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HELP! 55 gal, low ph, ammonia, ich

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Posted by: lilypad42 at Mon Nov 21 19:17:54 2011  [ Report Abuse ] [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by lilypad42 ]  
   

Hi All,

I am new to this forum - Unfortunately, I think I've made some rookie mistakes and am hoping you can help me fix them.

Originally I had a 15 gallon tank, with a mixture of about 20 live bearers and white cloud minnows, and one cory cat. This tank was fully cycled, but always had very low PH (6). The fish didnt seem to mind, so I didnt do much to change it. I had this tank for about 2 years with little to no fish death or illness. Temperature was about 73, with a large amount of java moss and black sand substrate.

One night I heard a creaking sound and realized my tank stand was on its way out - In my quest to replace the stand, I found an incredible deal on a 55 gallon (almost the same price as the 15 gal stand!), so I brought it home, set it up, and proceeded to move my fish (with their cycled water and bacteria-laden decorations and filter media) into the new tank.

I watched the levels and noticed a spike in ammonia, then increase in nitrites, and eventually a lowering of both of these values and an increase in nitrate. Once all the levels lowered to 0ppm, I thought the tank had fully cycled. At this time, the PH was approximately 7.5... So I did what any novice would do with what seemed like a fully cycled 55 gallon tank with 20 1-inch-long fish in it... I added some bigger fish that I could actually see!

I went to the store and got 6 pearl gouramis and 4 cories. The tank remained at its happy levels for another 3 weeks, with weekly water changes of about 10-25%.

Then my brother went to a fish auction and brought me home "a gift" of 6 fancy guppies, a bag of dozens of endlers, a 3-in pleco, some live plants, and decorative drift wood - he thought my tank was still too empty - I had no where else to put them, so in the tank they went.

And heres where things went bad. Fish started getting sick and dying. Three of my beloved white clouds, of which I have NEVER lost one, became bloated and died... the water ammonia levels spiked to a 2.0, fish were infected with ich, and the PH dropped to 6. This all happened in the matter of a week. :/ To combat the fish apocalypse occurring in my tank, I did frequent 10-25%water changes, added aquarium salt to help build a slime coat, removed the ph-lowering driftwood, and added crushed coral to bring the PH up. I also increased the temperature to 80 to accelerate the ich life cycle and pulled badly infected fish out of the tank altogether.

I realize the mistake of over-crowding the tank in such a short period of time... and am paying for my mistake. However, I need some help to repair the damage I've done.

Here is the current stats on the tank as of 30 min ago...

Ammonia 0.25 ppm
PH < 6.0
Nitrite 0.0 ppm
Nitrate 0.0 ppm
Temperature 78 degrees
6 pearl gouramis, 12 white clouds, 1 pleco, 5 guppies, a handful of baby guppies (they bred), 4 cories, about 3 dozen or so endlers livebearers....

Water is milky white
Dying plants were just removed from the tank
Gouramis are acting normally, however, endlers and guppies are mostly swimming in a small huddle near the top of the tank. Pleco and cories seem ok, but white clouds are sort of just floating in the center in a group, not moving much. The only plants that remain are bright green and thriving. All dying plants removed.

1. What do you recommend I do to get my levels back in line?
2. Also, why is my PH so low?
3. Where am I currently in the cycling stages? It seems I shocked my tank out of its "cycled" status
4. How can I cure the ich?

Please help, I know I've made a fatal mistake by overcrowding the tank, but could use some suggestions on how to correct this mistake.

Thank you in advance.


   

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