Joinerlavin
Fishaholic
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Im looking through your tab in your sig, but I still cant find the instructions on how much bicarb to add and how to add it etc...... sorry
A guide to pH crashes and their remedies
pH crashes affect a lot of people whom fishless cycle a tank. The whole process of a fishless cycle lends itself to this problem for anyone who is in a soft water area. I will try to cover how the pH crash comes about (itās causes), why a stable pH is more important than a bouncing one for fish, as well as a pH-KH link (If you arenāt a scientifically minded person, you may which to skip this bit). Finally Iāll look at remedies for the crash.
pH is a measure of how acidic or alkaline a liquid is. The lower the reading is from 7, the more Acidic the liquid is, with 7 being Nutral and anything above that being Alkaline. KH is an abreviation of Carbonate Hardness, and is a measure of the ammount of Carbonate Salts disolved in the water you are testing. A pH crash is where the pH falls to a very low number as a result. Generaly 6 or less could be considered a crashed pH if that is lower than the pH of the water from your source.
pH crash causes.
Anything acidic in a tank will try to pull the pH down. Nitrate and Nitrite are both acidic, and these build up to quite high levels in a cycling tank. This will lead to the pH crashing if the water in the tank does not have many things dissolved into it (Hardness). Other things can crash the pH also, like peat in the filter, black-water extract supplements, bogwood and CO2 injection amongst others.
Stability is key
A fluctuating pH is very stressful to fish, and needs to be avoided. To establish if your tankās pH will move with fish in it, I would recommend that you invest in a KH test kit or have the LFS test your waterās KH If it is low, you will need to take different action to another person with a medium-to-high KH reading. The ket to keeping the pH stable is moving the KH, due to the pH-KH linkā¦
The pH-KH link
pH and KH are very closely linked to each other. If pH drops, it is likely that KH will be low. KH basically acts as a buffer to keep pH at a certain value, as the Carbonate salts that make up your KH will bond with anything acidic, neutralising it (itās a bit more complex than that, but this is a beginnerās āadvancedā guide ) If KH gets depleted, there is nothing to prevent acidic chemicals from pulling the pH down.
If KH in a tank is low, the fish waste being broken down in the filter will quite possibly crash the pH. With fish in, this would spell disaster, so remedial action needs to be done before this event. For this reason, Iād look at the more permanent solutions if you have a low KH from the tap.
Solutions
1) In a fishless cycle, Nitrite or Nitrate will likely be the cause of a pH crash, so a large water change is often all thatās needed This method is best for those with a mid-to-high KH reading. This is a short-term fix for a mid-cycle crash.
2) Adding Baking Powder or Baking Soda will raise the KH and hence pH. This method is best for those with low-to-mid KH readings and is a short-term fix for a mid-cycle crash. Use about 1 tea spoon per gallon to start and work from there.
3) Adding about 1 tea spoon of coral gravel or coral sand to the filter will pull the KH and hence pH up. This is a long-to-mid term fix. If this is not enough, add a bit more to your filter This is the recomended solution to pH crashes early on and for people with a low KH from the tap.
4) A temporary fix is a product like pH-up. These chemicals usually leave the KH alone, so expect a crashed pH at the next testā¦