lipadj46
07-06-2013, 11:56 AM
So it has been rainy here, really rainy and does not look like it will let up any time soon. Normally our water is soft, GH=0-1, KH=1-2 and TDS is around 80 ppm or so (water from the hudson river). My fish have been acting funny the past few days and this morning I saw my BGK was shedding some slime, never saw that before. I normally never test pH but after my other tests were fine I checked really quick with the API test and it was yellow, normally it is green/blue (pH=6.8-7.0), so I used a pH strip and it looked somewhere around 4 or 5! I pulled out a pH meter and calibrated it and it was not giving a reliable reading in the tank or my tap, normally I see this in the lab with distilled water. Then I checked the GH and KH and they were reacting after one drop was added. Finally I dug up my TDS tester and calibrated that and wowsers, my TDS was 19 ppm out of the tap and 23 ppm in the tank! So I did a water change and added some baking soda to raise the KH to 3 and added a GH booster to raise the GH to 2, then I added some salt to get the TDS to around 120-130ppm.
pH is around 7.2 now and the fish are noticeably better. I've never had to add anything to my discus water in the past until now. I'm a bit stressed because I'm going away for 3 weeks at the end of the month to take a graduate physics course and my wife is taking care of the fish. I was planning on her doing weekly water changes (she won't do daily like I do) and feeding sparingly. I've often left my tank for a week at a time but never this long. I'm going to keep an eye on my water more closely now and figure out a plan for my wife when I'm gone (she's going to love that LOL!).
I'm guessing I need to get an all in one remineralizer, I'm guessing either Kent or the Seachem. Maybe I will just make my own. Glad I caught things in time!
pH is around 7.2 now and the fish are noticeably better. I've never had to add anything to my discus water in the past until now. I'm a bit stressed because I'm going away for 3 weeks at the end of the month to take a graduate physics course and my wife is taking care of the fish. I was planning on her doing weekly water changes (she won't do daily like I do) and feeding sparingly. I've often left my tank for a week at a time but never this long. I'm going to keep an eye on my water more closely now and figure out a plan for my wife when I'm gone (she's going to love that LOL!).
I'm guessing I need to get an all in one remineralizer, I'm guessing either Kent or the Seachem. Maybe I will just make my own. Glad I caught things in time!