# water problems



## blair (Jul 6, 2005)

I have three problems:

1) I lose fish about twice a month,
2) I can't seem to keep my pH low enough, and
3) I am extremely fishtank lazy.

I know (for my 10 gallon freshwater tank) I don't change the water often enough, and I rarely vacuum the rocks. I have read that a partial water change is necessary, at a minimum, once a week. This seems excessive to me - is this accurate? One of the reasons for my tank neglect is that I am scared to add my tap water. I think it is rather harsh and high in chlorine. I once resorted to buying gallons from the grocery store, but that angers the lady. When I do a chemical test for ammonia, all appears well. My pH appears to be consistently high, but I am not sure how high. When I check the color against the color-code strip, it lands on the strong blue; however, this is a very crude method, and it brings me to my second question: are digital pH meters recommended, and is there one in particular which balances performace and price? Lastly, if my ammonia level is low and my pH consistent, are there any other factors which could periodically cost me a fish?

Thanks,
blair


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## Guest (Jul 6, 2005)

How long has your tank been set up?
Other things that may affect your fish is NitrAtes, NitrItes, and low oxygen levels. For the pH, have you tried testing the pH of the water that comes out of the tap? There are some chemicals that they sell that brings down the pH levels in tap water. Theres also a tap water conditioner you can add that gets rid of the harshness of tap water. 
You should do a water change every week to two weeks. It'll get rid of any rotting waste and food that might be stuck under the gravel, which can mess with the levels in your water. If left too long, bad bacteria begin to grow, making your fish sick. 
Oh...Thats another thing....Do you notice anything different about your fish? Any kind of skin lesons, white spots, or anything?


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## blair (Jul 6, 2005)

The tank has been running for a while - maybe 6 months. The water is filtered through a Penguin Bio-Wheel 125, for what's it worth.
I have a bottle of pH-Down, and I use it whenever I test the water (since it always turns up high), but I hesitate to use it too often. 
The fish never seem unhealthy to me, before they die. The last one was an algae eater. I wonder if he died from lack of algae? The others from boredom?


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

Agreed we need more info about your tank......
Tank size
Tank Temp
Filtration
Fish type and how many of each
PH
GH
KH
Nh3 (ammonia)
No2 (nitrite)
No3 (nitrate)


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## fishfreaks (Jan 19, 2005)

if your fish tank lazy you shouldnt have one! So get that butt on a roll and do what they ^ said :-D im not trying to be mean, but when it comes to fish there is no laziness


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## Guest (Jul 6, 2005)

You can take a sample of the water and have it tested at a pet store for free! And Free is good


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## blair (Jul 6, 2005)

Simpte said:


> Agreed we need more info about your tank......
> Tank size
> Tank Temp
> Filtration
> ...


Tank size: I snuck this into my original post - 10 gallons
Tank temp: ~73-75 f
Filtration: is the Bio-Wheel that I mentioned earlier
Fish type: One of those translucent catfish types (about 1.5 inches), an algae eater (I had 2, this one is ~2 inches), a 1-inch fish (silver in color with a black tail - don't know what he is), and a 1-inch fish (a bit yellowish in color - hind section is partially see-through)
pH: I am not good at judging it using the color-coding strip. I'd like to get a recommendation for a digital meter. Perhaps it is near 7.5 or 8.
GH: huh?
KH: wha?
Nh3: quite low. The solution gives a yellow tone that matches somewhere near the bottom of the color chart.
No2: eh?
No3: dunno.

I apologize that my knowledge and information are both so poor on this subject. This is why I come to you.


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## mlefev (Apr 19, 2005)

Ok your tank size is probably ok. 

Temp is probably a bit cold if the smaller fish are tropical fish. Always ask the people at the pet store what temp the fish you buy usually live in

Filtration should be ok

The 2 one inch fish you mention are most likely community fish. They don't do well without others of the same type in the tank. Even the catfish you have might need a buddy or 2. I'm not saying to go out and buy a bunch of fish to add though. A 10 gallon tank can only handle 10-15 one inch fish...and you should have live plants to keep over 10 fish in the tank. I'm not familiar with the type of fish you're describing. You might go to http://www.aquariumfish.net and see if you can identify them through the fish they have for sale.

pH: 7.5 is a tiny bit high, but not really harmful to most fish. Mine is at about 7.0-7.4 depending on the water I'm using. It hurts them much worse to have a large swing in pH than to have a steady pH that's a little high. People on here have suggested adding a piece of driftwood to lower pH naturally.

GH and KH...I have to say huh? wha? here too.

Nh3 - that's great! You always want it very low. near the bottom of the color chart.

Nh3 converts to No2 I believe, then to No3. If your tank is running properly the ammonia will convert to nitrites then nitrates (I think. I hope I didn't get it backward again). If your Nh3 is low however, you probably are doing ok with your chemical balance, but you might buy a more detailed test kit ($20-$30) that you use a test tube and chemical drops in instead of test strips.

Your main problem may be that the different types of fish you have don't live in the same climate. 73 is on the low end for most fish. If you do plan on buying more, ask the pet store clerk what lives well at 75-77 degrees so you don't have problems there.

