lindaruth

I know that we have a lot more to read - but we need help fast. My husband just purchased a 40 gal tank a month ago - the fish store guy advised us that water here in GA has a high pH - we have so many chemicals to put in the water - we have lost a guarami, an elephant nose whale, a tetra and we are afraid that more will die. We cannot get the ph lower. The water is cloudy and greenish. The tetras have white spots. My husband has over $1000 in this tank and now he is ready to get rid of it - we used to just put water in a tank and add fish - now all of this - we have chemicals to clear the water, lower the ph, lower the ammonia, etc, etc. We have a test kit - can anyone help so he can enjoy his tank again? Thanks

Dozey

I'd like to welcome you to FishLore, although I wish it was under better circumstances. If you could post your readings ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and PH it will help us to help you. Also what test kit do you have?

Lucy

Hi lindaruth Welcome to Fish Lore

I know it's discouraging when you put so much into a tank and fish only to have things go wrong.

How many and what kind of fish do you have in your tank now? I'm afraid you may be over stocked. What kind of pleco do you have?

Do you know what your PH is before adding any chemicals? Most fish can adapt to your PH. It's usually best to keep it stable rather than trying to adjust it. So set those chemicals aside.

Do the white spots look like grains of salt? If so it's probably ICH. You can treat ich without chemicals. Slowly raise your temp to 83/84F, leave it there for 2 weeks, increase aeration to make up for the lack of oxygen in the warmer water and vacuum your gravel to pick up the ich spores hiding there.

What test kit are you using? Be aware that liquid kits are more accurate than the strips.
Do you know your readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrates?

I'll take a guess that your tank isn't fully cycled. What are you using to lower the ammonia?
To get your tank cycled properly and depending on your readings you should probably start with 50% water changes daily until your readings are 0 for ammonia 0 nitrites with 5-10 nitrates showing.
Use Prime as your water conditioner, this will detoxify the ammonia that your tank needs to cycle without actually getting rid of it.
Here's a good link to read about the cycling process:
http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm

Sorry for all the questions, the answers will help us help you.

Hang in there, don't give up. Your tank isn't a lost cause.

lindaruth

Thank you for the replies -
18 fish total
3 gold gauramis
2 blue gauramis
4 tiger barbs
2 plecos - don't know what kind - they are small
1 tetra left - 3 have died
4 cory cats
2 clown loaches
The PH was 6.8 before adding chemicals - after the chemicals went to 7.2
Using liquid test kits - we have no ammonia - haven't tested nitrates

Two tetras died this morning.
The water is cloudy and green - I read somewhere to turn off the light for a few days - is this correct?

Thanks again

Dozey

Wow your tank is really heavily stocked. The plecos alone can grow to be as much as 18 inches long. But I'll leave stocking suggestions to more experienced members. Your PH is fine, stop using those chemicals to adjust the ph and let your fish adjust to the water. We really need to know your nitrite and nitrate readings. Although 0 ammonia is a good thing without the nitrite and nitrate readings it is impossible to know if your tank is cycled or cycling.

lindaruth

Thanks! We will get a nitrate test kit asap and follow up. Thanks so much!

Lucy

6.8 seems pretty low. Other members with more experience with low PH will have to address that.

I'm sorry you've lost more fish.

It looks like you're overstocked. It's recommended that the clown loaches have a minimum tank size of 55g and if your plecos are common, they're big waste producers and also should be in at least 55g.
It would be a good idea to either return some of your fish or invest in a bigger tank.

If you could test your nitrites and nitrates and post them, it would be helpful.

Are any of the fish new? Sometimes they can bring an illness to your tank. It's recommended new fish be quarantined for at least 2 weeks before adding them to your tank.

If the green water is from algae, yes, less light would kill that off. However, if it's an algae bloom from a cycling tank, it should go away on it own after a while.

Here's another link that I hope will help you:
http://www.fishlore.com/

Dozey

Please don't forget the nitrite kit as well. You need to test nitr-I-tes as well as nitr-A-tes. So again that is nitrites and nitrates.

jdhef

Welcome to FishLore

Many times, overfeeding will lead to an algae bloom, which will make your water green.

The first thing you really should do, is read the link Lucy gave about the nitrogen cycle.
Then,I would stop with the chemicals. A ph of 6.8 is in the range that most fish should be able to adapt to. (Usually anything between 6 and 8 is okay). What ever product you are using to lower the ammonia will only stop your tank from cycling and you'll be adding that stuff forever.

Once you stop adding the chemicals, you will probably need to start doing daily 50% water changes until your tank cycles (which could take a few weeks). I would recommend a product called Prime as a water conditioner to add to the new water you put in the tank daily. Prime will make the ammonia non toxic for 24 hours (at which point you will be doing another 50% water change.) I would highly recommend getting an API Master test kit, so you can monitor your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels.

If you can find a product called Tetra SafeStart, you could cycle instantly and it would make your life much easier. My only concern is that whatever ammonia lower product you put in your tank would stop the SafeStart from working properly. So even if using SafeStart, I would do water changes for a few days before adding it.

I know this post is long (and hopefully not to rambling), and probably a bit overwhelming but feel free to ask any follow up questions you may have. This is all very confusing in the beginning, but in a couple of weeks you'll be wondering why it seemed so hard.

So in conclusion (I know finally!) once cycled, the only chemical you should need is your water conditioner. Other than that, you tank should be self sustaining.

Good luck... fish keeping really is fun once you get established.

guppywhitecloud

srry ur fish died sad