celeriman

Hi folks, I'm surprised and confused, I just tested my water parameters and my GH=2. One week ago it was at 12. (tested twice and it is really 2)

I'm trying to understand what happened, since it doesn't make sense that GH drops without a water change...
About two weeks ago this is what I did:

• Added Zeo-carb (active carbon+ammonia remover media for filter)
• Added Seachem alkaline buffer (to raise KH and PH).
• Added 5 cherry shrimps
• Have a LOT of small snails (I believe they are Physa marmorata)

Any ideas?

water parameters : (ph:6.8, nh4=0, nitrite=0, nitrate=80, kh=4, gh=2)

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2 Tanks, 2 dwarf african frogs, many platys, many red cherry shrimps, 2 amano shrimps, 2 Neritina, many snails. Many plants.

Jay

Hey celeriman...

It would be helpful if you could provide a little more information.

Please review this sticky post...

http://www.fishtankforums.com/5-fres...ting-help.html (Getting Help)

My guess is the zeo carb, it lowers GH.

Why are you using an ammonia reducing chemical in a planted tank? I assume you have a good reason to use an alkaline buffer but without a good set of tank parameters I cannot help .

Ah...I did not see the little print with the numbers. Your Nitrate is way too high that will also eat up your GH. I would do a substantial water change or changes to get it down into the 20 range if heavily planted, 10 if only a few plants.

Jay

celeriman

Thanks for answering quickly!
I'm using Zeocarb because my substrate is producing a lot of ammonia. After 2 month, ammonia was still at more than 8mg/L (dark-green color!). That's why I decided to try this chemical. It helps a lot.. but I hope it's the last time I have to use it.

Alright! Today I did a water change.. I'll do another water test later.. But I was wondering if my GH has dropped because of the many growing snails? Do snails absorb calcium to build their shells?

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2 Tanks, 2 dwarf african frogs, many platys, many red cherry shrimps, 2 amano shrimps, 2 Neritina, many snails. Many plants.

Jay

Tell us your not kidding here...

You have a lot of contributing factors that will lower GH...but

you tell us your ammonia (NH3) is 8 mg/l and yet you have no NH4, and the ammonia is coming from the substrate?

If I assume a temperature of 78f, according to EPA studies the amount of NH3 would be lethal within an hour of exposure and death of half of the critters in the tank in 4 days. Yet you have cherry shrimp that are susceptible to high NO3 and clearly could not survive that much NH3.

What is this toxic substrate? I cannot understand your numbers.

Jay

celeriman

I know we're getting far from the initial subject, and it's becoming obvious that my nitrate level is too high.. but still I forgot to give my thorough tank information:



aquarium.xls
(with Excel maintenance table and picture (few weeks old))

n759694151_2088121_6200.jpg

What size is the tank? 36"x12"x18", ~25gallons
How long has the tank been set up and running for? 2 month now
How many fish do you have, and what are they? No fish, a lot of snails (from plants), 5x cherry shrimps added 1st of march 2009
What is your Ammonia level? 0
What is your Nitrite level? 0
What is your Nitrate level? 160!
What is your pH? 6.8
What is your KH? 3
What is your GH? 8
What is the temperature? 72F
What type of filtration do you use? External fluval 304
How often do you change the filtration media? never yet
How often do you perform water changes? Only when needed
How often and how much do you feed your tank? never
What chemicals do you dose in your tank? Seachem alkaline buffer, Cycle bacteria, Zeocarb
Where do you gather your water from, and what conditioners do you use on it? Reverse Osmosis from grocery store, no conditioners
What is your Phosphate level? I don't know
What is your Iron level? I don't know
What is your CO2 level? I don't know
What Type of lighting do you use? 1x T5HO 3900Lumens
How long are the lights on each day? 12 hours

I used Schultz Aquatic soil, some people (on the internet) use it and I decided to try it too. It was a mistake if you ask me...

Edit: thought my shrimps were all dead, but I just saw one a few minutes ago... still I need to do more water changes...

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2 Tanks, 2 dwarf african frogs, many platys, many red cherry shrimps, 2 amano shrimps, 2 Neritina, many snails. Many plants.

Jay

I agree about the Shultz substrate. There are lots of reports out there in the planted tank community about wacky water parameters using the product.

Just some comments on your parameters chart...

If you are adding RO water to the tank without restoring its GH, you are going to alter your parameters. This is another cause of your GH falling. It is also keeping your KH down. I would get some GH booster like Seachem Equilibrium and use it in the RO water.

Obviously your Nitrates are out of control.

Your filter media needs to be cleaned on a regular basis otherwise it becomes a Nitrate factory.

Regular water changes need to be tied to a routine, say weekly, or to your Nitrate level. As Nitrates rise so do other unmeasurable pollutants. I would pick a target Nitrate level say 20ppm and change the water 25%.

If you can, I would swap out the Shultz, and replace it with something else as I think it may continue to cause you problems.

The rest of the parameters are OK as far as I can see.

Jay

celeriman

Done!

I played it safe, I used sand and gravel. Thank you

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2 Tanks, 2 dwarf african frogs, many platys, many red cherry shrimps, 2 amano shrimps, 2 Neritina, many snails. Many plants.

louistheloach

wow......is there any chance the 160ppm nitrates could be wrong......I just dont see how you could have anything left alive in your tank with that high of nitrates......


Jay, is it possible it could be a false read because of the type of substrate....

ltl

jay, should have read your response a little better.....already addressed the nitrate death thing.

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125 gallon planted freshwater community
Rainbows, loaches, Corys, Rasboras, Featherfin Synodontis, SAE's, Ottos, Bristlenose