Drastic Drop In Ph

[Drum4JC]

My ph is typically around 7.6 and never changes. However in the last 7-10 days it plummeted to 6.0 or possibly less. One healthy fish died but all others seem ok.

We do frequent water changes and vacuum at least every other week. But I vacuumed twice in the last two weeks. Any ideas what could cause this? My other numbers are all very good.

Last night I did a 10% change and added some sea shells. I'll do 15-20% changes every day until it gets better.

Any other suggestions? I'm really freaked out.

 

[Joinerlavin]

Hows the water GH in your area???

My area has very soft water so the ph drops in my tank so I added crushed coral in my filter to add minerals in the water and keep the ph up.

 

[Drum4JC]

Hows the water GH in your area???

My area has very soft water so the ph drops in my tank so I added crushed coral in my filter to add minerals in the water and keep the ph up.

Hi Joiner. Our water I'd pretty hard and th ph is high out of the tap. I don't have the stats handy right now. (at work). I admit that the Gh and kh are very confusing to me despite all the info available online. My ph was stable until now, albeit a bit higher than ideal, so I left it alone so as not to shock the fish.

Is crushed coral available at the local pet mega store?

 

[waterdrop]

Hi Drum4JC and welcome to TFF!

Your pH drop could be from excess debris in the substrate begin stirred up if the gravel cleanings were stretching out to two weeks instead of being weekly. If enough nitrate(NO3) accumulates then the small percentage of that substance that occurs as nitric acid can rapidly lower your pH, especially if the KH of your water is low. Alternatively, its also possible that the stats of your tap water changed. Do you run tests on your tap water?

Also, its a good idea in our "New to the Hobby" section here to always go ahead and post up the actual numbers from test results, not to just say they are ok. And let us know your tank size, stocking and the make and type of test kit.

Making changes to the hardness and pH of your basic water is a serious decision and usually best avoided, so I'd not panic but instead give it a little time and try to figure out what's going on a little better.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Joinerlavin]

keep up with the regular water changes to keep the ph up until you find the cause or add some baking powder to bring it up. Im still a newb thoe so my advice is not expert

 

[Drum4JC]

Thanks 'drop. Yes should have put the additional info. I knew that but forgot.

Last night the ammonia was between 0.25 and zero. Trate and Trite were both at zero. I'm using the API test kit. I tested tap again last nite and it comes in at high 7. The hi and normal range ph test are both near their respective limits and I can't be certain of an exact number. 7.8ish.

26 gal tank with 6 zebras, 4 Corys, 1male Betta, and 3 neons. (I have 5 new neons in quarantine).

Sounds like I should do some additional vacuuming to make sure the sub is really clean? I thought I was doing vacuuming at or more often than normal. I guess not?

 

[loraxchick]

that seems like an awfully drastic change in pH that is rapid. id stop adding buffers to the water to up the pH and opt for more gravel vacs and water changes.

 

[Drum4JC]

Quick update. I tested ph when I got home and it was still at 6.0. I did a deep vacuum and discovered that I had not been digging deep enough while vacuuming. Billows of fine muck was being sucked up. I did the gravel pretty thoroughly and depleted about a third of the water. I added about half of that back in right away and then waited an hour. I took the ph and it went up to about 6.5. I'm going to wait a few hours and put the rest of the new water in. Yet another lesson learned. Amazing I only lost one fish out of this. (Darn nice looking Cory)

I'll post another update tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I cleaned out my quarantine tank holding my new neons, and one of the darn things shocked while sitting in a cup while I cleaned the tank. They are all back in the little tank but this one isn't moving at all. Doesn't look good. I love neons but I seem to lose too many. I'm being very careful while moving them and transitioning between bag or tank.

Anyway, thanks gang. Great forum here.

 

[OldMan47]

If you are changing the water every week or two, you don't really need to wait between water additions. I usually procrastinate and only get my water changes every 2 weeks but I do not hesitate to do a 30% in a single step. On my big community tank that can take most of a half hour but on a little 20 gallon it is all over 10 minutes after I start. I use a 5 gallon bucket so a bucket to 1 1/2 buckets to empty and refill does not take long. If you are not cleaning the substrate often enough, the first fish affected are often the bottom dwellers.

 

[Drum4JC]

Today it dropped to 6.0 again so I dis another thorough vacuum and water replacement. It appears to be holding at 6.6 for the last 5 hours. Hopefully it will hold and improve. I'll continue the daily water changes until it holds at a safe level.

I'm also going to clean out any muck in the bio filter tomorrow.

 

[degsod]

Today it dropped to 6.0 again so I dis another thorough vacuum and water replacement. It appears to be holding at 6.6 for the last 5 hours. Hopefully it will hold and improve. I'll continue the daily water changes until it holds at a safe level.

I'm also going to clean out any muck in the bio filter tomorrow.

How are you going to clean out your filter? don't wash it in tap water. just gently squeeze the the sponges in a bucket of tank water. Are you puting dechlorinator in when you do a water change?

Do you have any bogwood or other ornaments in the tank?

 

[Drum4JC]

When I say clean the filter I mean see if any goo has accumulated inside it and gently wipe it off. I rarely touch the areas where the bacteria grow. If I see goo then I gently slosh in removed tank water and then put it back. Finally I replace the charcoal filter. The manufacturer says to go 4-6 weeks but mine looks pretty bad after 2 to 3 weeks.

I use novaqua and amquel+ to treat new water and for ongoing maintenance.


I did the filter this morning before work. The ph held it's value since last night so I hope it is stabilizing. All fish appear to be normal too.

 

[H. Houdini]

I'm no expert, but if the tests are showing ammonia in small amounts and no nitrate or nitrite, doesn't that mean the tank is cycling???

 

[Tropical_Fish]

I'm no expert either but zero nitrate doesn't sound normal. You'd expect to have some nitrate.

 

[Drum4JC]

The tank is fairly new but it appears to be cycled. I had the spikes in each category and just has very small fluctuations from time to time. I thought that was normal.