The Fireplace Community :: Tank Log

[mikeyw64]

Called in the LFS whilst out shopping for a mooch and ended up buying 4 Ottos (bit of a minor panic there when I got home) to help munch on the algae.

Also picked up 2 small Neons to bring that school back to it's original headcount

[jacksdad]

The cheap gravel I bought from my lfs was terrible, it sent the water hardness from soft to hard inside 2 weeks, I had to remove it and use black Limpopo sand. There's still traces left that I didn't remove, but the hardness is just a little higher than my other tanks, and suits the swordtails and platys a little more, and stays at a steady level with (now monthly) 30% water changes.

[mikeyw64]

As mentioned elsewhere before I do any further water changes I'm going to be recording both the tank & tap PH/GH/KH daily for the next 7-14 days to see if I can understand what's been causing some of the PH swings I've been seeing. My suspicion at this point is that its supply induced whcih if it is not sure how best to manage.

But lets see what the figures say

[plankton]

Phone the supplier and see what's going on.
Explain that you keep tropicals and having problems because of the ph swings.

[mikeyw64]

Let's collate some evidence first

[mikeyw64]

Looks like they sample their side around 3.5 times per month (42 samples in the last 12 months)

That Max is freaking high but given how close the average is to the minimum then that must have been a really odd spike

[plankton]

That's pretty random, do they use lots of different supplies?

[mikeyw64]

2 or 3 different locations apparently

"The water supply to this area comes from local upland reservoirs and can be supplied by the River Dee and Lake Vyrnwy."


https://www.unitedutilities.com/help-an ... ld=WN2+4UD

[mikeyw64]

At this stage I'm thinking that my water changes are going to look like

1) Check Tank PH
2) Check Tap PH
3) Small water change (ie <10%) then providing not much discrepancy carry on
4) Large water changes (ie >10%) or large discrepancy on small water change then as well as temperature balancing then carry out PH balancing (depending on difference) using something like baking soda/lemon juice (unless there are other alternatives) before adding to tank

[plankton]

Don't use baking powder, it has additives.
Bicarbonate of soda is ok, but the best is potassium bicarbonate as the plants will use the potassium, they won't use sodium which can build up in the tank.
Don't forget that either will raise the hardness as well, so you'll need to keep your eye on that.....
I would just test each water and do smaller changes. I only do 10%-20% every week anyway.