New 180g Tank Mysteries....

[Cliff.W.]

Hey MFK Gang!!

So this is my new 180g tank. The tank has been cycling for atleast 2 weeks with 11 blacm tetra's inside and i have tested the water in the tank for a week with results showing below everytime:

PH 8.2 to 8.4
Ammonia 0
Nitrtrite 0
Nitrate 5ppm

When i first got the tank filled with new primed water I took one of my established AC110's and placed it on the 180g to start cycling with 12 gold fishes, then later i added a Fluval404 on the 180g after a week. The tank cycled going through the ammonia Spike.... then the Nitrite spike.... and then to the point where i only got Nitrates. So 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrites, and 5ppm nitrates and ofcourse I've lost some gold fishes along the way but I'm getting nothing but nitrates! Yay! My tank is cycled I thought and my tank is good to go! I netted up the gold fishes out and went ahead placing 4 clown loaches into the 180g with some PVC tubes for them to hide. 2 days later the Clowns were acting very strange not swimming much and eventually a clown loach died. I took out the rest and took them to my LFS to have them cared for until I figure out the problem with my water. I went to Big Al's asked... and bought 11 Black Tetra's since I was told they are hardier fish and dont' die easily. When i got home I did a 30% water change and tested water params the water showed a PH of 7.6 I then slowly introduced the black tetras into the 180g. The next day I tested the water again and the PH went back up to 8.2.

So the PH is the mystery that I just can't seem to understand or figure out why the PH is always rising... Whats odd is I do the same maintenance with the 75g to my 180g and my 75g's PH would never reach or touch 8... The Tank is Bare with nothing but the essentials... and I know taht Prime raises PH levels but would prime raise PH over night?? Cause I get 7.6 after WC and then 8.4 the next morning.

I am stumped..... The Black Tetra's are still in the 180g and they all seem to be doing great swimming a lot and eating flakes. I have my CL's at the LFS and I'm afraid to bring them back to my 180 since the PH is soo high. Also I'm not sure if my RTG can survive in fluctuating ph lvls when i do WC's from 7.4 to 8.4+ overnight.

This is off topic(But Funny ) and is what the Asians are telling me from the LFS but I think its just a sales pitch. Apparently 4 Asian Aro's have died in the tank in the past but I only think that that the owner didn't know how to care and maintain and thats why the aro's all died. But the LFS tells me that the tank is bad luck calling it 'The Black Tank Theory' where everything will die inside the tank eventually. He then later told me to buy some koi's to put into my 180g tank for good luck along with a good point that kois thrive in high PH lvls. I thought that was funny, laughed and declined the idea. I dont suppose anyone here has Also heard of black tanks? or tanks transfering residue? or anything that might effect the quality of the water???

Thanks for reading guys! Any idea's, comments and similar experiences/stories are welcomed.

SIDE VIEW The White hazy water is probably due to the Ceramic Media in the AC110.

 

[Arowana1]

Seems your tank has got an aura that producing some bad mojo. I used to play baseball and frequently go sport fishing both of which can be very superstitious. I' would say like the others have said put a good luck charm in if the good luck bad luck thing is bothering you.

For the pH I would recommend putting in some drift would to act as a buffer to keep your tank more acidic.

 

[Rgaray5396]

I've hear about the black tank.. but instead of black I was told dark. didn't really cared...lol..

my fish haven't died for the past year in the scary tank.

 

[Cliff.W.]

Seems your tank has got an aura that producing some bad mojo. I used to play baseball and frequently go sport fishing both of which can be very superstitious. I' would say like the others have said put a good luck charm in if the good luck bad luck thing is bothering you.

For the pH I would recommend putting in some drift would to act as a buffer to keep your tank more acidic.

yah I dont believe in that Bad mojo stuff.... for a fish tank? the Spirit of a dead Super Red coming back to kill more tank mates? I dont believe that... that previous owner had 1 SR, 1 XB and 2 RTG in the tank and did WC's once every 3weeks. I think he just didnt' care for the ARo's and the SR fought all the Aro's to a corner and they all eventually died.. BTW the 11Black Tetra's are totally fine and have been for over a week now. I think the gold fishes and Clowns were just a bad choice of fish that i chose in the first place to test out the tank.

with the Driftwood idea i've asked and apparently unless i fill the whole entire tank with drift the PH won't be affected that much.... unless i go for almond leaves but that will tan the water. But what I really want to find out is what is causing PH rises???

 

[Cliff.W.]

I've hear about the black tank.. but instead of black I was told dark. didn't really cared...lol..

my fish haven't died for the past year in the scary tank.

haha yah... i dont know about a dark tank or black tank.... Haunted houses? YES i believe there are and i would never live in one... but for a fish tank I dont know.... maybe... I've still got some fight in me to not beleive in a spirit of a fish coming back to kill some more. I believe if the PH is right and params are good there should be no reason as to why fish won't survive in the tank. Plus the Black tetra's are thriving atm... 11 of 11 so far. Lets hope it keeps up that way.

 

[Arowana1]

Until you can find out what is going on and what is keeping your pH that high I would look for something to lower the pH for you. Drift wood has worked for me although it was not the aquarium store kind I was collecting it from our ranches pond that was a black water pond that has a low pH for the area.

You may want to look into pH tablets I have not used them in a very long time however you put them in and they keep your tank at a certain pH level if my recollection serves me correctly.

Mojo thing that's up to you weather that's of any worth or not.

 

[Cliff.W.]

Until you can find out what is going on and what is keeping your pH that high I would look for something to lower the pH for you. Drift wood has worked for me although it was not the aquarium store kind I was collecting it from our ranches pond that was a black water pond that has a low pH for the area.

You may want to look into pH tablets I have not used them in a very long time however you put them in and they keep your tank at a certain pH level if my recollection serves me correctly.

Mojo thing that's up to you weather that's of any worth or not.

PH tablets huh? So it kinda works like the heater pretty much? but with PH? Will keep PH at a certain lvl and keep it that way? That sounds great.... i'll ask for it at Big Al's tomorrow and see waht they say.

And yes the MOJO thing is to each is own. I didn't mean to sound degrading to anyone's idea or opinions. I apprecite the reply's and comments thank you.

For me right now I believe there has to be something in the tank thats raising PH levels and i want to find out.

 

[Arowana1]

The pH tablets I have not used since 1997. I used them for lowering the pH for Discus you can look I'm not sure if they are still around. Good luck though!

 

[rhodes_96]

Test the kh / gh of your water.
odds are it's above 6-7 dkh. Two weeks of cycling maybe you need more time. I would re test the water in a few days just to makes sure parameters are still ok
You could try some acid buffering products or some plants and driftwood, and or wait till your bio filtration matures more.
I have bb tanks that the ph always rises maybe 0.1-0.2 after a water change even when the change water has been buffered for more than 24hours. I allow for this in the buffering process so ph is fine and will stay within parameters until my next water change.

Good luck with the black tank.

 

[Helangkawi]

is it because of the glasses? i mean the material for that glass some make a chemical effect?