# second opinions please



## 65galhex (Nov 5, 2008)

150 gal-
pH 6.5
ammo <.25
nitrate between 5-10 ppm
nitrite 0
kH 5
gH 7

55 gal-
pH 6.5
ammo .25
nitrate 5
nitrite 0
kH 5
gH 6

How do these test results look? the 150 has been up and running far longer than the 55. the kh/gh is what concerns me along with my ph. i also need to get that ammo to 0 nowish. yesterday would b good. lol


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

what's wrong with the ph, gh, and kh? only thing i see wrong with those results is the ammonia reading, but those could come out as zero if you tested again...


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## Plowboy (Apr 9, 2008)

65galhex said:


> ph 6.2
> ammo .25
> nitrites 0
> nitrates 35
> ...


The quotes are from some of his other threads.

His pH has been crashing. What's out of whack?

At first I was going to guess kh, but then he tested that and 5 should be fine?!?!

The nitrates jumped up really fast. Could it be organic matter messing it up? I donno


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

are you on city water? if so, its not unusual to have a drop like that since most water treatment facilities send out water with a really high ph to prevent the water from eating away at the pipes. sometimes its a good idea to age your water for a day or two before water changes.


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## 65galhex (Nov 5, 2008)

Yea I mean the params as they are are pretty ok but it was my ph dropping like that that scared me. And yea Joe I do have city water...... Where would I put 25 or so gal of water for 2 days? Is there another remedy?


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

buy a cheap rubbermaid storage container or garbage can and stick an airstone in there while it ages


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## 65galhex (Nov 5, 2008)

Really? Huh I never thought of that..... That was pretty obvious haha. Now what exactly will that do? Even out the water from a high to lower ph? It won't change gk/kh?


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

before you go out and set yourself up for that, you could do a small test... just fill a clean cup or bowl with tap water, test it, and let it sit out for a day, then test it again and see what your results are, if the ph drops like it has been in your tank, you'll know that's what is causing the drop


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## 65galhex (Nov 5, 2008)

Ok cool. So if that's the case then basically I need a buffer of some sort right? How would I go about fixing that? Like crushed coral?


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## Us And Them (Dec 4, 2008)

65galhex said:


> Ok cool. So if that's the case then basically I need a buffer of some sort right? How would I go about fixing that? Like crushed coral?


Yes , that is one way you Could do it. I just swapped alot of Coral out of my SUMP that was Settup for African Cichlids which require a Higher PH.

My pH sits Neutral all the time now , I would stay away from Any Type of Buffers , you need to add alot of it constantly. If Your Housing Piranha , a pH of 8.0 is waay to high 6.5 -7.5 is where you want to be.
Your fish will adapt.

It will probably Hurt your Fish more to Use pH BUFFER and than Not Using it as oppose to just letting your fish adapt to that Level all on its own. Mannies require softer pH but other than that I dont think any other P's are as sensitive to the change.


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## Trigga (Jul 1, 2006)

Yeah messing with ph especially lowering is tricky business... I'd do what go reccomended with aging the water and just going with it dude .. My water Is pretty hard (7.6) too but I just don't f*ck with it... They aren't breeding so they'll be fine.

I have heard however thar crushed coral in your filter will stabilize you ph.. A bit higher than you woul like nut at least it will be steady


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## Us And Them (Dec 4, 2008)

Trigga said:


> Yeah messing with ph especially lowering is tricky business... I'd do what go reccomended with aging the water and just going with it dude .. My water Is pretty hard (7.6) too but I just don't f*ck with it... They aren't breeding so they'll be fine.
> 
> I have heard however thar crushed coral in your filter will stabilize you ph.. A bit higher than you woul like nut at least it will be steady


^^^ agreed. Except , It had to go or Im certain that my manuelli would have eventually gone too , they just cant handle it for long periods of time.


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

i wouldn't worry about buffering it... i would just test your water like i said and then possibly age your water if you get a drop. the only thing that you really want to avoid is that sudden drop right after water changes, if that is happening because of the buffers that the city puts in to raise the ph, then the best way to deal with it is to just age your water.

i used to live in minneapolis and i knew a lot of people that live in st. paul, which has notoriously bad water for aquariums because the water comes out of the tap with a ph around 9 and then drops after you fill your tank down to around 7 or even lower. a lot of people ended up using r/o water, but i knew plenty of people that saved their money and just aged their water and things worked out great.


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## 65galhex (Nov 5, 2008)

Thanks guys... That makes a lot of sense. I will test my tap water overnight and then I will post an update... I will most likely have to do what joe said with aging the water.


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## philbert (Mar 8, 2007)

good luck post the test with the aged water.


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## 65galhex (Nov 5, 2008)

so i let the water sit over night and there was a very minor difference. it was 7.3 when i tested it out of the tap and it was maybe 7.2 when i just tested it now. which brings me to my next question....... how was my ph that low in the on tank then?


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

did you run an airstone to oxygenate?


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## 65galhex (Nov 5, 2008)

no....... :/ i only put it in a glass and let it chill overnight......i was prob supposed to.......god damnitttttt


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