How do i make my water clear and have a stable, neutral pH level?

Question

I have a 20 gallon tank and a week or 2 ago the water got really cloudy even though i had been doing somewhat regular water changes and i have an under gravel filter. I bought some new fish and all of a sudden everything but all the the plants i just bought died. The water is still cloudy even though i have been doing water changes for the last few days and there are no fish. All the levels of everything is normal except for the pH which is very basic. My 2 questions are how do i clear up the water and how do i keep my water pH neutral and stable even though the water here is basic?

Answer 1

Messing with the pH of your tank is not what you want to keep doing. Whatever the pH is of the water coming out of your tap, you should leave it alone, your fish can and will adjust to it over time. Trying to constantly lower your pH is a real hassle because every time you do your weekly water change, you add buffers that that raise it back up and keep it there. If it is absolutely necessary that you lower it, a ball of Michigan peat moss placed in the filter so the water runs through it will lower the pH. You must replace it frequently (from every few days to once a week) to keep the pH low or the natural buffers in your tap water will raise it right back up.

The real killer is a rapid change in pH from what they are used to at the store or in the tank. Keeping the pH stable is a simple matter of doing 25-35% water changes every week. This will add buffers that keep the pH at or very near the reading right out of the tap. "Somewhat regular could mean absolutely anything from once a week to once every 6 months (which would be fatal, BTW), so how often do you change 30% of your water? Never do a 100% change once the tank is up and running unless there is a terrible incident resulting in total meltdown of the tank.

You say your water is "very" basic, how "basic" is it? 7.5, 8.0, 8.5 or higher? If you have a calcium based gravel, that could be raising it. Do not use marine gravel (like crushed coral) even though you like the looks of it.

You should check the pH level of the store's water and also your own. If there is more than .5 difference between the two, your new fish can go into pH shock and may die (which sounds like what might have happened to yours). It takes a few days up to a week or longer for the pH shock to kill fish. This is typically what kills most "new" fish added to home aquariums, the difference between the store's pH and your home pH.

You don't say how long you have had this tank set up, but if it is less than a month, the cloudiness is a natural part of the nitrogen cycle that all new tanks must go through before the beneficial bacteria stabilize and are able to process some of the ammonia that is produced by fish waste and uneaten food decaying.

If the tank has been set up for much longer, it sounds like a bacteria bloom caused by possible overfeeding. Only feed once a day and only as much as the fish will consume in 2-3 minutes. If there is food left floating after 3 minutes, you have given them too much.

To get rid of the cloudiness, do a 40% water change right away. Siphon your gravel as you do the water change, it probably needs it anyway (fresh carbon in the filter won't hurt either). Wait a couple days and do another 40% change and then wait 4-5 days and start doing your weekly 25-35% changes. I usually do mine on Sunday afternoon while I am watching football (have a TV in the basement where the tanks are). 25 tanks takes me about 4-5 hours.

If you would like to talk further about your tank, email me thru Yahoo! and I will help you if I can.

Answer 2

First, leave the ph alone. Most fish will do fine with a ph from 6.0-8.0. A stable ph is better then one that fluctuates. When you get into altering the ph, it tends to either rise dramatically or crash-thus stressing/killing your fish. Unless you plan on keeping discus or German blue rams, just leave it be.

The cloudy water is most likely a bacterial bloom. It's the beneficial bacteria starting to colonize in the tank. Common in newly set up tanks. Here's a link that explains how a tank cycles:

http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/startupcycle/Step_5_The_Cycle.htm

If you have no fish in your tank currently, I'd recommend doing a fishless cycle. Get some salad or cocktail shrimp, and put some in a mesh filter media bag or a pair of nylons/pantyhose with the leg/foot area cut off. Knot it and toss into the tank and let it rot. That'll produce ammonia, which is already present in your tank from the fish, but you need to keep an ammonia source in the tank to allow the bacteria to continue to grow. When your ammonia and nitrites are at 0 ppm, and some nitrates showing, your tank is cycled. Remove the shrimp, do a partial water change, and slowly add new fish-like 2 or 3 at a time per week or two. This will allow the bacteria to "catch up" to the new fish added. Also, when doing a fishless cycle, do not do water changes during that time. Just top off any water that evaporates. Should take about 4-8 weeks to complete the process.

Also, undergravel filters are kind of old school. They tend (in my opinion) to cause more problems down the line that what they're worth. They tend to trap any uneaten food or fish waste underneath there, causing ammonia or high nitrate problems. I'd advise removing it and adding a hob(hang on the back)filter on the tank.

Answer 3

What you are seeing is a bacterial bloom as a result of too many fish being added at once and possibly the tank needing a bit more maintenance than you have been providing. You should see this cloudiness disappear within a few days and the tank would then be ready for fish again. But this time be sure to add them slowly. Only a few small fish every few weeks and give the tank time to adjust.

The undergravel filters can be causing the low pH if they are not really well maintained. Cleaning the gravel weekly with a gravel siphon very well is critical for success with undergravel filters. If this is the cause of the low pH, it will rise and stabilize within a week or two. Check the pH of your tap water as well and you may find that it is quite low as well. If this is the case, just leaving it low is probably your best bet. If I can help further, feel free to email me.

MM

Answer 4

If these pet store people would pay even half the amount of attention to ammonia, nitrites and nitrates as they seem to do to ph, we would have much healthier fish. Why do these pet store people make such a big deal of ph? Unless you have sensitive fish, such as discus, it just is not that important. Unless fish are wild, they can handle a wide range of ph levels from 6.0-8.5. It's far, far more detrimental to the fish to add these chemicals that only temporarily adjust the level and cause a fluctuating roller coaster effect than to have a steady, high or low ph. Really, leave your ph alone. If you insist on trying to adjust it, don't use chemicals. If it reads too hard (high ph), add driftwood, a log, peat or almond leaves to sweeten the water. If you have hard water and want to sweeten it and have shells or rocks, take out these things. If it reads too soft (low ph), add crushed shells to the water. If you have soft water and want to harden it a little and have wood, etc., take out these things. I don't advocate Amquel because it also has an "ammonia neutralizer." These types of products give false readings for your ammonia and may make it seem lower than it really is in your tank and lull you into a false sense of security. Use a dechlorinator and a stress coat, but nothing that claims to "neutralize ammonia." You invest in your own test kits for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates, and do your weekly 20-30% water changes, substrate siphoning, proper cleaning and maintenance and filter rinsings, I can pretty much guarantee that you won't have cloudy water.