Hello! I've got a 90 gallon tank with a single fluval 404 and I can't seem to keep the water out of the orange (between 5.0pH and 5.5pH). I have been doing water changes weekly and even adding some pH Adjust with not much for results as far as raising the pH. The fish seem fine (Jack Dempsy, Nile Tilapia, Redtail Shovelnose cross) except for my Vieja Synspilum who I have not seen eat for about 5 days now. I know I could do water changes more often than weekly but does that seem normal to you? I suppose maybe they are just producing that much waste and if I'm gonna keep fish that size I'm gonna have to do that. Ammonia and nitrites tests have come back all clear. Let me know what you think. I would appreciate the feedback.
Acidic Water. Fish Seem Fine......Are They?
- Thread starter Calvin Klein
- Start date
I'm using the NUTRAFIN pH wide range (4.5-9.0) test kit. In the tank I have 3 large pieces of wood, some tatered plants and probably the worst thing (in my somewhat educated opinion) for pH is the Fluval Stratum substrate for planted tanks. My source water pH is around 8.5pH. Maybe the substrate is the pH dropper? I didn't really think of that.
Anytime plant matter decays it will lower your ph. the substrate along with the plant life and wood all contribute to your low ph readings. You can buffer it out with additives. There are many people much more qualified than I am to tell you how to go about balancing it out. However, you can do frequent water changes to keep up with your issues as well as adding things like shells and limestone.
Also, if you plant to try to keep plants healthy in there, make sure you have proper lighting, exposure time, and proper plants. Using strong plants that can be anchored will help greatly in any cichlid tank. Plants that can be tied down work well since our substrates don't offer enough structure to anchor the plant roots. You may want to search the planted section here and find friendly cichlid plants as well as tips for maintaining their health. I had a 100 gal planted that initially had ph issues but were dealt with by adding some rock... I had issues with tore up plants for awhile and eventually I had to give up and allow the cichlids to determine my aquascaping.. once they arranged it like they wanted I began working with their layout to build on.. I chose heavy stemmed plants and mosses that I could tied to my wood and rocks... Several swords and grasses also cam in to play.. eventually I won the war.
Thanks for the feedback. I think that more water changes is gonna be the key for pH and possibly getting rid of this Fluval substrate that I wish I had never used in the first place. Live and learn with regards to that. I would only recommend it for smaller planted tanks for anyone reading this. I had swords and thick stemmed plants but so far the fish keep smashing and rearranging them. Haven't tried mosses though like you suggested or tying anything down. Thanks again for the thoughts!