A couple of RT questions

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Irene has tried the venting to had the same results. It might be the bp factor making it difficult to find fertile male rt's. We had thought about fh's but not sure if we wanted to go that way but it does look like anything that looks fh will bring money in. That would sure suck importing in fish like that and getting crap would leave anyone a little gunshy. We have some crushed corral will it work like the oyster shell Irene was going to give it a try. Seems like the tanks with the fx5's and sumps are the worst for the lower ph thats because of the organic matter they hold right. How quick does it take for the organic matter to build up and start lowering the ph?
 
Yes, crushed coral will work, but oyster shell works better.
And yes, the organics in that set up is what is most likely causing the pH to crash. As far as how much, or how long it takes to build up in your sumps etc depends on a lot of factors. How often you perform water changes, how often you clean the media, etc.
 
Good to know I guess we can wait and pickup the oyster shell seeing as it worksbetter. You said the oyster shell is a buffer Irene left some tap water sit for a day and it a ph of 8 with the oyster shell in our filters should our tanks then run closer to the 8 mark or will we have to bring it up to that and it will remain close to that. ps our festae just hatched this afternoon.
 
The oyster shell acts as a buffering agent, and it will keep it at pH 8.0 longer, even when the organics begin to build up. That doesn't mean that you should neglect water changes, just that it will help keep the pH from crashing. Congrats on the spawn!
 
Sorry I guess I worded that wrong or maybe I'm confused what I mean is with the oyster shell in place when we do a water change will the water stay at 7.4 or will in a day or two change to 8 which is the water's actual ph. Your help has been a great help and thanks on the fry.
 
Your water comes out of the tap at 7.4, but once you allow the C02 to escape it will settle out at 8.0 or so. This will happen regardless of whether you add oyster shell, or not. What the oyster shell does is buffer the water, which helps keep the pH stable at 8.0.

Think of fish waste, uneaten fish food, dissolved organic compounds, even nitrifying bacteria, as a form of acid that is always trying to push your pH down. Without a high KH, or a buffering agent such as oyster shell, when too much acid forms in the system your pH will drop. The higher the bio load from fish & food, the quicker this can happen. Large frequent water changes can resolve the issue, or you can use buffering agents such as crushed oyster shell, or crushed coral, to help offset it. Water changes alone work for me, but my tanks typically have low bio loads, and I perform 50-60% water changes every 5-7 days.
 
Thanks again you are being such a big help hope to be able to return the favor sometime. Funny thing is the tank that is the worst has the lowest bio load its 160 that has maybe 16 2 to 4 in rt's in it but the water changes maybe the biggest part of the puzzle thanks again.
 
No problem Bill, glad to help. Maybe some day I can find time to come out & visit the zoo. :)
 
Sounds good look forward to maybe you can give us some pointers on our setup here or get a free rt or 2 maybe even free admission.
 
Bill - tell Irene to check her PM on AA. You might find that worth looking into. ;)
 
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