Nitrate/PH question

Question
Hi Nicole,

Hopefully you can help us. We have been to the local pet stores and the "brand" pet stores as well and none of their product is helping us. We have a 55 gallon freshwater tank with 2 silver dollars, 2 gouramis, 13 Mollies..maybe more-just spotted one or two more babies, and not sure of spelling playmthous (window sucker). In the recent month or two we lost two Mollies that parented the 13 babies, dwarf window sucker and two red tail barbs. we have lived in two separate residents and we had all the fish and the water balance was perfect. Now that we are living here at our current resident, we are having problems. Our Nitrate is between 80 to 160, and PH water is acidic--6.2 Now the fish has been fine with this since we have been here for 11 months now...just recently we had deaths. We been to pet stores for help...nothing..chemicals don't help, water changes not helping. We change our water about once a month or once every two months. The filter get changed once a month...we have two filters one on each side of tank,we have the bubble strip on each side. We feed once a day at night. When we suspect something not right with fish we will test the water, otherwise when we change filter or water we do a test first. Both filters are aquaclear and in them are bio bags. I can't think of anything else to give you to go more on. Hopefully you can help us out. Thanks
Sarah

Answer
Good evening Sarah, thank you for your question.

I'm really surprised that none of the pet stores were able to shed some light on your problem. Quite simply, you are not changing enough water, and as a result, your nitrates are way too high. In a cycled, healthy tank, ammonia and nitrites are always 0 ppm - this is crucial, or you will see sudden fish deaths from ammonia and nitrite toxicity. High nitrates may not kill your fish right away, but they definitely hurt your fish. It is not uncommon to see high nitrates causing problems such as tumors, lumps, dropsical conditions (abdominal swelling) and lack of appetite, color, or overall health. Nitrates are pollution to your fish.

In fishkeeping, the truth is, you don't need to own a single liquid chemical except a dechlorinator, such as Prime. You are going to have to do some frequent large water changes to remedy your nitrate situation, nitrates are stubborn indeed and do not drop off right away. I believe it would help you to see immediate results, if you used a bag of ChemiPure in one of your filters. This quality product is made by Boyd Enterprises, and is like a supercharged form of activated carbon, enhanced with resins. Your tank's water should smell cleaner and look brighter right away, which is a plus, but it doesn't mean you get to skimp on water changes. Do this:

For the next month, do 15 gallon water changes twice a week. A Python No Spill system (available at most local fish stores, or online, you can find a product description here:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=3910)
should simplify this task for you, although I must say I am perfectly happy siphoning the water out the door or window in my 55 gallon, and pouring 5 gallon drums of new water into the aquarium. It's a workout, but most of my exercise is either walking or fish maintenance, so I don't mind it.

Following this protocol for a month (changing out 120 gallons in all) will bring your nitrates back down to where they need to be, as close to zero as possible.

Another thing - about your filters. I use AquaClear filters myself and am happy with their performance, but I recommend you use the sponges as well as the Biomax bags. Either put one bag and one sponge in each, or all bags in one and all sponges in the other. Neither of these need to be replaced, unless they are literally falling apart! And they should definitely not all be replaced at the same time - the beneficial bacteria that cultivated on those rings is being dumped into the trash each time you do this.

Instead, simply use dechlorinated tap water, or the aquarium's own used water, to rinse the media. I would take apart and rinse the filter unit itself once a month or at least once every two months, and rinse your filter media once every two weeks. Alternate the cleanings if you can, so that one gets rinsed in the middle of the month, the other at the end of the month, etc. This will not disrupt the biological filtration. You may even consider putting a third filter on the tank (a cheap filter of suitable size will do) and using a bag of ChemiPure, if you are pleased with the results. A 10 oz. bag of ChemiPure lasts me about 3 months.

You are not overstocked at all, Sarah, you just have not been given the right advice or much advice at all, it seems. Chemical media, such as activated carbon and resin-blends such as ChemiPure, are optional but really do spruce up the tank when used properly. However, chemicals that you dump into the tank seldom help, more often hurt. Your pH is low, you are right, but I bet that the pH coming right out of your tap is higher than that. The problem is really the buildup of nitrogenous waste - it's driving your pH down. This is what is often referred to as "old tank syndrome."

I hope that helps. Have a look at these two sites:
http://freshaquarium.about.com
http://www.wetwebmedia.com

They are searchable and both favorites of mine for reference information. I believe perusing through the two sites, you will gain a better understanding of what is involved in fishkeeping, what the nitrogen cycle is all about, how the three kinds of filtration (biological, mechanical, and chemical) all work together to keep your tank balanced and healthy. I hope you act upon my suggestions to execute more frequent, larger water changes (after the month of rigorous WCs you can go back to changing 10-20% 1x weekly) above any other suggestion, as this is going to be key here. You will not see results overnight, but trust me, water changes ARE the ticket to avoiding future fish deaths!

Take care, and best of luck to you.
Nicole