So after putting your tap water in a container for 24 hours, and the ph measured is still 8?
300 Poly Paradise
- Thread starter OTp1144
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I only measured out of the tap. But it doesn't matter. The kit is expired by a year and a half. Any test results are unreliable
Sorry for losing your fish. It happens to all of us once in a while
The tank looks great as well.
KH is used up in nitrification. Excessive bio would pull the KH down too fast between water changes and the pH will crash as a consequence. Acidic tank, no buffering and the established bacs are also in shock, hence the ammonia.
Up the water changes significantly to remove all readable ammonia. You're not going to shock the fish by bringing the pH back up, they're in shock right now trying to deal with the acidity.
The tank looks great as well.
High bioload and low buffering capacity(KH).
KH is used up in nitrification. Excessive bio would pull the KH down too fast between water changes and the pH will crash as a consequence. Acidic tank, no buffering and the established bacs are also in shock, hence the ammonia.
Up the water changes significantly to remove all readable ammonia. You're not going to shock the fish by bringing the pH back up, they're in shock right now trying to deal with the acidity.
all very true and i've dealt with this the same situation before from a massive piece of driftwood that was leaching tannins with basically 0 kh/gh from the tap. Very easy to fix. But that's if this is actually what's going on. without valid tests these are all shots in the dark
It is an educated guess. The only way pH can go so low in comparison to your tap is when the buffering capacity is down to zero or thereabouts, providing you're not injecting CO2 for your plants.
Right. But we're assuming the ph is off in the first place. It could've been perfect and still could be. She could've just died from old age. Or something completely different.
Apologies, did I read these wrong?
How old was she?
Water quality is the number one cause for both fish deaths and fish diseases. Weaker fish go first. Albino are generally the weakest link.
This is just my personal opinion based on experience and knowledge but sure, there could be other possible causes. I hope you sort things out.
You can read. Lol
But again. Those numbers were taken from an expired test kit and are unreliable. It was just as expired then as it is now.
She was at least 10, I wasn't her first owner. She was also fed a diet of chicken and beef and other not normal poly food while being kept in a 20 gallon for the first at least 4 years of her life. And I agree albinos usually do have the worst genes and are the first to go.
But again. Those numbers were taken from an expired test kit and are unreliable. It was just as expired then as it is now.
She was at least 10, I wasn't her first owner. She was also fed a diet of chicken and beef and other not normal poly food while being kept in a 20 gallon for the first at least 4 years of her life. And I agree albinos usually do have the worst genes and are the first to go.
I doubt the fishes death was cause by the ph issue. 10 yr old polys is an accomplishment. Agree about the test kit. Cant trust something thats expired
New test kit came in. Ph 6.6, ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 10. Picking up a hardness test this weekend. Clearly my water is not as hard as i thought.
Based on the tank still being fully cycled, I'm hesitant to think the cycle actually crashed. There'd be signs of ammonia or nitrite. If it stalled, there'd be signs of them or higher nitrates.
Thinking back I recall seeing a red spot with slightly scales on her back a few days before her passing. It healed completely in 2 days so I thought nothing of it, maybe just a scrape from jumping. But now I'm thinking it might have been more than that.
Based on the tank still being fully cycled, I'm hesitant to think the cycle actually crashed. There'd be signs of ammonia or nitrite. If it stalled, there'd be signs of them or higher nitrates.
Thinking back I recall seeing a red spot with slightly scales on her back a few days before her passing. It healed completely in 2 days so I thought nothing of it, maybe just a scrape from jumping. But now I'm thinking it might have been more than that.
