High PH and cloudy waters

Subject: High PH and cloudy waters Sun Mar 07, 2010 4:07 pm

Well I just started to fix the tank that we had cause I need a new hobby. The Tank has been up for years and we have a redtail botia thats been their for like 3 yrs and last week I add fish listed here.
12 x Zebra Danio (Danio rerio)
2 x Sailfin Molly (Poecilia latipinna)
2 x Balloon Molly (Poecilia latipinna hybrid)
8 x Guppy (Poecilia reticulata)
3 x Swordtail (Xiphophorus hellerii)

Well I went to the lfs and the water had high ph. So they said do a 50% wc and I did 70% wc over the past 3 days at about 20%wc a day. Went back and the water was perfect but the PH was still to high. So they recommend something called proper pc 7.5 which was this powder substance. I added it and a couple hrs later the water started to become cloudy. Can anyone tell me why my tank is cloudy even tho its been running for how long and also why is my ph high?

Subject: Re: High PH and cloudy waters Sun Mar 07, 2010 4:57 pm

Have you checked your ammonia, nitrates and nitrite levels. How big is the tank? What is the PH right now. The Proper pH

7.5 may have made the water go cloudy, but i would check for the other things. Adding all those fish is another possible cause to the problem.

Subject: Re: High PH and cloudy waters Sun Mar 07, 2010 5:08 pm

This past week I been test the water at the lps and each day everythings is okay but water being a little bit to hard and high ph. Ohh and its a 60 gallon tank

Subject: Re: High PH and cloudy waters Sun Mar 07, 2010 5:58 pm

Well normally pH will drift lower the long a tank has been set up but is affected by variables like frequency of water changes, buffering capacity of water(kH), starting pH(which is directly link to kH), and thing like is there a source of carbonate in the tank(crushed coral,shells) I not sure about California water but I seem to remember that it is very hard at lest in the San Diego area and I'm not sure where Carson is.

Proper pH is phosphate product that can and will bring your pH to whatever number you like, the problem is they generally don't work long term. I for one do not recommend they be used.

The cloud in the tank is one of few thing
1) calcium carbonate precipitating out of the water because of the Proper pH
2) a bacteria bloom
3) algae bloom

May guess would be number 2

But please keep in mind that I raise fish in Florida and my condition are very different

Subject: Re: High PH and cloudy waters Sun Mar 07, 2010 9:58 pm

I called my lfs in which my friends work their and they said that its normal and should go away in a day or too. So if this true and if not how can I fix this?

Subject: Re: High PH and cloudy waters Sun Mar 07, 2010 10:15 pm

It generally fixes it self in 7 to 10 days

Rick

Subject: Re: High PH and cloudy waters Mon Mar 08, 2010 12:59 am

So nothing is wrong with the water then and will fix its self?

Subject: Re: High PH and cloudy waters Mon Mar 08, 2010 1:58 am

ninjastar wrote:: So nothing is wrong with the water then and will fix its self?

The cloudy water will clear, but adding that many fish all at one time may result in a ammonia spike and at you pH this will surely result in the loose of fish. What I would do is buy an API master test kit and a bottle of Prime. This way you can test for ammonia and neutralize it before it be comes a problem. It really depends on how mature the tank is whether you have a problem or not.
Could be nothing, could be a major problem.
The good thing is the tank has been set up for a period of time with at least some live stock in it, the bad thing is you increased the bio load on the tank substantial amount in one shot

Rick

Subject: Re: High PH and cloudy waters Mon Mar 08, 2010 2:06 am

Well the fish are swimming well and also been in the tank for a week. And before the water became cloudy the water was okay just high ph, but ever since I add the proper ph it started to become cloudy.

