long list of problems

[Jay Cohen <jakeowen@earthlink.net>]

Hello everybody,

Sorry to bring this up again,
I know the list recently just went through a whole water chemistry
thread, and I'm doing my best to understand, but, I'm a carpenter not a
chemist, and some of this is over my head.
I recently wrote about an aggressive Filamentosa and the Corys with the
missing barbels.
Someone suggested that something was probably wrong with my substrate,
which led me to test everything in the tank.

I will list all of the tank and water info. after the explaination of my
new found problems.

I have just discovered my tank is loaded with phosphate, so is the water
I've been adding to it. I was getting what was supposed to be RO water
from a Shop Rite. 
I tested it for phosphate and it was loaded too.

I have found a LFS that sells RO, and I tested it, and it has absolutely
nothing in it.
I did not ask what kind of RO machine they use, but I can find out. 

Everything I have ever put in my tap water has died shortly afterwards.
Everything I have tested it for, it has plenty of, I really do not trust
it. It seems easier to reconstitute the RO than to try to clean my tap
water.

This is where I get really confused;

Here is what I have been adding back to the RO;

"Mardel Aqualab 1 - buffer up" - containing sodium bicarbonate 
I have been using this to add carbonate hardness, but It also raises the
Ph.

to lower the Ph back down, I have been using;

"Sea Chem Discus Buffer" - which I never realized It says right on the
label, "contains phosphate buffers and special conditioning agents"

So, I guess this has been contributing to my phoshate problem.

I was also using RO right to get my general hardness, which, after the
last thread, I realize may be adding to the phosphate as well.

I just bought;
 "Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Ph Down" -  to try to lower the Ph without
addding phosphate, but this lowers the carbonate hardness
and I also swithed from RO Right to "Mardel TankHard+" for general
hardness. This product also says it will not affect Ph, but it pushes it
up.

I am having a very hard time trying to find the right balance of
chemicals. I do not like using all of them, and I do not know the after
effects of when one chemical is changed into another. 

Tank and Water info.
30 gallon tank 
Fluval 303 spliced into a Sea Storm 60 fluidized bed filter.
Inside the fluval, I have peat in the bottom, the ceramic rings in the
middle, and the foam on top.
1 small airstone.
I had the regular "Perfecto" single strip light, but just bought the new
Perfecto SHO light, with two 6700k bulbs, which I leave on for 10 hours
a day.

Fish;
2 T. Candidi's (1m 1f)
1 Cacatuoide m
1 large overly aggressive Filamentosa (m)
2 juvenile Filamentosa's (recently added)
3 palaeteus Cory's
3 Ottos (recently added)
3 small Tetras
Lots of plants, 
1 piece of store bought driftwood, some of those "Rainbow rocks" (orange
and white striped rocks) and a couple of terra cota flower pots.

I also thought I would mention that the gravel is "Estes - Bits of
Walnut" - in case someone knows what is going on with my Corys. (They
are small, round, brown stones.)
 
Water quality;
 (all Tetra test kits, except for phosphate, which is the Aquarium
Pharm. Dry Tab kit, and Nitite is a Red Sea Fish Pharm kit)
The tank has been running for about a year and a half.
temp. - 80f
Ph - 6.5
Kh - 2 
Gh - 4
ammonia - 0
Nitite - 0
Nitrate - 100!
Phosphate -  10.0 or over!

I have been changing about 7 gallons every two weeks, I change the peat
in the filter and rinse the rings and sponge (not all at once) about
every two months. I occasionaly run a Magnum filter on the tank with the
micron cartridge for a few hours and vacuum the gravel with the vacuum
attachment.


My plants are all slowly dying, (I just bought the new light to try to
help this.)
there is green algae everywhere. I try to clean it off every few days,
but I don't always have the time. I recently added the Ottos to help me
out.
The fish all seem okay, but I occasionaly see the Checkerboards and the
Cacatuoides scrape their bodies against a rock or piece of wood.
I know the tank is overcrowded, and a little stressful with my psycho
Filamentosa harrassing everyone. I am getting a 10g  ready for him, and
the Corys, but, again, I want to get the water right before I do
anything.

I'd really appreciate if someone can help me figure this all out. I've
been trying to raise these fish for about two years now, I thought I was
doing okay, untill I discovered the phosphate problem. It seems to be
the root of most of these problems.
Maybe the easiest thing would be if someone could tell me the products
they use to add back to their Ro, and I will try to get them, but I
still need to get my tank back to safe levels, and figure out what
happened to my Cory's barbels, and how I can help them.

Thanks in advance,
Jay


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