Help..

[Comacchio]

So after fully cycling my tank I done a major water change to get rid of nitrites and try to stabalise my ph in the tank at the ph of my (settled) tap water.

However this has caused my bacteria to stall - no longer processing in 12 hours and my ph is 5-6. Is this Ph suitable for fish?

Whats a long term option for raising my PH to a suitable level, adding bicarb is not an option! Surely this ph is below government standards for drinking water?

 

[fluttermoth]

There are very many fish that can cope with that pH. Stay away from livebearers and go for South American species and you should be fine. It might be a good idea to add a couple of handfuls of coral sand to your substrate, or put a few shells in the tank which will dissolve gradually and help prevent your pH crashing too low, but many tetras and dwarf cichlids come from water that drops to 4.

You'll need to do more frequent, smaller water changes to help the fish not become pH shocked, but other than that I wouldn't worry too much.

 

[Comacchio]

Brilliant thanks.

The problem is bacteria though - doesnt ph 5 kill them?

 

[fluttermoth]

No, there are families of nitrifying bacteria that can tolerate low pH; you just need to wait for them to multiply, if you raised the pH for your cycle.