A Ph Question For A Newby

[odsox]

Hi the group.

I have just started back in the hobby after an absence of 21 years, my last collection expired after the storm of '87 when we were without electricity for 10 days.

I have a 190 litre tank which has been cycling fishless for 2 weeks.
My tap water has a pH of 6.0 but I just measured the tanks water and it has gone up to 7.7
I do have a kilo of coral sand in one corner (as it looks pretty) and a few shells scattered around (for the same reason)

My question is, is this normal ?
Would a kilo of sand make that much difference in 14 days ?
Any comments appreciated.

 

[twistedlink]

Its the ammonia that makes the pH higher too remember, also yes, shell pieces can do that,

I did a test with tap water and ammonia being poured in (I used a tiny drop of the stuff so it represented 4-5ppm)

the pH went up

However my tank water at 4ppm ammonia is very high, along the 8 region, and its because ive got shell pieces in there.

I am planning on changing my substrate when i find a nicer substrate.


You can use buffer chemicals to keep a constant pH that youll have to replace every water change, but quite honestly theyre a pain, and the less chemicals in your water the better.

The best idea is to either change the substrate, or simply pick fish that need above neutral water conditions.

 

[Colin_T]

leave the PH until the tank has cycled. Then if you need to drop the PH remove some of the coral/ shell. You might find once fish are added to the tank the PH stabilises and sits around 7-7.5.
Basically the more fish food and waste in the water the more the PH will drop. Having some shells or coral in the tank will help buffer or neutralise the waste products and keep the PH from fluctuating. You just need to find a balance of shells vs fish waste.