Subject: Re: High PH and cloudy waters Mon Mar 08, 2010 7:04 pm

Quote :: The cloudy water will clear, but adding that many fish all at one time may result in a ammonia spike and at you pH this will surely result in the loose of fish. What I would do is buy an API master test kit and a bottle of Prime. This way you can test for ammonia and neutralize it before it be comes a problem. It really depends on how mature the tank is whether you have a problem or not.
Could be nothing, could be a major problem.
The good thing is the tank has been set up for a period of time with at least some live stock in it, the bad thing is you increased the bio load on the tank substantial amount in one shot

I agree with cooltow1. Things can seem fine in your tank after adding all those fish and them boom, a week or two later the shit hits the fan. It would be best to get the test kit, so that you can test the water every day and do water changes if needed until things get back to normal. The other thing you should do is test your tap water, it may have a high ph.

Subject: Re: High PH and cloudy waters Mon Mar 08, 2010 7:25 pm

I agree a test kit is good to have around regardless. Your ph is really not that high...I would also recommend getting a gh and kh test kit to check and see how hard your water really is. A high ph doesnt necessarily mean your water is hard. Also I would assume the cloudy water is from an ammonia spike or a bacterial bloom. Don't rely on test strips for accuracy a glass test kit is much better. Not to mention those proper Ph bottles don't work unless you are already very close...a waste of money IMO.

Subject: Re: High PH and cloudy waters Mon Mar 08, 2010 10:43 pm

Well I will let you guys know tom how my water is when I get it tested at the lps. I was wondering if the water is still okay even if its been in a water bottle and has been in the car for about 4hrs. Because of school xP

Also to note my water is not as cloudy as before so is that a good sign?

Subject: Re: High PH and cloudy waters Tue Mar 09, 2010 10:20 am

Thats a good sign and the water from in the car is fine.

Subject: Re: High PH and cloudy waters Tue Mar 09, 2010 12:09 pm

Thanks for the help

Subject: Re: High PH and cloudy waters Tue Mar 09, 2010 12:42 pm

Ohh ya the water cleared up today? But then one platy died? Could it been the water or my redtail botia?

Subject: Re: High PH and cloudy waters Tue Mar 09, 2010 3:41 pm

Hard to say without test results?

Subject: Re: High PH and cloudy waters Tue Mar 09, 2010 5:26 pm

My friend at the lps said that the water is perfect.

Subject: Re: High PH and cloudy waters Tue Mar 09, 2010 9:42 pm

That don't really help tho.....numbers would help. Have him write the numbers down for you. Ammonia should be zero, Nitrite should be zero and Nitrates should be less than 40ppm. Also we could use PH numbers and hardness levels. Cloudy water can mean a number of things, what comes to mind first is the water chemistry is off and if hes using test strips...I tend not to trust them. Even if the water is clear now there could still be problems.....Do yourself a favor and get a test kit and do some tests and compare results over a week or two and see the changes yourself...It will give you a better understanding of what is going on with your water and will help you understand what needs to be done.

Subject: Re: High PH and cloudy waters Tue Mar 09, 2010 10:00 pm

I agree with MC. API has IMO one of the best kits out there and well worth the money.

Subject: Re: High PH and cloudy waters Tue Mar 09, 2010 11:11 pm

Best money you can spend IMHO

Rick

The Turtle Whisperer Posts : 1930

Like everyone else has said, the API master kit is a great testing kit.

They're a little harder to use than strips, but I find them to be much more accurate.

Subject: Re: High PH and cloudy waters Wed Mar 10, 2010 2:50 am

How much is it? And is it cheaper to just keep going to my lps? Also what do you think of this? Is my filtration good? Do I have to add anything? Anything good or bad?

55gal
Emperor 280
Penguin 200

8 x Guppy (Poecilia reticulata)
15 x Zebra Danio (Danio rerio)
6 x Swordtail (Xiphophorus hellerii)
2 x Sailfin Molly (Poecilia latipinna)
2 x Balloon Molly (Poecilia latipinna hybrid)
3 x Platy (Xiphophorus maculatus)
2 x Dwarf Gourami (Colisa lalia)
1x Red tail botia

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High PH and cloudy waters

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