another water conditions problem......

[JBReef]

Ok here goes...... 55 gals, fluval 305 started about a month and a half ago. cycled for about a week, everything was perfect so I decided to buy 3 cichlids....(2 albino redtop zebras, and 1 rubescens) to my best knowledg.

Everything was fine for about 3 weeks. I came home about 2 days ago and these were my water conditions

Ammonia~ below 25
Nitrate~ 100 ppm
Nitrite~ 5 ppm
Hardness~ 50 ppm
Alkalinity~ 50 ppm
ph~ 6.8

I did 1 20% water change yesterday. My Rubescens looks fine he's just mopy, but my 2 albino's are wearing their stress colors .

I know I have to get my ph up and I do that with ?? peat moss??
I'm slowing down my feeding and continuing my waterchanges, where can I get moss and where do I put it when I get it?

anyother help would be great! thanks alot.

P.S. I'v previously had about 6 cichlids in the tank befor I broke it down and never had any problem's so this one is throwing me off.

Thanks in advance~

[JustOneMore20]

I hope you mean 0.25ppm of ammonia.

Your fish are mopy because you have ammonia and nitrites in the tank from it being uncycled.

Cycling a tank takes an ammonia source (fish, c0cktail shrimp, pure ammonia) and takes 4-6 weeks to complete.

You should read this on cycling: http://www.cichlidforum.com/articles/cycling.php

I know I have to get my ph up and I do that with ?? peat moss??

Peat moss lowers pH. Don't get that.

To raise pH, most people use crushed coral. Be aware though, that when you do water changes, your pH is going to drop, causing stress to the fish. Its recommended that you not mess with pH. I know a higher pH is needed for these fish, but you will be causing them stress by raising the pH of the tank and doing water changes with a lower pH water. Limestone rock will also raise the pH and hardness, but again, doing water changes with tap water is going to stress them.

For now, focus on getting rid of the ammonia and nitrites. Do a 25% water change now and then test the tank again later this evening. You may need to test every day until the nitrItes go down. If your tank has been running for 3 weeks with these fish in it, you don't have much longer left. Test daily and if you have any nitrites or ammonia over about 0.25ppm, do a small water change.

[emc7]

Since you already have fish, you need to cycle this tank fast. Suggest adding some Bio-Spira or Stability or similar "live biology" product (or get used media from another fishkeeper) ASAP. JOM is right that typical cycling water changes will cause your pH and hardness to wobble and that is stressful. I Also suggest Prime or Amquel+ to "detoxify" the ammonia and nitrite during this time and going easy on feeding or even fasting the fish a few days.

Once your tank is cycled and you can settle down to a regular schedule of water changes (try to keep you nitrates down to 40, which means aiming for 10 or 20ppm).

Adjusting water chemistry during cycling is risky and expensive (you keep flushing your buffers), but once your nitrites are all gone, you can make your fish more comfortable by adjusting to their preferences.
Crushed coral as a substrate or in a filter general increases hardness & helps stabilize pH, as do other commercial cichlid substrates. However, your water is so soft, that I would suggest adding some "cichlid salts" until your TDS is 150 ppm. If you keep that level I think your pH will rise some and stay stable.
If your pH is < 7 at that point or unstable, then I'd suggest either SeaChem's alkaline regulator or Kent's Malawi and Victoria buffer to raise the pH. Always take care of the hardness before the pH, it may actually be more important to the fish and variations are less dangerous. Without adequate hardness, the pH can swing.

All that being said, the fish you have can thrive in your water without modification, as long as it is clean. So step one is get rid of all ammonia and nitrite. Step 2 is control nitrate with regular water changes. Only consider step 3, increase hardness, once your water is clean.

[The Tick]

Yikes! Sorry to hear about your losses, chum! The advice given above is top notch. I would also cut back on the feeding. Not only will it help your fish keep that lean, attractive physique, it will also cut down on the amount of waste being generated. Not to mention, they probably won't have huge appetites with the water quality being off. I'm not saying to stop feeding them completely...that would just be cruel! But do cut back a bit. Good luck!

[Moltenice]

Good posts above.

You did sort of jump the gun on the cycling. I also recommend Bio-spira, if it's not local you can order it.

Have you tested your tap water? My tap comes out right aroun 7.6 and with the argonite it ends up resting around 8.0....


with the addtion of the live additive you will just have to keep up on fairly often water changes to minimize the nitrates and ammonia until the biological filtration kicks up to speed.