This is odd, i actually don't overfeed my fish... it is rare for a flake to make it to the bottom, and a small one at that. Plus i did a really good gravel vacuum the last two times, my gravel is sparkling clean from what i can see from the top and the sides of the tank. There might be a small chance that in the small areas on the sides where the ug filter doesnt extend to (as its a bit smaller than the dimensions of the aquarium) that the gravel there is holding some waste, but it cant be much, as i did clean it and its in the edges where much waste doesnt end up. Hmmm... i read somewhere online that powerheads can actually decrease ph since the fast current created from them doesnt allow much bio filter to establish in the substrate... this was only one theory, so I don't rely on that to explain my low ph. But yeah, the low ph has made my ammonia much less toxic as other sites have pointed out, explains why my fish lasted through the rough stages of high ammonia, and explains why my nitrates haven't built up. My understanding also is that aeration will help higher the ph? and if thats so, then why doesnt my ph rise with both powerheads venturi on full blast seem to help, i doubt any freshwater tanks have this much aeration. And they output smaller bubbles and more bubbles than air stones, which is better right? very baffling.

Oh, and one of my bala's was dead this morning as i predicted. The other fish seem to be bouncing back though, we'll see if they last this out. Can putting in excessive amounts of amquel and novaqua maybe cause the ph issues... cuz i did put in a very very healthy dose of both with my water changes.... but then i would imagine it to stabilize after a few days... what u think?

well i could be wrong but intuitively the UG filter makes sense if you attached two powerheads to the risers as I have done (and per the advice of peter), since the strong currents leave no chance of buildup underneath the filter, and since the substrate now becomes a giant biological filter. There is definitely the great debate on whether to use UG's or not, but I think most people will agree a well maintained UG adds more filtration to the tank. Problem is... am i maintaining MINE correctly!!? lolol

We'll see... ill post another water test in a couple of days. I'm pretty sure my cycle has mini-restarted, so don't want to do a water change unless my ammonia spikes too high.

did you go fishless or stocked...???


you washed your biowheels...¿¿¿¿? i would of just rinsed them out in de-chlorinated water...

you could add some prime and a bit of cycle to lower the ammonia if you're going stocked cycle...

yeah... i'm hesitant about pouring any kind of bacteria/enzyme stuff like cycle in my tanks... go get some bio-spirra...

good news my friends... after my latest (and very extensive) water change and gravel vac, my water test revealed low ammonia and a stable 6.8 ph... i believe my next test results should show nitrites and then nitrates. Everything looks clear and my fish haven't looked this happy in a few weeks. I'll keep up the update. oh, and no smell either. My two guesses as to the recurring low ph and the smell, was either a missed area where something had rotted in the gravel (as many suggested), or my driftwood which has a big hole in it (and i mean big)... when i went to remove it to do the proper cleaning a huge bubble surfaced that was hiding underneath the water and in this hole... maybe it had held a great amount of co2 and smell, who knows. But now its gone and i keep the driftwood the other way up. Either way, my aquarium has stabilized. Thanks for the feedback everyone, this has been a long thread and I have really really understood my aquarium through this hardship.