My new tank chemistry
In general, liquid test kits are found to be more accurate even if sometimes they may take some getting used to at first. The best way to determine the exact color is to hold a piece of white cardboard behind the testing vial. After a while, however, you will easily be able to tell the color shades by holding it up to the light, once you get used to it, and you’ll then see the unlimited gradients of color shades the tests are capable of — more precisely pinpointing the true reading.
With BioSpira, I believe the usual procedure in using it is to add it and wait a full day before adding fish. Even so, this should have not caused elevations of your ammonia and nitrites. You can expect an elevation in your nitrates, showing you that the ammonia and nitrite is being converted, especially if you have no established live plants using this yet. With nitrates present this soon, it does appear that the BioSpira is functional although possibly weakened for reasons undetermined as of yet. I haven’t seen a reference as to a filter for these bacteria to colonize, but have to assume you’ve employed one unless I hear otherwise. For optimum establishment of the bacteria, a filter would be necessary even though they will convert lesser amounts of ammonia and nitrite while in the water column and on the aquarium surfaces (substrate, glass panels, etc.).
Generally, nitrite is much more toxic than ammonia, although as the pH increases the toxicity of ammonia becomes more acute. At this point in time, all’s you can do to keep these waste products at a mimimum is to make PWC’s until the nitrogen-converting bacteria take hold (even though you’re removing a portion of them still found in the water column, with each water change).
As has already been suggested, your fish may have died as a result of “pH shock”, usually associated with osmotic shock if the TDS (total dissolved solids) of your water were much different from that of the fishes’ source (pet shop water). Your high pH tend to indicate a high alkalinity as they’re often associated with each other, even if not necessarily so.
The off-gassing of CO2, if that noticeable that its seen as tiny bubbles coating the aquarium surfaces, is not in the best interest of the fish either as these gases tend to be released to all surfaces, when super-saturated under pressure of your delivery system and then released, including the surfaces of your fishes’ gills.
I’m not sure what you mean by “water absorbing CO2 from a bucket,” although if your water was pH 7.9 and it increased to pH 8.6 when adding distilled water, I’d be suspect of that distilled water. With that high of a pH, did you properly acclimate (adjust) the fish to your pH from that of the store’s pH? If not, I’d say this is where your problem lies as far as the fish deaths go. Ray
Category: Philippines Internet Koi Society
