QT help

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VikingMummy2015
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@Martinspuddle it does though. My water is similar and small tanks and cycling tanks use up the kH pretty quick and start eating into the pH within days. 2ppm of ammonia is a lot of bacteria so a lot of carbonates getting used up. I would definitely get away with fewer water changes if I stocked very very lightly, but as it is I’d panic if I went a week without a water change.
240L Fluval Roma with Oase 600 Biomaster: 1 German red bristlenose, 4 male cherry barbs, 6 standard rummynose, 3 golden rummynose tetra, 9 emperor tetra, 14 cardinal tetra, 2 hengeli rasbora, 3 nerite snails, 1 adult Sulawesi snail and multiple juveniles continually appearing.

Parameters: gH2, kH1, pH7.4 (tap).
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Martinspuddle
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We must have iron water down here in Kent ...doesn't budge! :grin:
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Stephen
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Fishtank wrote: Sat Apr 03, 2021 14:00 pm I live in torfaen, during fishless cycling my ph drops due to the activity from the BB processing the ammonia. My ph is 7.4 and in my main tank it stays at 7.4 its only when I'm fishless cycling my qt tank that the ph drops to stupidly low levels, sometimes 6. Plankton advised me in my last fishless cycle to add bicarb soda to boost the ph while kt was cycling and it worked a charm
I have extended family members (mum's cousins) living in Pontypool and Abersychan, not too far (about 35 miles) from my home in Hereford.
I do come down that area from time to time and visit Cwmbran for shopping as a change.

I agree, if the KH drops then it needs a bit of a boost during the fishless cycle.
I would not personally recommend using bicarbonate of soda (Sodium bicarbonate) due to the Sodium which is not good for fish or plants long-term but should be fine short-term.
I would prefer to use Potassium bicarbonate where the Potassium can be used by the plants.
plankton wrote: Sun Apr 04, 2021 10:03 am The GH is only 2.9, so the KH must be close to zero...... :)
Just do the water change, although it probably won't make that much difference to the hardness......
I believe the KH (carbonate hardness) is just under 2dKH.
To make the pH more stable then a KH value of 4dKH would be needed.
1 teaspoon (5ml) of whichever bicarbonate with raise 200 litres of water by 1dKH or 50L of water by 4dKH.
How big is the QT ?

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425L SeaBray Elite aquarium - Rio Mamoré (Bolivia) theme
4 x Cupid Cichlids, 14 x Cory caudimaculatus, 13 x Cory sterbai 52 x Reed Tetra, 4 x Honeycomb Bristlenose (L519)

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plankton
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@Martinspuddle Kent water would take a real hit with a few million gallons of RO to make any difference! :D
As soon as the carbonates are gone during the cycle the KH isn't high enough to keep the ph balanced, so it crashes, usually to below 6, so the cycle stalls temporarily (as the munchers don't work efficiently below about ph6.2) until the carbonates are replaced.
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Martinspuddle
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plankton wrote: Mon Apr 05, 2021 9:50 am @Martinspuddle Kent water would take a real hit with a few million gallons of RO to make any difference! :D
As soon as the carbonates are gone during the cycle the KH isn't high enough to keep the ph balanced, so it crashes, usually to below 6, so the cycle stalls temporarily (as the munchers don't work efficiently below about ph6.2) until the carbonates are replaced.
Know it can happen but never with our water. Just surprised the idea of buffering it, sounds a little extreme to me.
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Fishtank
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Yeah, the qt tank is small... like 26 litres tops. I believe when I tested last time my KH was like 3. It holds steady once established and fish have been added but during the fishless cycling it often needs a boost. Once its cycled and fish are added i don't seem to have any problems with the water changes and stuff on top my cycle holds steady and ph remains at 7.5
I should add that I only put the bicarbonate soda in during fishless cycling, when the fish are added i do a large pw change before hand and then just water changes as necessary so no more bicarbonate is added then
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Fishtank
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I want to cry so much. I got sloppy with my testing and at some point I've either added too much ammonia too quickly or the cycle crashed. The ammonia is ridiculously high now so I got to start again 😭
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Martinspuddle
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Fishtank wrote: Sun Apr 18, 2021 18:22 pm I want to cry so much. I got sloppy with my testing and at some point I've either added too much ammonia too quickly or the cycle crashed. The ammonia is ridiculously high now so I got to start again 😭
Can't you take some media and water from your main aquarium to start your quarantine tank?
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plankton
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Do a 50% water change and see what the ammonia reading is then. ;)
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