PH crashed and high nitrate

[crsublette]

As for the "white residue" on the heater, the heater's quite high temperature as it is "burning" the water also creates a calcification, which creates a "white residue" on the filament in high pH waters.


Although, if this is due to the reaction of adding alot of baking soda, then it is quite likely the formation of calcium carbonate.

 

[Nepen]

wow, seems I did all the wrong thing! I forgot to add that I tested my water yesterday and the pH was at 7 but I did not test for High range pH which could be more so I'll do it tonight. The Nitrate last night was still more than I liked so I did about 30% water change (without adding more baking soda).

I'll test my water again tonight feeling stupid

AND I DID USE THE HAMMER ON THE FROZEN POND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! twice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! now my fish are really dead.

 

[Nepen]

Ok tested the water just now

Kh at 107-125, the test water start to turn yellow at 6th drop and turned completely yellow at 7th drop.
pH at 7.4-7.8 on that range.

Seems like the white stuff is everywhere now. But I didn't make the pH too high (was in the 6) and the kh seems to be in the good range number. I'm feeling a bit better now.

 

[crsublette]

As far as I am aware, with the information given, the numbers look good.

When the KH test kit initially changes color, then this is the one I would use, that is for you would be the 6th drop. So your water would be at 6 dKH (6 degrees KH, 107ppm alkalinity).

The "white stuff" quite likely could be something else, maybe a fungus or something. If it was due to the baking soda, then the "white stuff" would be dissolved already. You might just need to give it another day for it to stabilize.

I only do water chemistry and its impact on fish, not fish physiological stuff so I do not get involved in this arena. I've never had that problem before in a pH below 8. I would need to look up in my medical note history to see what people use to address it if it is a fungus or something else.

Can you post a picture of the " white stuff " ?

 

[Nepen]

I just basically wiped everything off so the white stuff is now on plants only and it's hard to photograph to show. I don't know, it just looks like baby powder everywhere. I'm filtering it with paper towel and it seems to reduce some from the water (got a little cloudy/ foggy looking after I cleaned)

I doubt it's fungus, it wouldn't grow that quickly (the night of the last water change)after 3 times on water changed in 2 days?

I realized the plants pot attract the white stuff too so I got picture for you. It's on the plant pot and on the ground. Easiest to see.

 

[crsublette]

Quite odd. Maybe someone else can chime in... Sorry, but I don't know...

Is the baking soda pure or are there additives with it ?? You should be able to look up the MSDS page from googling the product.

 

[Nepen]

Oh no worry Charles, you had been very helpful and informative and I learn a lot from you. Thank you!

It's the arm & hammer baking soda...will check for the additive. I think it's not harmful to my fish right now, just unsightly, well I hope it's not . The fish seem to be active and happy. As for as I know all the water test came out good and that is great for me. Will see if the white stuff show up on the heater again tomorrow. I actually think it's what you said it was, but it's just behaving differently that's all

 

[Dave 54]

Ok Charles I'll take up the battern from you here and stick my ten pennys worth in as to what we thinks happening here
Nepen Please answer all I'm asking
In future if your nitrate is high first off test the water coming out of your taps sometimes it can be a problem .
We are talking fish tank here not pond yes ? .... If so it may well be an idea to go online and look up JBL Aquatics products .and buy their answer to high nitrate readings in Aquarium's for any future problems you may get.........
They do a product called nitratex which is a resin that leaches the nitrate from your tanks water.

