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after my angels got sick i started to panic, started to test for all water conditions to find the fin rot culprit.

during the process, i found that pH went from 6.8 to 7.6. my tap water is about 7.8 and after i used co2, it slowly dropped to 6.8 last week. i did water change yesterday, about 25-30%, but i dont suppose that would boost the pH up to 7.6 ?!?!

when you guys change water, do you condition the new water so it has the same pH level? doesnt the co2 constantly dropping pH? in this case, wouldnt my pH just go up and down between water changes? this is bad for fish right??

What is your kh, and are you using diy co2 or pressurized?

Yes, ph swings aren't good for fish. If your kh is high enough, and you're only doing 25% water changes, it shouldn't change that much though. I do 25% water changes in my 75 gallon frequently and run pressurized co2 with a kh of 5 degrees - the tank water is 6.8-7.0 and the tapwater is 7.7....maybe a .05-.1 ph change if any is all I experience...mostly it doesn't change at all though.

Hi,
I too run bottled CO2 24/7/365.
I keep my KH above 3 at about 5.
I do 10% weekly water changes and have no troubles
with ill fish after the change. Nor do I do anything
to the water except dump some chlorine/chloramine
remover into the tank as I add the replacement water.
Ph during that evolution rarely changes more than .2.

For that radical a difference, your KH must be too
low. The low KH prevents the water from buffering the
change of the pH with the addition of CO2, or new water.

To raise just your KH add regular, unscented, baking
soda to the water, a tablespoon, at a time. Be sure
to give the tank circulation time to mix it before
adding a second or third (etc.) tablespoon.

Note... with a low KH a small amount of CO2 will
make a larger difference in your pH. When you raise
your KH to more acceptable levels, you will find that
it takes more CO2 to obtain the desired pH and
subsequent CO2 saturation level as the water buffers
the shift to the acid side of neutral.

Frank


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

I've kept Altums, Discus, Rummy nose, Cardinals, otto cats, shrimps, and I do 50%-70% weekly changes with tap which is 3 KH. I do nothing nor have I for tap water other than the same temp and the dechlorinator.

FYI, many lakes and ponds with heavy plant growth have pH variations of 2-3 full units every day.

pH change due to CO2 within 5-30ppm or less does not adversely affect fish as long as it it occurs over an hour or so etc.

Too much CO2 is bad, but the pH change itself due to CO2 level changes itself has never caused a single illness or fish death to date.

I'd have sick and dead fish for the last 15 years otherwise.

Regards,
Tom Barr

my kh is 6-7 degrees... i am thinking maybe it was because the co2 started to run low?? i just replaced it with a new batch of mixture lastnight. hope that wont be a bad thing.

DIY requires maintenance and changes, I use to change weekly rather than every 2 weeks.
But with gas tanks, I never have to worry about the production and flow of CO2.

Fin rot and most diseases etc can be addressed with large weekly water changes(which plants like also), good food and not cramping the fish and allowing room.

Regards,
Tom Barr

i did a test for nitrate, i was so shocked, because i havent tested it for a while, but i always do regular changes, but it was up and over 200!!!!

so i did 25% change immediately nothing happened
yesterday, i did 15% change every 2 hours or so, still nothing!!
today, i did two 30% changes already, still, 200++!!!!

Green,
Take a water sample into your LFS and have them
check it too. That much of a water change should
have made a difference in your nitrate reading.
Perhaps your Reagents have gone bad/are out of date.

With DIY CO2, there is little or no control over
the production. It goes like a bat out of ....
for the first little bit and then gradually tapers
off to nothing. If you try to regulate the output
by restricting the line, then you run the risk of
explosion (at the worst) or leaking connections at
the least.

As Tom (Plantbrain) and I mentioned, we use bottled
gass with a regulator so that we have a constant
CO2 saturation within our tanks.


Frank


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