help with water parameters

[TheFighterFish]

Nitrate: 25 ppm (I did a water change today and yesterday)
Note--I just came back from a month in Vietnam. Also, my LFS manager suggested that I not do a drastic water change because it might stress out the fish.

Nitrite: 0 ppm

Hardness: 100 ppm
Is there anyway I can raise this?

Alk: 20 ppm
Way too low. Same as above.

PH: 6.6
I never expected it to drop this low. Is it because I added the java moss?

Fish: 5 platy/swordtail fry (1-3 months old)
Plants: Java moss
Other: Pond snails
Note--their eggs occasionally become food for the fry. Why wasn't this the case with ramshorn snails?

Thank You.

 

[homebunnyj]

You can add some crushed coral or oyster shell to your filter media basket. I would think that the low hardness/alkalinity is responsible for the lower ph, but really 6.6 isn't too bad. Increasing the calcium hardness will help stabilize your ph.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Actually, you are fine with that hardness. My gh and kh here are both 60. My ph out of my tap is 7.6, and I drive my ph down to 6.4 via CO2, because the tank is heavily planted. What is the ph of your tap? When measuring, remember to put the tap water in a cup and let it sit 24 hours before testing. This will give you your true tap ph.

 

[TheFighterFish]

Thanks for the info guys. I always read that livebearers like hard water with a higher PH, but I guess they can tolerate pretty low settings as well.

Last time I checked my Tap water, it was in the 7s as well, but I didn't let it sit for 24 hours.

 

[Lotus]

What were the parameters before you went away? What are your tapwater parameters?

It's possible the month of no water changes has caused the water quality to change in the tank.

 

[TheFighterFish]

Thanks Lotus,

I'm pretty sure the month of no water changes caused the drop, along with the buildup of nitrates.

Here was a test before I went away:

Nitrate: 10 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Hardness: 100 ppm
Alk: 70 ppm
PH: 6.8
Amm: 0 ppm

But I think this is before I added java moss as well.

In this thread I was just trying to find ways to raise the water's hardness and PH, but you bring up a good point.

EDIT: I'll have my tap water results real soon.