How To Lower Ph? help

brianc60

brianc60

Member
I HAVE SIX LARGE TURBO THAT HAVE DIED IN THE LAST 7-10 DAYS.
I have done two water changes since approx 15-12% I have a 72 bow w. wet dry, & bio balls skimmer,cannister with only carbon in it.
6/27 before change
ph 8.8
rite 0
rate 80
amm .25
after change 6-7 hrs later
ph 8.4
rite 0
rate 20
amm 0
on 6/29 did another 15-20%
ph 8.8
rite 0
rate 20
amm 0
on 6/30 did another test
ph 8.8
rite 0
rate 20
amm 0
I have two clowns ,1 pep shrimp, 7-8 scarlet crabs, 1 horse shoe crab and I had about 8 turbo. only 1 left.
What is wrong? tank was started 3/5/08, added cc on 4/14, 5/16 added clowns. what do i need to do?
 
prime311

prime311

Active Member
There's nothing wrong with 8.8 pH. Whats your Calcium and Alk at? They could've died from the high Ammonia and Nitrates.
 
xtreeme

xtreeme

Member
Most say 40 nitrate highest for fish. You had 80 when snails were dead. I think its the nitrate. Some have low salt thought only coral wanted higher.
If nitrate goes up again remove the bio. Many say they cause problems.
 
brianc60

brianc60

Member
How Or What Is Needed For A Calcium & Alk Test?
All I Have Is An Api Master Test Kit.
What Else Do I Need?
Thanks For All The Help
 
nordy

nordy

Active Member
The API Master Test Kit should have Ca and Alk tests in it-have you checked?
Your nitrates are definately too high and reading any ammonia at all I wonder is it from dead animals? an established tank should not have any ammonia at all, unless it's from dead livestock or major overfeeding.
On the bioballs, they are not "nitrate factories" as some people think, as long as you do simple regular cleaning of the bio-balls. What type of canister filter do you have? That too needs to be cleaned regularly, the media and the ******** of it as well. I would suggest removing the carbon, install a paper cartridge, and only run carbon as needed.
 
brianc60

brianc60

Member
MY API OMLY HAS PH,AMMONIA,NITRITE, NITRATE. How do I do the other tests or what type of kit do i need? The tank is only 4 mo old. I have a eheim pro II. I took out all the pads the last time and just put in a new carbon. I thought the pads were the culprit. As for the carbon, is it two much if I keep it in the wet dry & the cannister? Should I take the cannister out all together? I was just keeping it for flow but I could change that I guess. Also as soon as I see a snail that looks dead or seams dead I take it out. The only time that it would stay in for some time is at night. My tank is kept at work.
 
prime311

prime311

Active Member
Snails shouldn't die cause of a 1.021 SG. More then likely the high Nitrates or Ammonia was the problem. You shouldn't take the snails out even if you think they are dead. Not only might they not be dead, but if they are dead they'll just get eaten by the rest of your CUC.
 
brianc60

brianc60

Member
will not the dead snail raise ammonia?
I always thought that you should remove anything dead if you can find it. Is this not true?
 
prime311

prime311

Active Member
Unless your tank is overloaded, one dead snail won't give you any measurable level of ammonia. Aerobic bacteria should take care of it.
 
brianc60

brianc60

Member
so should I leave any dead snail or fish in the tank to let the crabs & fish it it in the future? I want to do the right thing. Right now only two fish
 
prime311

prime311

Active Member
If a Fish dies, take it out, thats a lot of waste to breakdown. You don't have to worry about a snail though, your CUC should take care of it in no time and you don't want to be removing stuff that might stil be alive from your tank. Stuff dies in fish tanks all the time, in the rock or other places where it isn't apparent, and no one removes that stuff. Thats why having a CUC and well cycled tank and lots of biological filtration(Live Rock, Skimmer, Wet/Dry) is important to maintaining water parameters.
 
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