Will My Tank Ever Be Stable?

I started my tank almost 2 months ago.. At some point it was great! Had great water levels for almost a month an a half.... And then I added mr snail... I had a small ammonia spike0.25ppm, 0.25pp. nitrites, and 5ppm nitrates... I been very good at doing water changes (2x a week) and monitoring my levels... Today ammonia at <0.25ppm, nitrites 0, and nitrates 20 ppm....
I took mr snail out and put him in a smaller tank, for now and was hoping this one would stabilize soon so I could add him again.... I been adding a bit of seachem stability, also I been trying to raise my ph... It won't go up it is at 6.6 added some coral in the hob filter... I also added a bit of grinded eggshell ( for the snail, before I took him out)..
Planted tank with driftwood, fluval shrimp and plant, and some pebbles...
1 betta
6 corys (I have only seen 5)
6 glowlight tetras
1 mystery snail (sometimes)

Any ideas?,suggestions?

 

What kind of snail did you add? It's unlikely one snail would cause such a spike in parameters. What % of water changes do you do twice a week? How often do you vacuum your substrate and how much do you feed? Have you tested your tap for ammonia?

Edit: Also, you noted that you only see 5 corys. When was the last time you saw all 6? Possible one may have died and caused the spike in levels?

 

How large is this tank?

With the fish you have, why on Earth would you want to raise the pH and make the ammonium into toxic ammonia?

 

If you want to raise your ph, then take out the driftwood, that LOWERS ph. Also, you can put some crushed coral in a filter media bag, and place it somewhere in your filter, that will raise the ph a bit. Plants also raise the ph.

 

I haven't seen the 6th Cory in ages, but I thought I lost 2... And then the 5th appear! The nail is a mystery snail about an inch. I do vacuum the substrate every time I change the water and I tend to do a 25% water change, 5 gallon bucket; I feed once a day a pinch of pellets and about 3-4 sinking pellets for the corys... Once in a while frozen bloodworms, or brine shrimp instead of the pellets... I been trying to be sparse in my feedings.
Corys are super shy, my betta is a super funny and will come up to you anytime.... The tetras are beggars! They ask for food at any time, multiple times a day!

 

Ok, I thought the ph was too low... I I'll stop fretting about it then

How large is this tank?

With the fish you have, why on Earth would you want to raise the pH and make the ammonium into toxic ammonia?

My tank is 20 gallons

 

I have a pH of 6.6 to 6,8 from the tap, and I have never been happier with my water. The fish you are keeping both do fine in slightly acidic water. Mot tetras are soft water fish.

I'm not sure when we hobbyists started seeking harder water as a rule. Enjoy what you have - you are lucky to have it.

Just don't get mollies or common livebearers that come from alkaline water.

 

Ok, I thought the ph was too low... I I'll stop fretting about it then

Agree that the pH isn't really too much of a concern UNLESS you have a low KH that will cause pH fluctuations and THAT is dangerous to fish. Do you know your KH out of the tap and tank? What is your tap pH? The coral you have will naturally raise the KH as well as the pH but more importantly, keep the pH stable. But of course the higher the pH, the more toxic your ammonia becomes. I would still take care of that ammonia/nitrite issue regardless of the pH. Dosing Prime for the full tank volume should take care of those traces for up to 24-48 hours until your bacteria colony becomes more established.

This is a chart that will give you an idea of when your ammonia actually becomes toxic to fish.

 

I did a water change today (25%) and vacuum the substrate, before doing the change I did test my water... Surprise there is ammonia in the tap! Not much... Maybe up to 0.25ppm but maybe a bit less and I was surprised that the ph in the tap way so high! 8.2!!!! So I guess that driftwood and plants are doing an excellent job.
KH is 53.7, GH is 71.6 out the tap
My usual KH 17.9 and GH 89.5 out of my tank
The pics are of the tap

 

I'd be concerned about that KH being so low. It's not the work of your driftwood or plants that is causing your pH to drop that low. It's the low KH out of the tap and tank. The lower the KH, the more your pH fluctuates which can be dangerous to fish. The higher pH out of the tap (which is just fine btw) is not causing you any issues with your fish when you do a water change because the % you're changing out isn't high enough to cause problems. But I'd be concerned that the change will be big enough to cause fish deaths one day. Personally, I'd get that KH up to at least 5dKH in the tank by adding crushed coral, cuttlefish bone to your filter or Seachem Alkaline Buffer with each weekly water change. This will raise your KH and pH but more importantly, keep them both stable in the tank.

You can keep your fish safe from any toxic levels of ammonia or nitrite with Prime until your bacteria colony is more established.

 

Ok doky, will get the crushed coral... I put two pieces of coral I picked up 2 years ago in can un but I guess it isn't enough
Thank you so much!

 

No, not enough and if that was 2 years ago it would have all dissolved. I'd add a half a cup to your filter and monitor your KH/pH every couple of days. You'll need to keep adding more as it gets used up. How often will vary with each tank but that is why it's important to monitor you levels every so often.

 

Sorry, I guess that wasn't clear, I picked the coral from the beach 2 years ago... I added to my filter maybe 2 weeks ago to see if it made a difference, but they are not crushed... Just two small pieces...I had them in my desk for 2 years.. Tomorrow I'll go get some coral or crushed coral
Thank you!

 

Not sure they would be the same kind you'd need but yeah, I'd get some more (you can usually find some in the substrate aisle at your LFS). Crushed sea shells, limestone, aragonite, cuttlefish bone are some others that you can use.

 

Did a WC on Thursday, and tested agin today.... the KHamd GH have not changed... I added a cuttlefish bone on the box of my filter.... no ammonia or nitrites... and in between 5 and 10 nitrAtes...

 

Cuttlefish bone IME takes a while to dissolve and see results. The ammonia looks like .25 to me. Maybe it's the lighting or pic.

 

Danios and tetras like acidic water.

If you want to raise it, only raise it to 7.

You can slowly raise your KH with seachem something, which in turn will raise the ph. Just add some of that kh stuff to your water during partial water changes.

 

Danios and tetras like acidic water.

If you want to raise it, only raise it to 7.

You can slowly raise your KH with seachem something, which in turn will raise the ph. Just add some of that kh stuff to your water during partial water changes.

I think you mean Seachem Alkaline Buffer. . This is what I use as well with each weekly water change.

Those fish can adapt to just about any pH so I don't think there's a specific pH to aI'm for.