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Water chemistry/Tank help needed
Hello All! I am new to this list and look forward to
sharing our experiences regarding planted tanks....
Meanwhile, I have a water chemistry problem that I'm
not quite sure how to solve. I've done so much
reading that I think I've actually confused(!) myself.
I would be very grateful for any explanation and/or
suggestions that anyone may have.
Problem: I have 29 gallon established planted tank
with fish. Several months ago something changed with
my weekly water changes. Every time I did a water
change the fish would be distressed afterwards (rapid
gills and mouths). Over the next several hours the pH
would go from 7.0 to 6.6 or 6.4. I guessed that this
rapid pH swing was the cause but have been unable to
figure out why that would suddenly start occurring.
Here are my water specs:
pH: Tap 7.0/Tank 7.0
Ammonia: Tap 0/Tank 0
Nitrite: Tap 0/Tank 0
Nitrate: Tap 0/Tank 0
Alkalinity (as measured by a Lamotte test for ppm of
Calcium Carbonate CaCO3): Tap 20/Tank 65
I just started testing the alkalinity this week and
found this difference consistently. I don't
understand a) how there can be such a big difference
since the tank water comes from the tap, b) how this
affects the pH and c) how I can correct this problem.
Thanks for any help on or off the list!
Beverly
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