AP Proper pH 7.0

[cutechic]

it says it "automatically buffers pH at 7.0". my pH is currently at 6.0, so wont this much of a change be too great for my fish and plants?

 

[KnuckleHead]

That would be a drastic change. It'll send them into shock. If you want to raise it, try adding crushed coral a small amount at a time to your filter media. Do this over a span of a week and you should be safe. Of course everything I post is from my personnal experiences and your results may differ.

 

[cutechic]

thats what i thought, but the guy at my lfs said it was fine.

could i just add less than the recommended dosage of proper pH?

 

[jbjnc63]

join me in the live chat room

 

[KnuckleHead]

I havnt used that product before. Hopefully someone here has and could tell you for sure.

 

[jbjnc63]

dudes, live chat now

 

[jbjnc63]

hey cutechic, join us in chat

 

[cutechic]

oops sorry got your message too late, jbjnc63

 

[dolphin]

Hi Cutechic

Any buffer you add to your tank. will only last for a limited time, as the filteration process acidifys the water. You can safely add bicarb to the water, to increase the pH. Small amounts at a time.

Why do you want to rasie the pH, as 6.0 is not too low?

 

[impur]

I'm with dolphin here, why do you want to raise it to 7.0? Chances are you will never get it to exactly 7 so why bother? Just leave it as is and your fish will be fine, unless of course you are planning to keep african cichlids or something.

 

[cutechic]

my tank's pH was at 7.0, and then the tap water's pH lowered to 6.4 (even though my fish didnt get stressed), and then when i added driftwood the pH in my tank was lowered to 6.0, which really stressed my fish. i'd like to raise the pH to 7.0 again, if it doesn't stress my fish too much, because the tanks at my lfs mostly have a neutral pH.

could i just add a partial dosage of Proper pH?

 

[impur]

Heres the thing with playing with the ph. With most of the products out there, you are never assured of getting the same ph everytime you buffer. So its at 6.0 now, and when you do a WC it may rise a bit. I would venture to bet that after a few weeks of doing 1 wc a week, you will see the ph back to around 6.4. But if you use the ph buffer, you may get 7.2 ph to add to the tank. Then the next time 6.8. Then the next 7.0. See where i'm going? As you fluctuate the ph of the water you are adding, this will only put more stress on the fish. Fish are hardy creatures, they will adjust to the 6.0. Then the gradual raise back to 6.4. but if you go adding fluctuating phs to their environment, you may end up with sick fish, or worse, dead fish. This is of course my take on it from my personal experiences. When i began i added this ph 7.0 buffer and i lost fish for a few months. Then when i stopped, well I haven't lost any many fish to disease or poor water conditions in over 6 years

 

[cutechic]

well, i see your point, but my fish dont seem to be recovering from the pH shock. what if they just get sicker and sicker, and dont actually adapt to the pH of 6.0?

i've been doing water changes every few days, and i even tried adding water from a different tank that has a pH of 7.6. the guy at my lfs says that the pH wont rise without the proper pH because the driftwood will keep on competing to make the water acidic

should i do the water changes less frequently- once a week, like you suggested?

 

[impur]

Thats what i would do. The more you change the ph, the less time the fish have to become acclimated to it. You also might turn the lights out for a few hours a day. This will help with their stress level.

 

[cutechic]

Ok, I'll reduce the quantity of water changes.

I've got the lights on for 12 hours a day because I have some plants in the aquarium. Should I lower the amount of time they're on for?

One other thing. Can I add aquarium salt to help with the fish' stress level, or not because I have a black neon?