Help!!! I'm losing fish and fast.

Hey group, I really need help quick. I have lost 4 angelfish in the last 3 days. I tested the water today and found that my ph. Is at around 8.6. All of my other fish seem to do well in this water, but the angels, well, not so much. What can be done to lower the ph quickly. I am quite fond of my angels and really do not want to lose anymore.

Thanks
Randy

I would suggest a water change using rain water. It contains almost no minerals and should help bring down the pH a bit.
Even a water change using tap water should bring down a pH that has gotten that high. Are you running with a calcium based substrate in that tank?

I do not have a calcium based substrate. I have a piece of driftwood in the tank that I thought would bring the ph down. I am going to buy some ph down chemical after work today. I reall try to shy away from chemicals like that, but in this case, I may not have a choice.

I just picked up some ph buffer at Ken's in Decatur. I will try it out tonight and let everyone know how it works at the meeting on Sunday.

I meant acid buffer. Sorry.

How often have you been doing water changes?

50% water changes every 3-4 weeks.

I would do the water change weekly.

i personally change at least 50% twice a week. how are you sure that ph is your issue? what have you done lately to the tank? any new additions? ect ect ect.... more info helps

Well, I really do not know that the ph is what is killing my fish, but I have one of those master test kits and it indicated that my ph was very high. Too high for angels anyway. The tank was originally a goldfish tank that I recently converted to tropical, strictly to house angels and some loaches. I did about an 80% water change, syphoning the gravel. Then I cranked up the heater to maintain 78 degrees. I then put 3 guppies in there for a week, and they did fine. I thought at this point, it would be okay to transfer the angels and loaches from one of my community tanks to their new home. They did fine for a week or so, then they began dying off. The 2 smallest went first, then one of the larger ones. I added the acid buffer last night, and did a partial water change adding a few gallons of r.o. water. I tested it (ro) and it has a much lower ph level than the tap. I plan on doing another water change tomorrow and adding more of the r.o. water. The problem with the r.o. is that my water storage tank only produces 3 gallons at a time so It is a tedious process. I will test the water again tonight to see if the acid buffer had any effect. I am looking forward to picking your brains on sunday so I can someday get this all figured out and enjoy healthy angels.

By the way, the tank is a 30 gallon with a hang on back filter.

If you have not done this change the filter cartridge.

its my personal opinion, and i say this sight unseen. but since you went from goldfish to angels i would cull the whole tank and start over. goldfish are dirty and are know to carry a lot of disease. angels are very finnaky and it doesnt take a lot to infect them. i say this after a couple bad past experiences. with angels you want to change as much water as you can, as often as you can. i also like to double the reccomended filtration.

Thanks guys for all the advice when I was having problems with my angels. I have been keeping up with water changes and have fortunately not lost any more fish. Things are looking up. With the knowledge I have gained from everyone, I now feel that I actually may have a chance of a successful angelfish tank. Thanks again.

glad to hear randy. thanks for the update