Also...CLEAN YOUR TANK...lol. I've only known one person that had a tank set up well enough that they didn't need to clean it all the time. Do partial water changes (about 2 gallons) at least weekly, and vaccum out the gravel at least 2x per month. I actually clean my gravel every time I change the water, since I have to take it out anyway, I figure I might as well suck up some of the junk in the bottom while I'm at it. Once you get used to doing it, it only takes 10 minutes tops.

I also saw that you said your water has chlorine in it (and that could be what's killing most of your fish). There are lots of products that will eliminate chlorine from your water. If you don't want to buy that, leave 2-3 gallons of tap water open on a table for a day or 2. The chlorine will evaporate on its own.

Good Luck


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## MyraVan (Jan 19, 2005)

My recommendations are:
#1. Don't use pH-Down. Those pH changers change the pH too fast, and it stresses your fish. A pH of 7.5-8 is just fine, as long as it's stable. (If you want to breed fish and your fish requite lower pH to breed then you can start worrying about pH being lower, but if you just want your fish to LIVE, then 7.5 to 8 is fine. Our tanks are 7.8 due to hard water and we haven't lost a fish or other animal since last November, and this is with starting up two new tanks in the meantime!)

#2. Use tap water conditioner. I used Tetra AquaSafe since it fully neutralizes both chlorine and chloramine. If your water company uses chlorine, then leaving the water to sit for a few days will work, but if it uses chloramine, this won't break down. See
http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/rev-cond.htm
for more info.

#3. As recommended above, do a water change with gravel vacuuming at least twice a month. I agree with changing at least 2 gallons with every water change.

#4. Also as mentioned above, find out what your fish are, and if they are the scholing kind (I can almost guarantee they are) then get friends for them. Make sure you have at least 3 (better is 6 or more) of any schooling fish. If you get friends for all your schooling fish you may end up with too many fish, so you may have to give away one or more of your fish to keep from having too many fish.

And then you will have a happy healthy tank and won't lose any fish!


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## blair (Jul 6, 2005)

Thanks for the great replies. I have only a few quick comments: I have (almost) always bought my fish in two's and three's but, sadly, I am only left with the ones at hand. Perhaps though my water has reached a settling point and I can add some friends. I don't know why I lost the algae eater though. I flushed him only yesterday.
I assumed my temperature was ok because it is within the green. My thermometer has a green section from 68-78 and my temp is closer to the high (~75 at the moment). Maybe it should remain and the top of the green section?
Lastly, how are people reporting their pH values with such precision? I wrote here that my pH was 7.5 to 8, but that really could be way off. In fact I believe my solution's color is off the chart and the chart only goes to 7.6. I also worry about sticking my arm down into the tank to fill up the test tube. I don't want to simply skim water off the top, so that I get a proper water sample. Do I contaminate the water doing so? Do people not use digital meters for these readings?

Thanks again,
blair


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

Mlefev and Myra got it right (though the only good amount of ammonia is 0 ammonia). It sounds like a bunch of smaller stressful issues that = big problems combined. Ammonia is bad. Toxic to fish which is one issue. The water temp is a little low but I doubt thats causing the problems. I'm leaning towards No2 (nitrite) which is extremely toxic to fish even at lower levels. Adding some aquarium salt will help deal with this issue since your tank is not cycled (the main cause). No3 (nitrate) is probably high also. Add these 3 elements (uncycled tank, dirty water and a slightly low temp) and I can see why you are having problems. Get a test kit. It will be cheaper than purchasing the reagents seperately. In the meantime have your lfs test the water. Find out what type of fish you have. This is critical. I cannot stress this enough. Purchasing unidentified fish is a big no no. You don't know if they are compatible, or will even fit in your tank.


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## MyraVan (Jan 19, 2005)

blair said:


> Lastly, how are people reporting their pH values with such precision?


Test kits with liquid reagents. In a strange way I find them fun to use -- I get to pretend I'm a chemist or something, with the test tubes and eyedroppers and regents and stuff. I second Simpte's recommendation to get the full test kit. I have the Aquarium Pharmecuticals one, which has tests for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH. I'm sure that any of the usual brands will work well.


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## awesome kid (Jun 10, 2005)

I use eyedroppers because i only have to stick my fingers in (and sometimes not even that!) liquid reagents are the easiest to use (in my opinion)


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## Guest (Jul 7, 2005)

What kind of algae eater was it(if you can remember)? I went through 3 algae eaters before getting the one I had. All times they died my tank levels where good. You might have just gotten a weak/old fish that couldn't take the stress of being moved and plunked into another tank.


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## Lexus (Jan 19, 2005)

MyraVan said:


> My recommendations are:
> #1. Don't use pH-Down. Those pH changers change the pH too fast, and it stresses your fish. A pH of 7.5-8 is just fine, as long as it's stable. (If you want to breed fish and your fish requite lower pH to breed then you can start worrying about pH being lower, but if you just want your fish to LIVE, then 7.5 to 8 is fine. Our tanks are 7.8 due to hard water and we haven't lost a fish or other animal since last November, and this is with starting up two new tanks in the meantime!)
> 
> #2. Use tap water conditioner. I used Tetra AquaSafe since it fully neutralizes both chlorine and chloramine. If your water company uses chlorine, then leaving the water to sit for a few days will work, but if it uses chloramine, this won't break down. See
> ...


I agree with all of this


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