Milburn95 Posted July 18, 2020 Share Posted July 18, 2020 Hello, I’m fairly new to the hobby and had great success in my first year with my community tank but suddenly I’m having a fatality every week and I don’t know why! I don’t think I’ve changed anything other than adding two frogbit plants. Anyone got any suggestions, my testing strips suggest my KH is basically non existent, could that be why? And why would that have suddenly changed a year in? I’ve talked a lot but yeah any help would be appreciated, thanks guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tre Posted July 18, 2020 Share Posted July 18, 2020 All living inhabitants in the tank will use up the minerals in the tank. So any any minerals not added back in sufficient supply will deplete. What size tank? What flora and fauna? Tank parameters? I would answer those first and you might just have your issue solved. Snails and shrimp need higher kh for molting etc....Crushed calcium is an easy way to add it. Not knowing your GH or TDS, I would think you are lacking other minerals as well but do not want to speculate without full results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milburn95 Posted July 18, 2020 Author Share Posted July 18, 2020 Hey so my this is my test results; No3 20 No2 0-0.5 pH 6 KH 0 GH 60 My temp is set to 25oc but have just tested it with my digital thermometer and it’s reading at 33oc! I have a 60L tank with the following fish; 2x Glass Fish 1x African Dwarf Frog 1x Ram 1x Bristlenose 2x Corys 2x Bamboo Shrimp I also have 1 Amazon sword plant and 2 frogbit floating ontop, I change about 30% of water a week and use only tapsafe as an addictive, hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tre Posted July 18, 2020 Share Posted July 18, 2020 Suggestions: More plants. Easy green and Easy Iron help a ton. PH is very low. With no KH it could really swing. Get some crushed coral or one of those magic shells made of calcium carbonate. Your shrimp will die with calcium to help them molt. i would start there. With the glass fish I don’t think they like higher PH but a bit closer to neutral would be good. The minerals in the water will help it stabilize. Your plants natural processes cause it to swing everyday. Plants consume oxygen at night but produce it during the day. Some tanks get crazy O2 dips at night and PH swings from the acid plants exude. Without minerals to buffer the swings can be even wider in just one day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted July 18, 2020 Share Posted July 18, 2020 Another cause of low oxygen might be the 91 °F temperature in the tank (if your digital thermometer is correct). Does the water feel warm when you stick your hand in it? Something in the 70's (as you intended) might help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted July 18, 2020 Share Posted July 18, 2020 Definitely check that heater to see if it is stuck in the on mode. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Ed's Aquatics Posted July 18, 2020 Share Posted July 18, 2020 I'm with Daniel. You are way over temp, even for Rams. I would drop that down to like 80ish. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tre Posted July 19, 2020 Share Posted July 19, 2020 Totally missed the temp....when narcoleptics read tired. Yeah. That high a temp will only add to the issues. Baking the animals and stripping O2 out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milburn95 Posted July 19, 2020 Author Share Posted July 19, 2020 I’ve lowered the temp a little and will see what happens, will also try adding some more plants, thanks for the reply guys, will keep you posted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wmarian Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 (edited) I am soery to read about the recent losses...Some additional thoughts backing up those already stated: the heater doesn't sound trustworthy...and maybe confirm that your thermometer is accurate too. Also: I would establish a plan to address that kh. The tank is really vulnerable to a complete ph crash if no kh to take up ions produced from the nitrogen cycle; it might be slipping even lower at night or other times, as mentioned by Tre. I fill media bags with crushed coral and tuck them in the corners, etc. You can put it in filters or just scatter on the substrate. I think I have read for secure buffering 1 lb of crushed coral per 10 g is recommend. Also you might check the water out of your tap...sometimes seasonally city water is changed (in my neighborhood, the source of water changes in the summer, and base parameters change). Most test kits only go down so low on ph, so how sure are you about accuracy there? Might your ph be even lower? Hope things are looking up Edited July 25, 2020 by Wmarian Typos 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR aquarium Posted August 28, 2020 Share Posted August 28, 2020 ph of 6 is very low if i were you i would raise that to 6.8 7.0 and i can agree with turning the temp down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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