Please help PH Parameters
- Thread starter KimoKaleohano
- Start date
- Tagged users None
potentially yes, due to the fact that ph is a logarithmic scale, your fish will definitely be impacted by major swings. lets say you fish thrives in a ph of 7, but the water in your tank is at a ph of 8. this would mean your water alk is 10times higher than what it should be. if your ph was 9 then your fish are living in water 100times more alkaline than recommended for optimal health. so basically even a small swing in ph can be stressful and potentially fatal to your fish depending on the species. a swing of - or + 1.4 is usually where things get a little risky.
KimoKaleohano
New Member
Thanks for responding. I guess that's what did it then. Completely cycled 75g tank, no ammonia, no nitrite and almost no nitrate. Only difference is ph which had been stable at 8.2 was suddenly 7.4 and 6 dead fish. Got to research why ph would drop.
hm.. how sudden was this drop? i don’t think that would be enough to kill the fish honestly it may have been another reason.
what’s your temp at and salinity? how long did your cycle last? did you add one fish every week or all at once?
KimoKaleohano
New Member
Temp stays at 80 unheated (Hawaii), salinity is at 1.020, 2 months old, finished cycling about a month ago. Fish added over months time. usually in two,s.
KimoKaleohano
New Member
I'm running a fluval rx4 (which I was told is overkill for a 75) which creates good flow and also a 950gpm circulator creating flow. Just pulled out another dead clown right now so I Just tested water again and got. 1.020 salinity / 7.4 ph / 0 ammonia / 0 nitrite / nitrate is less than 1 ppm. I just dont get it. Only fish still alive are 2 1inch blue damsels, 1.5 inch lawnmower, and a 4 inch dogface but everyone is distressed.
sorry you’re experiencing this it’s truly a tough situation. try getting the surface of your water moving a little more with one of your pumps, if you have an airstone plop it in asap because it’s possible that it may be a co2 problem and not enough oxygenation is going on. any physical differences on your dead fishes? also, what is your alkalinity looking like?
KimoKaleohano
New Member
Im not sure about alkalinity, I got the API saltwater master kit and it doesn't have that test. I noticed that the fish literally lost all color before then rapid breathing then dead. Even now the normally electric blue damsels are looking almost black. Whats weird is i have a small black clown thats seemingly the only fish in the tank unaffected. Just put micro bubble stone under powerhead aimed at surface. Getting lots of current and agitation.
yup, sounds to me like it may be a lack of oxygen. but can also be new tank syndrome, not sure how your nitrates are so low with that many fish. such low nitrates can mean your tank is either top notch 100% clean or you have a dysfunctional cycle going on. how did you approach your cycle? ghost feeding or dosing ammonia?
to play it safe, dose some live nitrifying bacteria and add prime to make sure there’s no toxic ammonia or nitrites in the tank even if your test kit is showing 0ppm it seems to me there’s something off with the nitrogen cycle unless you really do have a real good grip on your filtration which can still mean it may be stripping away beneficial bacteria.
attiland
2500 Club Member
If not already done I would go for largest possible water change as after so many fish died You may heading to at bacteria boom.
I think adding air to the system also a must at least for temporary and adding nitrifying bacteria would be a good idea. Something like microbacter 7 promises to remove phosphate nitrate and nitrite from your water.
I think adding air to the system also a must at least for temporary and adding nitrifying bacteria would be a good idea. Something like microbacter 7 promises to remove phosphate nitrate and nitrite from your water.
