follow up question....

Question
QUESTION: i recently updated my 10 gallon tank to a 20 gallon tank, i used the same filter (filters up to 20 gallons) all the same decorations and added some new gravel but used all the same old gravel without washing any of it. i was wondering if my tank is going to still go through a "cycle" (i only have one yellow electric lab in the tank.)

ANSWER: Hi Katie.......I saw this question in the "question pool" section.  Didn't I already give you advice on this?  Are you trying to find out more info, or is it just a mistake?  I'm just curious, because if you still need help or have questions I'd be happy to try to help you through.  Please let me know what stage you are at and if you still need help.  Remember, the "GOOD" bacterias live in the filter media, gravel and ornaments, NOT the water column, so if you are just switching to a bigger tank, you shouldn't have any problems (OR very little if any).  What kind of fish are you keeping in it?  You didn't mention.  I might be able to tell you a bit of a "trick" to try on top of it all.

Hope to talk to you soon,

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: actually there is no ammonia in the tank as of now and it's been well over a week, my problem now is there was sort of a pH crash recently.. it went from about 7.4 to 6.4 in the span of a few days and i can't figure out why.. my water is quite hard so i know i have a "buffering capacity" or whatever it is called...i'm not sure what's going on it's quite frustrating...using chemicals isn't an option for me though.

ANSWER: Hi Katie.  You don't know how glad I am to hear that you are not in to using chemicals!!  SO many people needlessly use chemicals and wind up with one problem after another and then can't figure out why their problems have just quadrupled.

This PH crash is not a good thing though.  That's a big drop.  Is your lab showing signs of distress?  As you probably know they like the higher PH from 7.6-8.6.  Keep a close eye out.  

Ok, I think what you're going to have to try here is to do partial water changes gravel vacuuming, to help replace the old acidy water and get things back in order soon without stressing the fish. You'll want to vacuum the gravel while taking out about 25% of the water twice a week.  As the water is replaced, so are the natural buffers that control it. The vacuuming also removes waste matter that causes pH to be low. You could even do a 25% water change every day. The idea is to change no more than 25% at a time, and no more often than every 24 hours.

It may have crashed because you didn't wash the gravel at all, and maybe you should have just a bit. You really need to get this done because I don't know how tolerant the lab will be of such low PH when he likes it a lot higher.  I would personally do the water changes every day and just kind of stir through the gravel.  Then, clean the gravel good every other day for a few days.  Obviously, keep testing the PH to see if it's making a difference.
After you do this for a few days, get back to me (please) and let me know how it's going and if you've seen a difference.  If this doesn't start to work, we'll have to try something a little different.

I'll wait to hear from you.  GOOD LUCK!!!   ;o)


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I will def. do that, but before I do, the RO water I just got has an even lower pH than what is in the tank now, so what do I do about that? (thanks for all your help by the way!)

Answer
Hi Katie.  How come you're using RO water?  I don't recall your saying you were going to.....hmmmmmmmm

The only thing that I can think of for the time being is using a little baking soda to raise it temporarily.  I did this in an emergency and it worked well.  You have to do it slowly though.

I'm also going to write a friend of mine to see if he can give me some ideas.  Here is his website that you can look at, it's FULL of information on everything from cleaning your tank to nutrition.  It's worth checking out:  www.americanaquariumproducts.com

Check out this site(s) too about PH and using baking soda and what PH does:  http://www.algone.com/aquarium_maintenance.php and http://www.algone.com/water_parameters.php#ph

I'll wait to hear back from you again regarding the RO water and also about the PH levels.  I will write my friend and hopefully have more info for you when we communicate again.

Talk soon.   ;o)