we have a problem!!

[sharn]

well i think we do anyway...

just got my kh and gh test kits, its a aquarium pharm one and it tells me to add one drop at a time until it turns green for gh and yellow for kh.... now it says if the water changes straight from clear to green on the gh you have only 1dkh/17.9ppm (which happend) same with kh but if it turns straight from clear to yellow you have 1dkh/17.9ppm (which also happened).

now is this supposed to be a very mild clearish colour? i had to put it up against a white backing to see it. im thinking these readings are a problem.... i know you get wide swings from a low kh... if these are a prob what do i need to do to adjust it? i have peat here if i need it but it seems my water is soft enough?

[Merrilyn]

Hi Sharn, yes, your water certainly is soft enough, so peat moss is the last thing you'd want to use, I get those sort of readings in Melbourne (are you located in Melbourne?)

The problem with such low readings, is that there is nothing to buffer the pH of the water, and you can have a dangerous pH crash. The simple solution is to keep some shell grit or crushed coral in the tank to add extra calcium to the water. This will raise your readings and buffer your pH and help to keep it stable.

Most supermarkets carry shellgrit. You'll find it in the pet food section. It's used for poultry and cage birds. I simply toss a handful in each back corner of the tank, and replace it about once a month. I have it in all my tanks except for breeding tanks.

[sharn]

so theres really no problem at all with my readings other than the low kh? i just test the ph and its at 6.5. i can get some of that bird grit no problem, its oyster grit i think we have, ill chuck some of that in the filter asap. can i just crush up some shells (i have some in my other aquariums mixed in with the gravel, it was already in there) and put them in or do i really need the grit?

im in new zealand, out in a semi rural area so thought we may have something wierd in our taps from the kiwifruit spraying (were the kiwifruit capital of the world) and all the animal poops etc. they just seem well... unhappy :roll: maybe my ph is crashing so thats whats causing everything? i might just worm them and then treat them for hex after (ive been reccomended augmentim (sp) ) for treating all those nasties, its a complete antibacterial the man said) so i can get some of that easy as pie too. might have to get onto that asap as my little darkest one is at the top twitching :cry:

thanks so much for your quick reply LR, very much appreciated

[Merrilyn]

Ahhhh New Zealand, beautiful place. Does you water come from a reservoir or a bore. Being in a rural area does make a difference, and it is possible there is something getting into your water.

I think you mentioned in another post that you age your water in a barrel before adding it to the tank. I'd suggest filtering it through charcoal or carbon, while it's in the ageing barrel, just to remove any residue of pesticide that might have got into the water. Replace the carbon after two weeks. It's pretty cheap, and good insurance for your fish.

Shellgrit is just that, any kind of crushed shelll. If you've got some shells already in another tank, then you can use them. They all contain calcium, which is what's lacking in your water.

I think I'd go with the antibacterial treatment first. Once they get over that, then you can worm them if you still feel it's needed.

[sharn]

im not sure where it comes from which i was looking into (once again council didnt get back to me :evil: ) yeah i age it overnight but it doesnt have a filter, only an airstone, should i just get a cheap filter to chuck in it and i could add me newly aquired bird grit to it (btw would that work much overnight, if not how long does it take to start working)? ive already washed and added some bird grit into the discus tank, not before my littlest one passed away, which i kinda expected as he was twitchin and hanging at the top :cry: so im down to my three biggest, will this be a prob numbers wise? i will be getting 3 more later on but dont want to add anymore until i get this all sussed

now i know i can get flagyl so will look into that asap, but do you know if that augementim stuff works? its a human thing but a dude told me its great for all sorts of fish bugs? thanks for your help merrilyn, your such a angel and i dont know where id be without you and all the other great forum members :D

[Merrilyn]

Thanks for the compliment Sharn, but I think there are some who would disagree with the "angel" bit LOL. This forum's just the greatest isn't it! Everyone so willing to help and share information. I love it.

Okay, now back to your water issue. If you have an airstone going in that barrel, then perhaps just get a cheap filter, like a corner box filter, and fill it with carbon and maybe just a little filter wool. Filtering through the carbon will help to remove any nasties in the water. You can add some shellgrit to the barrel too.

So sorry to hear about the little guy. When small fish get sick, sometimes they just give up, and it's almost impossible to save them.

Three in that tank should be fine for the moment. And yes, I agree, don't add any more fish till we get this problem sorted.

I've never tried augmentin, although I have heard about it. If it's a broad spectrum antibiotic, then I think it should be fine, so long as it's water soluble. I'll do a bit of research and see what I can find.

[fishgeek]

augmentin is a potentiated pencillin and it is broad spectrum for gram positive bacteria, doesn't have much efficacy against gram negatives

fish disease is said to be more likely gram negative
mammalian gram positive , hence augmentin being a pretty common choice for people/dogs etc

andrew

[sharn]

only understood half of those big words but i got the gist :lol: thanks for that, guess ill give it a miss then