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Hi, I am in need of some desperate help.

My tank's water is very unhealthy, the pH is 4.5, the kH is around 1. I have taken steps to increase the kH and I heard it will increase the pH too. I've added some stones that are supposed to increase kh. I've tried adding baking soda, but it isn't working. Am I adding too little (1 teaspoon per 10 litres)?

My plants also refuse to grow. I have 30W of lighting, no CO2 is pumped. They yellow out and die after a few days.

Please help me.

Thanks,
uzzy

any fish in the tank? that is very acidic water, and at the lfs there are ph risers, and if they are into fish alot they have ph rocks for african cichlids, which can help, try changing the water also.

How long ahs your tank been up? Have you or someone else put somethign foreign or new in the tank? How long have you had this problem? How long have you had this tank? Was there somethign else in this tank before you decided to put fish or plants in it? There is something seriously wrong with your tank if it has been continually low like that. Try giving some more specifics that would hlp us to help you because even if you put stuff in it to elp the pH it will jsut go righ tback to hat pH unless you fix the real problem.


Christina

My tank has been up for years, it ran pretty good at first, it could do a lot more than it can now, back that I used to notice that the pH dipped to four when the light have been off (planted tank), after a while, it will go back to 6 after the lights are on for a while). then it started its decline some months ago. Nobody has put anything foreign or new. There are only 3 Kissers left.

Could this be due to a lack of oxygen? Maybe my sand is vile and is causing the pH to be low? My goldfish tank does not have this problem, and it stays stable at 6, but then again, I've been using the same sand all along.

My guess would be hardness of the water, no?

You can raise the ph by adding Limestone.


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Maybe my sand is vile and is causing the pH to be low?.

This is what I would be looking at is it to fine for the plants to grow and have started to rot. What colour is the sand I mean as in clean new looking. Scoop some out right to the bottom and have a good look and smell, this will tell you if there is problems. You will very quickly know by the dark colour and a very smelly sand.

[link=Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tanks]http://photobucket.com/albums/b209/keithgh/Betta%20desktop%20tank/" style="COLOR: #00FF00[/link]


Keith

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There are a lot of sediments when I scoop the sand up. They are brown sediments.

How often do you do water changes? Old tank Syndrome can cause a serious drop in both kH and pH. Here is a page on that:
[link=http://www.bestfish.com/oldtank.html]http://www.bestfish.com/oldtank.html" style="COLOR: #00C000[/link]

---

~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

I added some bicarbonate of soda, and the ph went up to 7.5 and the kh went up to around 7. nice.

Hi,
In a tank that has been "set up for years" and has a
very low pH, you probably have what is called Old Tank
Syndrome (OTS). To confirm that, check your Nitrate
reading. It will probably be 100 or more.

Here is a link to OTS that tells you all about it, and
how to "fix" things.. A reminder, to things one at a time
and slowly. Suddenly shifting the pH from 4.5 to 6 or even
7 in less than a week will stress the fish something awful.

Link: [link=http://www.bestfish.com/oldtank.html]http://www.bestfish.com/oldtank.html" style="COLOR: #FF00FF[/link]

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

It was orange in colour... 25 mg/l