I noticed that my pH was on the low side and I dosed 3tbs of pH buffer to my 75 gal system and killed a clown, damsel, and a coral beauty. The remaining two, a clown and another damsel are still alive but refuse to eat or leave their hiding places.....I ran a check tonight and all of my chem parameters are fine. The pH drop happened four days ago. What do I need to do to a) help the fish I have and B) get ready for new fish later. HELP
Did you check Alkalinity? Also, 3tbs is a lot all at once, it would be better to dose a little at a time, maybe 1/2tbs twice a day dissolved in a little freshwater, over three days. Remember, only bad things happen fast in this hobby. Could you post your test results? Salinity, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, alkalinity, pH. Go ahead and throw in phosphate and calcium if you have the kit. Oh, and measure the pH at the same time of day you did when you got the low number (and what was your low number?). We will try our best to help you out.
What did your ph drop to? You have to be very careful when using buffers because it is the fluctuations in ph that most likely killed your fish. Chemistry in your aquarium is relative - meaning that specific values are only indicators of optimal conditions with reference to the natural ocean. I was surprised that for the past month or two the temperatures in my new 90 gallon tank rose to a range of 82-86 after my chiller was out for repair. In anyone elses tank a temperature of 86 would kill fish but because I have a highly oxygenated tank due to increased surface area this is not a problem. Ph will fluctuate normally in a tank with night and day as well. The other night I was looking with a flash light at my tanks around midnight and noticed that my ph was around 8.13, subsequently during the day the ph can be around 8.23 or so. Having a refugium on a reverse light cycle can help stablize ph by providing photosynthesis during you tanks night cycle. I would definitly avoid adding anything to your tank other than calcium unless absolutly neccessary.
when i notice something off in my tank i start with water changes. then if it does not correct i look to another source of correction. water changes will fix 90% of the issues i have experienced.
I ran a check on my chem and they are pH=8.3, Alk =290, Nitrate =15, Nitrite=0, Ca=540, and PO4 is 0. Thanks for the feed back. What of my remaining fish?
Low PH How old is your test kit? Ph is usually pretty stable with the buffers they put in salt mixes. I have once read that just opening a window or door can make PH go up. Fresh air can help with this though I have not seen any real documentation. They said it was especially true in homes that were well insulated and little air movement. PH is usually one thing in the aquarium you really do not have to check. I never check mine. Well not since initial set up. As noted above you will get better more consistant results if you do check it at the same time everyday. How often do you check your parameters? Some people over correct for things that are normal swings for the aquarium. To be 100% honest, I never check anything anymore. Unless I see a noticable difference in my tank inhabitants. I would always start with several small water changes to see if this corrects the problem. Were your fish acting weird or something? What prompted you to start adjusting PH? How were they acting prior to your dosing? If the tank seemed to be doing ok, I would not have made any adjustments to the water (other than water changes). The Ph buffer probably would not have damaged your fish if it had been pre-mixed in RO water for a few hours prior to adding to the tank. Keep in mind the buffer is buffered to stay in the range of 8.0-8.4 (usually). The Buffer may have had a negative effect on the oxygen in the water also since it was put in all at once. The ORP in my set up goes down when I feed them or add my two part calcium alkalintiy mix. The ORP had to be effected by the buffer.
Those look REALLY HIGH! I would agree, you need to check your test kits for expiration dates. What is the unit of measure for your Alkalinity? I am hoping you meant 2.9 meq/l because that is actually a decent result, equivalent to around 8.25 dKH (another unit of measure for Alk). That Calcium is HIGH, usually at 500ppm you cannot keep it from precipitating out of solution. Oh, and did you happen to check salinity? About the fish, I would just do a partial water change on the order of 20 - 25%
If the calcium precipated out of the solution, would it float on top of water like oil? B/c about two weeks ago I kept noticing something floating... I just thought it was something like oil from the smoke off the griddle. Also my test kit is new and I have two different brands. I quit dosing liquid calcium part A and B over a month ago. I would think that it would low by now due to my weekly water change routine.
Have you been feeding frozen foods? PE Mysis makes a nasty oily film on top of the water..... just a thought.
Espie - it is funny that you mention that because Fisher was telling me the exact same thing the other day.
