Ammonia Up,ph Down

rabbut · Nov 23, 2008

It would look like you can :nod:

If it hasn't moved in 48hours, it should't move for a while. I'd look at crushed coral for long-term stability, and otherwise try to muddle through what could be pulling back the pH. I'm shure it's been asked before, but what media do you have in your filter?

All the best
Rabbut

jimmyringo · Dec 3, 2008

You are not going to believe this.After all the above,my water finally settled for the last 2 weeks on pH of 7,perfect.Just tested it again tonight .....6 again.Out of the blue.Nothing new added.
I've resigned my self to 2 options.Either i start using a buffer (like API Proper pH7).I've never trusted these.Anyone any opinions on them ?
Or i quit the hobby and walk away.At the minute,sadly, i'm leaning towards walking away.

rabbut · Dec 3, 2008

You have tryed crushed coral in the filter haven't you? You want two bags, add a tea spoon at a time untill the pH stabilises where you want it and then add the same weight to a second bag. Now, one gets used in the filter, and the other "rests" somewhere dry. You do this, as a bio-film forms over the bag with time, stopping the coral from disolving as you want. Rotating bags round kills the bio-film on the drying bag, enabling the coral to work again.

The propper pH stuff won't work in most cases, though you can give it a try as a last resort :sad:

All the best
Rabbut

jimmyringo · Dec 4, 2008

Could i put a small bag of crushed coral in the tank itself (behind an ornament) instead of putting it in the filter?.What sort of bag could i put it in and how often would i need to change it?

And is it easily got.I'll have a look in my LFS at lunchtime.I really don't want to quit fishkeeping,but as you can see by earlier posts,i've a lot going on at the minute and this problem is doing my head in. :crazy:

rabbut · Dec 4, 2008

Crushed coral is easily available :nod:

Coral gravel will also work :good:

A filter media bag would be best, but you can also use a pair of old tights and just tie them off once the coral is in. :good:

The bag needs to be somewhere where it gets flow. The most obvious place is in the filter itself, or directly in front of the outlet, but being inventive may open other options for you :nod:

HTH
Rabbut

jimmyringo · Dec 4, 2008

rabbut said:
Crushed coral is easily available Coral gravel will also work

A filter media bag would be best, but you can also use a pair of old tights and just tie them off once the coral is in.

The bag needs to be somewhere where it gets flow. The most obvious place is in the filter itself, or directly in front of the outlet, but being inventive may open other options for you

HTH
Rabbut

Right ,my corys were suffering from the sudden drop,so i used a buffer(i know)this morning as a temp measure to keep the pH at 7 til i can get my hands on some coral.My fish are looking better already and are good and active again.My LFS is ordering in some coral gravel for me and should have it tomorrow afternoon.So,can anyone give me a rough guide as to how much i should be using for a 30 gallon tank.my filter is kinda hard to get at,so i'd rather not be having to disconnect it more times than necessary.
If i were to put the bag under the filter intake pipe (the one that sucks water out of the tank) would that work?