snesking

hello, my pH was at 6.6 then i added a very small amount of ph increaser now its at 7.6 the fish seems ok though. is a water change the best way to lower the ph or is it alright how it is? i had big problems in my tank so im trying to get it back running. the only fish in my tank is an angelfish. thank you

Regal

6.6 is fine. It's going to be difficult to regulate your ph using chemicals. I would not use them. I'd continue regular water changes until the ph gets to where it's going to naturally be in your tank. Keeping the ph stable is more important than having it at exactly where it should be for a particular species. 6.6 is fine for your angelfish and pleco, I don't know much about the gourami though.

snesking

the guy at pet store told me it was tol low i want to be at 7.0 i had high nitrite n ammonia before so im recovering and im having a problem with my bio wheel filter. the wheel does not spin anymore ad the flow isnt that good any ideas?

Regal

7 is fine too, that's neutral. Angels are from the Amazon where the water regularly floods and recedes so it absorbs lots of tannins from decaying plant material and makes it slightly acidic. 6.6 sounds optimal to me.

I've seen lots of people on FishLore say that about the bio wheels. I have had many bio wheels and never had that problem though.

I would suggest putting your filter media in a bucket of tank water and cleaning out your filter. You can use a long brush to clean out the intake tube and the part where the impeller sits. Here's what I do: after washing out the filter, sit the impeller inside the empty filter box and pour in some white vinegar. let it sit about 30 min and then rinse it really well before putting everything back together. Make sure there is no "gunk" around the impeller or the little purple (or blue) bearings that the bio wheel sits on.

snesking

im also getting brown alegae is this normal? first of all my filters werent in the rigth way but it stil dont turn like it should. im going to do a water change tomorow and proably buy a brush to clean inside the filter. The flow looks good though

Regal

The brown algae is normal in a new tank. Keep in mind that the bio wheel does not need to spin at a constant rate. If it stops once in a while that's fine too. All that matters is that the bio wheel stays wet to provide both oxygen and water to the bacteria. Do you think you have it put together right now? What size filter is it?

EDIT: oops I see in your aquarium info it's a 200

snesking

the flow of water coming out looks good it comes out straight not just pouring down you know what i mean.

snesking

it doesnt turn at all but i think its staying wet.

Regal

You could check to make sure it's sitting level on the back of the tank. Do you have both of the purple bearing thingys sitting in their slot correctly? It sounds like the water is not hitting the wheel right or maybe it's stuck somehow. Maybe try emailing customer service on the Marineland web site. You could search for the threads where other FishLore members have discussed the same problem

aquarist48

Some great information above. Here is a link concerning pH that you may find very helpful. Too, I would also stop using the pH adjuster. They are very unreliable and can even cause your pH levels to crash. Most fish will adapt to the pH that we have to offer with chlorine removed. Best of luck!
http://www.ratemyfishtank.com/articles/107

snesking

thnx alot i got the wheel to spin for now. I got a filter brush kit for a few dollars, and alot came of junk came out of the filter. I hope its going to work good for now so i can buy a fish tommorow. Thnx alot.