need help with water

[FishBlock]

OK I'm not having a good Monday, glad its almost over.
after breaking my thumb  on my right hand, I came home early from work today to see a couple of my angles not eating, and breathing heavy. only 2 of the 5 angles seem to be like this. the other 3 are acting normally, along with the rams, sword tails and cardinals.  after a painful to me 50% water change, i let the tank settle for a few hours and checked the water
looks like my PH is high at 8.0.,  
ammonia is 0ppm, nitrite 0ppm, nitrate 5ppm, water temp 78deg.
just for kicks i tested my tap water had 7.8 pH.

in the tank are silk plants, and a small piece of hard driftwood and large pebble river stone.

what can i do to bring the pH back into spec around 6.0?

[eklikewhoa]

Re: need help with water

Nothing without shocking them even more...

Was the tank at 6.0 before the water change?
You could get some RO/DI and slowly change it out.

[JStrider]

Re: need help with water

what PH does the water come out of your tap at?

they'll do fine at the 8.0 PH... the real key is to keep the PH stable, so its up at 8 now... so leave it there and if you really need to bring it back down, then do it slowly.

[FishBlock]

Re: need help with water

One of my  problems , I don't know what the pH was before. I just got the test kit from big Al's this morning. I want to say the pH was probably always 8.0.
I'm just wondering what could be taking out my fish. I've lost 3 rams and looks like I may loose 2 angles. I first noticed they hide and don't eat. start breathing fast (looks like lack of air) and they pass on (the 3 rams, each one about a week apart). none of the other fish seem to be affected......or so i though.

I do weakly water changes of about 40-50% clean one filter every other week. (2 emperor 400's) i just dunk and brush the filters in the tank water i remove never clean the biowheels, nothing gets cleaned in tap water. The water stays clear, and has  lots of surface movement,

[CichlidFan]

Re: need help with water

Do you have any air in the tank, like a sponge filter or bubble wand ...anything like that..>?

CF

[FishBlock]

Re: need help with water

no just the 2 emperor 400's. I'm not sure if its me, but this seems to have started after I got the l147 pleco and the piece of driftwood.
i added 2 bags of seachem purigen to remove any driftwood lichens.

[Nickintex]

Re: need help with water

If the fish seem to be breathing rapidly, sounds like stress and/or lock of oxygen. Like CF implied, you really should get some good aeration. Get a good air pump and several airstones in that tank and that should help.

[fishlady]

Re: need help with water

the rams really don't take well to the higher ph though.....they are more soft water fishies.....either you need to add more plants to soften it up .....or bring the ph down slowly for them......as for the angels....they can do well with either ph.....but they seem very stressed and i too agree with the need for more 02 in there for them......

[eklikewhoa]

Re: need help with water

I would stay away from fiddling with the pH right now.

I took it that you knew what your water's pH was before but since you didn't please do not attempt 6.0pH. Your fish are dieing probably cause of poor acclimation.

Are these new fish?

[FishBlock]

Re: need help with water

the angles i got around the first of Oct, after Ike came though. the last fish added were the sword tails about 2 weeks ago.
it seems the problem started around nov 4th with the rams, and one would die about a week apart. I know the rams and angles like softer water with lower pH I thought with the high pH could be stressing them? I'l have to pick up an air stone after work and try it.

[eklikewhoa]

Re: need help with water

Yes they prefer the lower pH but most if they have been brought in by the LFS then you are just causing more problems by fluctuating it.

There are not many LFS that will cater to the pH of the fish and sometimes it works out better that way cause it's less headache on the hobbyist end.

[FishBlock]

Re: need help with water

well, the fish came from ether Dan, or fishranch in Rosenberg. I'm not going to try and screw around with the pH then.
I'll pick up an air stone and add it to the tank tonight after work. anything else I could try for the fish?
this morning the one angle in question is sitting on the bottom of the tank, staying upright, but not swimming. again no interest in food.
I've also noticed two of my sword tails have been wiggling funny, and the female looks fat.....

[eklikewhoa]

Re: need help with water

You sure it's not ammonia problems?

[FishBlock]

Re: need help with water

my tests show no ammonia,  comes back yellow. i checked it again this morring.

[wesleydnunder]

Re: need help with water

I'd test the nitrite again. Nitrite poisoning inhibits the blood's ability to carry oxygen. Fish appear to be gasping while in the throes of nitrite poisoning. Also, since you've traced the problem to when you added the driftwood, I'd remove it, do a massive water change and see how the fish do. The wood may be leaching chemicals into the water. The addition of carbon after removing the wood will speed removal of any toxins. It doesn't sound to me like you have an oxygenation problem as 2 400s move considerable water over the surface. I agree with EK about the ph. I wouldn't monkey with the water chemistry.

Mark