Ph Drops and fish bubbles..

[Marco164]

Hey Guys,

So im finding my ph after 24H in my barrel is at the 7.2PH but what im having happen is my tank is dropping the ph down to 6.8-6.9 after another 10ish hours. I do 90% water changes a day but Could this be from ammonia build up in the tank - Tank is a 15gal - 15 fish - Bare bottom with airstone, a Fuval 2 pump for circulation and bacteria. Fish also seem to eat well, but are a bit bothered i can tell, They sometimes excrete a bubble or 2 and have that through the gills so can that be from getting air while eating or related to the ph and water. It is winter here and my water seems fairly soft but the Chlorine use is strong enough to smell(i had a 1/2 closed lid on my barrel at first but had to stop as the gas coming out was trapping in that zone) actually smelled like a public swimming pool...So could my water also still have chlorine after the 24H? I do have prime i could try using or Aqua safe while adding water...Would you ad this to the barrel(Even if not all is going to be used up in one shot? )

[DJW]

Are you using an airstone in the ageing barrel? Aeration (or circulation + aeration) is needed to get the pH to its aged level, and to add oxygen and displace the chlorine gas.

Most people use Prime unless they are certain their city doesn't also add chloramine, which is commonly added, and which doesn't dissipate like chlorine does.

What kind of fish? I don't know what to say about the bubbles, but they would not be related to the pH.

[Cosmo]

Hey Guys,

So im finding my ph after 24H in my barrel is at the 7.2PH but what im having happen is my tank is dropping the ph down to 6.8-6.9 after another 10ish hours. I do 90% water changes a day but Could this be from ammonia build up in the tank - Tank is a 15gal - 15 fish - Bare bottom with airstone, a Fuval 2 pump for circulation and bacteria. Fish also seem to eat well, but are a bit bothered i can tell, They sometimes excrete a bubble or 2 and have that through the gills so can that be from getting air while eating or related to the ph and water. It is winter here and my water seems fairly soft but the Chlorine use is strong enough to smell(i had a 1/2 closed lid on my barrel at first but had to stop as the gas coming out was trapping in that zone) actually smelled like a public swimming pool...So could my water also still have chlorine after the 24H? I do have prime i could try using or Aqua safe while adding water...Would you ad this to the barrel(Even if not all is going to be used up in one shot? )

I'm really hoping you're not keeping 15 Discus in a 15 gal tank unless they are young fry.

Sounds like you don't have enough Kh, or buffer, in your water and the respiratory waste of the fish is causing the Ph to crash - Low Kh in soft water can do that. ALWAYS add prime at the recommended dosage to tap or well water - if you're smelling chlorine and not using an anit-chlor your fish will become very stressed. There are different means of increasing Ph, I use Kent Ph Stable but it seems that's getting hard to find. Seachem also makes makes a product maybe others can tell you about.

[Marco164]

Yes aeration stone in the Aging barrel and in The fish tank too. They are young Discus And Yes Cosmo - they are about 1.5" I am waiting for my 60gallon(Which i ordered to be here last friday and murphys law was a no show and should be here this week coming up) As i do want to upgrade them into at least 30Gal of volume now to move and grow. It is low KH at i think 60-80 and my Gh was i think 40(Should write these things down as i just checked it a little ago) I will look for a stable buffer maybe in store. I have added Prime now to my aging barrel To fight Chloramine as my water comes from a Creek in the hills im sure they pump it FULL of everything as it sometimes gets stuff that makes it not drinkable (Fun times when ya pay for non drinkable water)

[Cosmo]

Yes aeration stone in the Aging barrel and in The fish tank too. They are young Discus And Yes Cosmo - they are about 1.5" I am waiting for my 60gallon(Which i ordered to be here last friday and murphys law was a no show and should be here this week coming up) As i do want to upgrade them into at least 30Gal of volume now to move and grow. It is low KH at i think 60-80 and my Gh was i think 40(Should write these things down as i just checked it a little ago) I will look for a stable buffer maybe in store. I have added Prime now to my aging barrel To fight Chloramine as my water comes from a Creek in the hills im sure they pump it FULL of everything as it sometimes gets stuff that makes it not drinkable (Fun times when ya pay for non drinkable water)

Jeez Marco .. creek water with unknown and undrinkable contents.. you've got your hands full! You may be better off sticking with the daily water changes rather than messing with your water chemistry with buffers, especially if your creek water tends to change often. The bigger tank should go a long way in helping your issue and messing with buffers can kill your fish if you're not really careful. Keep your ph as stable as possible and keep us posted :)

[Akili]

Jeez Marco .. creek water with unknown and undrinkable contents.. you've got your hands full! You may be better off sticking with the daily water changes rather than messing with your water chemistry with buffers, especially if your creek water tends to change often. The bigger tank should go a long way in helping your issue and messing with buffers can kill your fish if you're not really careful. Keep your ph as stable as possible and keep us posted :)Good Advice.

[Marco164]

Thanks Guys, I will do, Also didnt think about the feeding heavy of a Freeze dried thing could cause them to act bloated when rehydrating Which of course i have been feeding pretty heavy and wondering why they Eat like maniacs but then look like there In stress after a few too. So am going to make my feedings smaller and a bit of time inbetween adding more food in for them to adjust to what they have processed. I agree with the Water volume i think it should help stabilize better plus Not overload as quick so im hounding my Fish tank guy lol. And yeah the Water is a fun one Creek water for the city im in has its fun times! this new treatment plant they put in seems to have made it so its not filled with sand at least! lol

[bluelagoon]

If you are going to use a 30 gal. for 15 discus.You might want to consider changing 100% the water two-three times a day,every day.In a few weeks if things go right you are going to be needing a much bigger tank.I wouldn't even attempt to raise that many discus in 30 gal. tank.

[MD.David]

Imo; you need a 55gallon very soon, (but you already said you have one coming so your fine).
With your water, I would have a duel 3 stage water filter system. This would help minimize the possible exposure to problems. I may also consider doing 90% RO with 10% very filter tap water and add some trace minerals and a pinch of RO right.
Unless you PH is very low, or very high and/or crashing (large sudden drop in PH), I may consider 100% RO with trace minerals, RO right and/or "API proper PH 7.5"... But I would use buffers as a total last resort... However, your water issue I would try to figure out the very best stae way and the very least chemicals as possible.
Best of luck mate!
Cheers,