Low Ph

[Bluejay]

Hey, I've been fishless cycling my tank for around a month and I got my fish yesterday, Gold Tetra's and one mystery danio (An accident). I found the ph of the tank is currently 5.5 or possibly even lower. My tap water is very soft (Don't know the exact reading) and the ph is about 6.0-6.5? I'm concerned that this will be bad for the fish. I have some bogwood in the tank but its been in there the whole time I was cycling and was boiled and soaked for 2 weeks beforehand. I've already done a 20% water change to try and raise the ph a little. Whats the best thing to do in this situation? All the fish seem fine, if a little skittish and most/probably all the gold tetras have a black spot on their tail which i've read is a sign they are healthyand the water parameters are ok for them.

Edit: Ammonia and Nitrites are at 0 and Nitrates are extremly low. I have about 10 plants in the aquarium which I put in after a bleach dip. (I dipped them in a bucket with very diluted bleach, then rinsed them then soaked them in the bucket with lots of dechrolinator, could it have been this?

 

[rdd1952]

Most fish can easily adapt to a pH that is outside their optimal range. As long as you are keeping fish that prefer acidic water you should be ok. It is however much easier to raise pH naturally than it is to lower it. You could add some crushed coral to your filter or a piece of tufa stone to the tank. Either will raise it. What ever you do, stay away from the pH adjusting chemicals as they will keep your tank in a constant up and down swing which is far worse for the fish. Stability is the key.

 

[Bluejay]

Thanks very much, I'll check how it is tommorow and look at adding something then, these things wouldn't raise the ph too much would they? Ideally these fish are supposed to be between 6.0-6.5 apparently.

 

[rdd1952]

It's kind of trial and error. The amount it will raise it depends on how much you add. The larger the piece of tufa rock the more it will go up. I would suggest doing small water changes (maybe 10%) frequently enough to get slowly raise the pH back to the range you want it to be. Then add about a teaspoonful of crushed coral to your filter media or you can simply hang it in the tank near the water flow. That should add enough buffering to keep the pH from slowly dropping. If you notice that it is dropping, add a little more (or take a little oout if it seems to start rising. Just keep in mind that the actual pH number is not nearly as important as the fact that it's stable. The fish will probably be fine as long as the other water parameters are in order.