YWG - Day 6 and still kicking
- Thread starter NicoleC
- Start date
Buffer will restore alkalinity, which you have told us is already high (and therefore not a concern). Don't add more.
CO2 retention essentially has two effects in an aquarium (1) lowers pH via production of carbonic acid, and (2) lowering the affinity for O2.
Degas the CO2 and you will improve conditions greatly.
CO2 retention essentially has two effects in an aquarium (1) lowers pH via production of carbonic acid, and (2) lowering the affinity for O2.
Degas the CO2 and you will improve conditions greatly.
NicoleC
New member
The alkalinity issue was fixed a while ago with water changes. pH is holding steady at 8.25; just doing daily water changes.
I have not lost any gobies since covering the back and sides and they look good; active and eating. I still have at least 8 -- exactly 8, I think, but I counted 8 at once. I am not seeing them settle out, though, and they should be doing so by now.
I added the aeration cage this morning.
I have not lost any gobies since covering the back and sides and they look good; active and eating. I still have at least 8 -- exactly 8, I think, but I counted 8 at once. I am not seeing them settle out, though, and they should be doing so by now.
I added the aeration cage this morning.
On 1/15 you stated that you had used buffer to raise pH and that the alkalinity was high. The water change(s) therefore had no net change in terms of 'raising' the alkalinity, as it was already high.
So, alkalinity wasn't fixed since it wasn't off in the first place.
You also stated that your pH was 7.9 prior to the aeration test, and now your pH is 8.25. Why do you not think that warrants consideration in terms of increased larval vitality?
I'm not suggesting that the black tank wall covering is insignificant, but you are changing quite a few variables which I think are important and need to be considered just as thoroughly.
So, alkalinity wasn't fixed since it wasn't off in the first place.
You also stated that your pH was 7.9 prior to the aeration test, and now your pH is 8.25. Why do you not think that warrants consideration in terms of increased larval vitality?
I'm not suggesting that the black tank wall covering is insignificant, but you are changing quite a few variables which I think are important and need to be considered just as thoroughly.
NicoleC
New member
An Alk over 16 dKh seems pretty damned high to me. And I corrected it to be LOWER with water changes. pH was also incidentally raised to 8.25 with said water changes.
7.9 is for many larval species a perfectly acceptable pH. It may not be so for these gobies, but I have no reason to think they are different in this respect. Its not as if the pH was 7.5 or some such ridiculously low number. Since I am using Clor-Am-X, I do not need to worry about a pH of 8.25, which is pretty high.
OTOH, the dying fish were skinny and wasting away; I covered the back of the tank and the survivors immediately moved to the center of the tank and started eating. I could literally see cause and effect within minutes. They don't get fat like the clowns but at least they have bulges in their middles now.
THE cause for improvement? I can't say. But it is one which I can specifically identify, whereas everything else is speculation.
When the O2 test arrives (which is backordered, of course) I can check that item, but I really have no concerns about a pH of 7.9, in fact, its pretty close to what I'd like to see provided the O2 levels are okay. My error -- if indeed it was the fatal item -- was in overusing the buffer instead of addressing the root causes of the pH drop, not the pH itself.
IMO.
7.9 is for many larval species a perfectly acceptable pH. It may not be so for these gobies, but I have no reason to think they are different in this respect. Its not as if the pH was 7.5 or some such ridiculously low number. Since I am using Clor-Am-X, I do not need to worry about a pH of 8.25, which is pretty high.
OTOH, the dying fish were skinny and wasting away; I covered the back of the tank and the survivors immediately moved to the center of the tank and started eating. I could literally see cause and effect within minutes. They don't get fat like the clowns but at least they have bulges in their middles now.
THE cause for improvement? I can't say. But it is one which I can specifically identify, whereas everything else is speculation.
When the O2 test arrives (which is backordered, of course) I can check that item, but I really have no concerns about a pH of 7.9, in fact, its pretty close to what I'd like to see provided the O2 levels are okay. My error -- if indeed it was the fatal item -- was in overusing the buffer instead of addressing the root causes of the pH drop, not the pH itself.
IMO.
