Yes i just did another water change, took a water test... my ph is 6 and my ammonia is at zero... im guessing the water change did this, so will take another test tomorrow to get more accurate results. The lfs telling me my ph is the cause of a lot of my problems, and that water changes are the best way to rid my problems. i feel i have been doing excessive water changes, but really no other option at this point. I will look into java moss, but not sure if this mixes with a UG filter. One of my bala sharks is swimming upside down, so I expect him dead by morning. And yes, I do believe I killed my good bacteria when I rinsed my biowheel with chlorinated water, I forgot that little bit of important info, lol. Im sure my cycle is starting over, which means algae will be coming back soon. Ahhhh, this is frustrating to say the least. Can't wait to get the hang of this!

Thanks for the offer.

Yes i actually tested my water straight from the tap... ph of about 7.6

About a half hour after my water change my ph was at 6.0 The guy at the lfs told me that my low ph combined with my higher ammonia was what was allowing my fish to thrive... he said that the combo of these two actually makes each less harmful to the fish. Alone though, each will hurt the fish, especially the ph, as it allows ammonia and nitrites to thrive easier in the tank, regardless if its cycled or not. i dunno, what are some causes for such a low ph... i do plenty of water changes... maybe the best thing is to just leave it alone for awhile.

any chance of a gas buildup under my undergravel filter? will gas buildup drop my ph that fast after a water change? i have vacumed plenty but yeah, recently switched from air stones to powerheads for my riser tubes on my UG filter. All 4 of my fish are infected, so quarantining is useless at this point. if they die i will definitely clean the whole tank out and start from scratch... probably a fishless cycle, but at this point, am hoping things just bounce back. can't figure out whats making my tank water so acidic so fast. the smell is completely gone btw, as fast as it came it went. So thats good at least.

I have the two pieces u see in my profile pic (the recent pic)... as far as aeration, my biowheel cascades water into my tank and I have two aquaclear 20 powerheads with the venturi air feature on full blast, there is a lot of aeration in the tank. the both point upwards to the surface, to stir the surface better. i have tons of bubbles throughout the main water column. shouldnt the wood absorb the acidity?

which aquarium salts do u recommend and how much for a 20 gal? the wood i got straight from a populated tank at the lfs, so im sure they treated it before using it for one of their showcase tanks. But if u suggest boiling it further to help raise my ph i might just try it.