf said:


> thats what i was thinking.. as the ph had only gotten this bad in the last couple of weeks and the guppies where always at the top of the tank and never went down.. also the one mollie isnt looking so great.. but my bettas seem fine alone with my tetras


just a guess but my guess is co2 build up. Bettas can breath air and are therefor less supstable to co2 in the water. Plus high co2 creates low pH also.

Just for kicks I would test kH and add baking soda if necessary to get kH to 4 degrees.

Again and I know I'm sound like a broken record, add fast growing plants like anacharis and get them thriving. Or at least more of the plants you do have thriving.

my .02


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## iFxWolf (Aug 1, 2011)

beaslbob said:


> just a guess but my guess is co2 build up. Bettas can breath air and are therefor less supstable to co2 in the water. Plus high co2 creates low pH also.
> 
> Just for kicks I would test kH and add baking soda if necessary to get kH to 4 degrees.
> 
> ...


if it is high co2 build up what would take the co2 down?


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

iFxWolf said:


> if it is high co2 build up what would take the co2 down?


If kh is low adding baking soda to bring it up to 4 degrees will reduce co2 and raise pH.

IMHO the most effective and rapid method is adding live plants. I know your anacharis died but you simply cannot have pH that low and have a tank full of fast growing plants. At least in any normal aquarium environment.

We had a newbie here that had a cycle platty that was at the top moving slowly, breathing heavy and so on. 4 hours after adding anacharis that platty was full of life zipping around the tank, and all levels, pecking at the anacharis, and breathing normally.

So IME getting the tank balanced out with live plants solves a whole host of problems. For instance, they also consume ammonia as well.

Still just my .02


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## iFxWolf (Aug 1, 2011)

jccaclimber said:


> I'm going to echo beaslbob's advice on this one. Also, are you shaking up the #2 bottle in your nitrate test REALLY REALLY WELL? By that I mean vigorous shaking for at least 2 minutes right before the test? If I don't do that I get a zero reading rather than the actual value. That is a common issue with nitrate tests.


ok thanks i dont normaly do that will give it ago now


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## iFxWolf (Aug 1, 2011)

ok that is me hit and shaken the bottle for 3 mins and this is what i get.

also my filter has got alot of green algae on it.


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## iFxWolf (Aug 1, 2011)

ammonia has gone down one level today 0.25ppm


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

You may or may not notice nitrites. The last cycle I did with fish I saw less than .25 and it only lasted a day or so. How many fish are still in the tank?


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## iFxWolf (Aug 1, 2011)

jrman83 said:


> You may or may not notice nitrites. The last cycle I did with fish I saw less than .25 and it only lasted a day or so. How many fish are still in the tank?


10 fish left did have 15 to start with. the kh test came. and i done it but it doesnt even change colour at all.. after 20 drops it still stays orange the same colour of the test solution itself.. and i did after each drop invert the test tube. and still it doesnt change colour.. im starting to think theres something toxic in my tank which is messing with the tests 

even done the test with tap water and after 15 drops still doesnt change it says it should turn from blue to yellow.. mine stays orange
get the same reading with the GH test kit.. jst stays the colour of the test solution which is green..


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Starts at orange and doesn't change. Have you done anything to up your kh yet? Some of the things mentioned in this thread? Although it is not definitve, I would say that you must be close to zero kh and that is screwing with the test. Could be wrong though. I would set some water aside in a bucket, boost the kh of that water, then test to see if the results start to act normally. Keep track of what you do because this will give you an idea of what you'll need to add to your tank.


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## iFxWolf (Aug 1, 2011)

jrman83 said:


> Starts at orange and doesn't change. Have you done anything to up your kh yet? Some of the things mentioned in this thread? Although it is not definitve, I would say that you must be close to zero kh and that is screwing with the test. Could be wrong though. I would set some water aside in a bucket, boost the kh of that water, then test to see if the results start to act normally. Keep track of what you do because this will give you an idea of what you'll need to add to your tank.


yeah after 20 drops it didnt change colour at all.. when i used bottled water it changed to blue after 1 drop and then changed to yellow after 5 drops.. 

for some reason i cant get a reading from my tap water :/ so idk whats going wrong and i found out that we dont have a water softner in the house

could there be something screwing with the test? in the tap water and therefore its going into the tank


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Nothing wrong with the test if it works for the bottled water.


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## iFxWolf (Aug 1, 2011)

jccaclimber said:


> My guess is that you have incredibly soft water. Try buffering up your hardness in a bucket then test that. The good news is that hardness is easy to increase.


ok well im abit of a newbie when it comes to this so how will i buffer up my water hardness??


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

All you need is some baking soda. Try adding 1/2 teaspoon to a 5g bucket of water. Mix really good and test it. If it test lower than 3-4 degrees, add more. May even try 1/4 teaspoon at a time. Not sure how 1/2 tsp will affect 5g of water.


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## iFxWolf (Aug 1, 2011)

jccaclimber said:


> Note that baking soda will not change your GH, but it will bump your KH. If you want to change your GH you will need magnesium or calcium carbonate (chalk, limestone, etc). For now just mess with the baking soda. Here is a calculator you might find helpful:
> Buffering capacity and pH
> I'm sure you're aware, but the spoons you use at dinner named "tea spoons" aren't a standard size, so use a measuring spoon type teaspoon, not a table spoon.


ok thanks that wilbe very helpful.. will let everyone know how it gos


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Later on if you find your water has been completely stripped of gh as well, you could add a product called gh booster to the water. These minerals are what you and your fish need to stay healthy.


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## iFxWolf (Aug 1, 2011)

hey everyone i now have 3 drops of kh before it gos yellow which is about 100-200ppm if im right.. and my ph in the fish tank is now 7.2


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

iFxWolf said:


> hey everyone i now have 3 drops of kh before it gos yellow which is about 100-200ppm if im right.. and my ph in the fish tank is now 7.2


If you used the api kh test kit 3 drops is 3 degrees.

Gee sound like things are fine now.

betcha kh and pH will both get higher.

If gh is low it can be increased with epsom salts. But I wouldn't worrry and things seem to be doing betterer and betterer.

my .02


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## iFxWolf (Aug 1, 2011)

alright thanks to everyone for all the help.. im really greatful


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