Water problems in my tank!

Question
I have had a 20gal fresh water tank going for about 2 yrs now and it began with 2 angel fish in it, then one died 6 months ago. I admit I didn't do proper water changes but I am now trying to get the water in order.  Currently I have 2 neon tetras, 1 fancy guppy and 1 angel.  I added the tetras two weeks ago, and seends for live plants.  I had an angel and a neon die and it was then I learned how poor my water was.
Today, my water is as follows: GH 180, KH 20, pH ~6.0, Nitrites 0-0.5, and nitrates over 80.
At first I began water changes (30%/day) for 3 days and added a bubble curtain(for fun) without much change in quality.  Then I did a 50% change day 4 with filtered water and vacuumed the bottom and my nitrites dropped to 0. I tried adding liquid pH upper and aquarium salt because the pet store employee told me that would help, but nothing is helping my GH, pH and nitrates!  
What can I do now to bring my GH down, bring pH to 7.0 and lower my nitrates significantly?  I am really trying, testing my water daily but I am at my wits end!! :)
I've read online aquarium salt is bad for live plants, is this true?
Should I buy more live plants to get the nitrates under control?

Thanks, I look forward to your advice!


Answer
FOLLOW UP:  Hi again
I was just reading your new post, thank you for the positive ratings!!  Unfortunately, a lot of pet store employees are not that familiar with fish, even though they work in those departments.  I say a lot, there are some, but not many.  Your best bet is to research and read up online anytime you make any fish or aquarium related purchase.  I was just thinking, I remember reading about something called old tank syndrome.  I haven't seen a lot of info on it, but basically what it is, is when you kinda let the tank go, the nitrates slowly climb.  Some heartier fish will actually adjust to these higher nitrates(still not good nor recommended though lol).  Then, you go and buy new fish from the store, and they end up dying.  It's because the nitrates are so high.  Again, try the better test kit to get a good idea of what the readings actually are.  That's good your tap water isn't the source, so you know it's just in the tank.  The angel crashing now, hard to say.  It's probably just the stress of all the new changes going on.  Try letting the tank be for a few days before doing anything else.  Maybe he'll pull through ok if he can adjust to the new changes more slowly.  The neons, I'd be surprised if they make it, but who knows they might.

Sorry....Let me know how it goes!

Christy    



Hi Andrea
I'm glad you've realized the importance of those water changes!!  Sometimes it's hard to convince people that it really is necessary. I usually recommend doing them once a week, and about 25% of the water-with a good gravel vac.

Stop using the ph up/down chemicals.  They're no good, and all they do is make the ph fluctuate and stress/kill the fish.  When you start messing with the ph, buffering, and hardness, you really need to know what you're doing.  It's best to leave it be, unless it's one extreme or the other.  Most fish are tank bred as opposed to being wild caught, so they can tolerate a wide variety in ph.  The key is keeping the ph stable-usually just by leaving it alone is all that's needed.  Here's a link, you'll need to copy/paste to your browser.  It's a great article that explains about all that stuff.  

http://www.drhelm.com/aquarium/chemistry.html

And actually, the neons and angels prefer a more acidic (lower ph) and guppies can handle anything from 5.5-8.0.  So you're fine there.  

Yes, you're right most plants won't be able to tolerate salt.  Neons don't care for the salt too much either.  Salt is only good for the fish really if there's nitrites in the water, and for some disease treatment.  It does something with their gills and allowing the exchange of oxygen in their blood.  So, if your nitrites are 0 ppm, no need for the salt.  It's only removed from the water via water changes, salt won't evaporate.  

For the nitrates, the best way to remove them is through water changes.  But you've been doing that, so I'd suggest try checking your tap water for nitrates.  Some people have a problem with nitrates there.  Plants are supposed to help a bit with nitrates as well.  I believe the java fern and java moss I've heard is supposed to be pretty good, as well as real hardy plants.  I'm just starting to try my hand at plants, so I can't say how much you need to help with the nitrates.  But probably won't hurt to add some more.  Just be sure you add the proper fertilizer and have the right lighting for them.  It used to be under 40 ppm of nitrates was a safe level, now they're saying under 20 ppm.  So try to aim for at least the 40 with hope of getting it under 20 for now.

So, check your water source for nitrates.  Do some more water changes, try doing 30% every other day and see if your nitrates start going down.  Have you changed your filter pad?  Try that if you haven't.  Also, if you're using those test strips, throw them out and buy a dropper test kit.  It's much more accurate.  I've always heard this, and I figured I'd buy a good dropper test kit once I ran out of my test strips.  Well, glad I did, mine were way off.  So it may not be as bad as you think if you're using the test strips.  When you get the nitrates under control, add a few more neons.  They love to be in a larger group, usually 5-10 is best for them.  But, they're not the heartiest of fish, so don't be surprised if quite a few die on you.  Another product that is good is called Prime by Seachem.  It's a water dechlorinator, but it removes chlorine, chloramines, and I believe it detoxifies ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates to a safer form without removing them.  This isn't an alternative to frequent water changes, but can be good especially if you have nitrates in your tap water.  Great stuff, I use it for my tanks.  

Hope that helps, and good luck!!  Let me know if you have more questions!!

Christy