http://www.jbl.de/en/aquatics-freshwater/detail/1/freshwater-aquatics

However first things first I noticed your talking about your substrate is now being full of a white substance yes? Ok please tell me when removed from the water and squeazed between your fingers does it turn brown and bitty ?
This is caused by food rotting down in your gravel and it has now unfortunately taken over which is the original reason for your Ph crash .
It appears your either not maintaining your tank or your not doing it correctly how do I know about this ???
It's because I've come across this more than once in peoples tanks weve been asked to look at with the same problem.
Next in reality you have to do what is basically the Nuking of your tank, equipment etc
You simply wont get rid of this without stripping your tank down to brass tacks and first off boiling your gravel to get rid of the growth you have thats taken over everything ( this is the best way we discovered of gettinmg rid of it ).... you have to illiminate each and every spore of this
Once you've done this disinfect your tank with Acriflavine this includes all your plant pots getting rid of the filling and making sure all your plants are clear either that or throw them out and buy new ......
Next strip your filter down clean any white stuff that may have got into it then boil the media disinfecting the filter itself making sure it is spotless , all this may sound like over kill but we found its the only way of making sure it stay's away permanently.
Next re introduce your fish slowly putting a sacrificial fish in the tank to help kick start your biological filtration again , when this has happened add the rest or do a dry cycle
The only way to stop this happening in the future is to put into place a maintenance routine that includes the syphoning of your gravel regular filter maintenance and regular water changes also look at your feeding regieme removing any food thats not been eaten.




Dave

 

[MitchM]

I concur with Dave. It looks biological, not chemical in nature.
I was going to suggest a driftwood fungus, but if Nepen can answer Dave's questions, that would help.

 

[Nepen]

Hi Dave, sorry for late answer. Yes this is the inside tank.

The tap water test pH 7.5 and no nitrate.

Since Monday that I wiped the white stuff down it has not come back. The white stuff on plants pot (picture I posted last page) is now slowly disappeared.


When I touched it it just appeared as white dust all over the tank. No brown or brittle.

The white stuff appeared less than 24 hrs after the 3rd major water changed in 2 days. (And I added too much baking soda on my first water changed to raise pH) so I'm not sure if that's food. I actually vacuumed my tank twice a week. Also clean the filter media once a week.

The only thing I didn't do was water change. Before last weekend, I didn't do water change ever since I got the tank in late summer but I took it for grants that I have plants (plants been eaten and die off and I kept forgetting to get more, especially water lettuce that I can't replace but I used to have the tank filled with water lettuce and hornworts, now I have plants half I used to.) and my water tested ok ever since. I tested my water every 2 weeks. Until the pH crashed. Before the crashed I got two new type if food that the fish love and I have given them too much too many times a day.

Today the test is ok again. My nitrate is down to 5, pH stable at 7.5 and kH at 107. No ammonia or nitrite. I'm feeding my fish a lot less and less frequent.

Still don't know what the white stuff was. Really don't think it's spores though.

 

[Dave 54]

I cant see too much baking powder leaving a residue bellow water where the white stuff was at its worst, you may have seen it along the top of the waterline but that all . .
How this type of fungus spreads is by a spore system allowing it to take over where any spore lands and grows .
Weve agreed that there was overfeeding which was possibly the start of your problem .
What size tank is this and what size filter as you shouldnt be cleaning it that often we recomend for an external filter once a month and for an internal filter once every two weeks depending on its flow rate .
For now I would keep an eye on things but if the white stuff comes back do as we suggested our previous post to you

Dave

 

[Nepen]

Thank you Dave I still can't really wrap my head around spore idea but right now it might as well be spores since no other explanation.

I have about 40-44 gallon and the filter is AquaClear 50.

I didn't get the vacuum until the end of Dec so I didn't get to start cleaning the tank much until then. I used to just net the muck out once a week/ two weeks. The filter was clean much less often until recently too. Probably cleaning of filter and added fish helped accelerate my problem

I'll try to clean the tank less often. My son (3.5 yo) loves to do it so it wasn't really much cleaning but playing with the water and machine he wants to do

If the white stuff comes back ill sure to fix it like you told me and will report on here. I'm. Rosing my fingers for it not to though

Anya

 

[bettasngoldfish]

yep took out abandoned ponds here and the smell can gag you and fish were fine .I guess some fish just adapt .How I don't know .I know how many showers and baths I had to take trying to rid myself of that smell .I even sniffed vanilla .Had a vanilla high

A little trick we do here at work when we have to deal with smelly stuff. Put VICKS on your nostrils and you will only smell the menthol (assuming you don't mind the smell of menthol) Works wonders

 

[Nepen]

Just an update that I know what the white stuff is.

It appears every time I change water. I figure it's my dechlorine called 'vanish'. It's a white powder. I also test it by just putting a little in the tank and about 5 minutes later there it is, my white stuff .

Mystery solved!!!