Low pH

[CowFishlova]

Hi!

I would not say I am a first time fish owner, as I made this account on here over 10 years ago. Over time I have had an African ciclid tank, betas, tropical community tanks, and saltwater tanks.

I am now in college though and have fallen out of the hobby a bit due to college taking most of my money lol. But I wanted to get back into it and I had a 5 gallon Top Fin aquarium (because dorms are small) with 3 guppies in it. They all died though and I tested the pH endlessly and it was always super low like 6.0. So I got some pH regulator and nothing changed. I did plenty of water changes and what not. So the fish died and I shut down the tank out of frustration because I genuinely could not figure out why the pH was so low. I decided to give it another go though and set up the tanks again today and cleaned everything thoroughly. I put some water conditioner, stress coat, and ammo lock. I am letting it cycle for 2 weeks before I get anything and I want to make sure the pH is right before I even get anything. So I tested the water and it still was low at 6.4.

Does anyone have any ideas as to what is wrong?

For reference the filter is a Aqua Clear 20 and there is currently a heater in the tank and one live plant. Also I buy my tank water from my lfs.

Thank you!

 

[Byron]

Nothing is wrong, per say. The pH is part of the relationship involving GH (general or total hardness) and KH (carbonate hardness, also called Alkalinity). The GH and KH basically determine the pH. CO2 (dissolved carbon dioxide) in the water also impacts pH. As would calcareous substances (limestone, marble, aragonite, dolomite, etc).

Aquarists initially fuss over the pH and make things worse for the fish. You need to know the GH and KH of the source water, as these will tell you what the pH may or may not do. Trying to alter the pH usually puts you in a confrontation with the natural chemistry determined by the GH and KH, depending.

But going simply from what you have mentioned, I would expect the GH and KH to be fairly low. If you can provide the GH and KH I should be able to sort this out.

Edit. Forgot about the cycling...this might only take 2 weeks, but it can take up to 8 weeks. If you have live plants and given this small a tank will not have many fish (perhaps a single Betta, or a small group of nano fish) it will silent cycle. Or you can use a bacterial supplement like Tetra's SafeStart.

 

[Scarlett123]

Nothing is wrong, per say. The pH is part of the relationship involving GH (general or total hardness) and KH (carbonate hardness, also called Alkalinity). The GH and KH basically determine the pH. CO2 (dissolved carbon dioxide) in the water also impacts pH. As would calcareous substances (limestone, marble, aragonite, dolomite, etc).

Aquarists initially fuss over the pH and make things worse for the fish. You need to know the GH and KH of the source water, as these will tell you what the pH may or may not do. Trying to alter the pH usually puts you in a confrontation with the natural chemistry determined by the GH and KH, depending.

But going simply from what you have mentioned, I would expect the GH and KH to be fairly low. If you can provide the GH and KH I should be able to sort this out.

Edit. Forgot about the cycling...this might only take 2 weeks, but it can take up to 8 weeks. If you have live plants and given this small a tank will not have many fish (perhaps a single Betta, or a small group of nano fish) it will silent cycle. Or you can use a bacterial supplement like Tetra's SafeStart.

I had a heavily planted tank and the ph of the tap water was 8.2 yet in the tank it was 6. Kh was 1. Tank wouldn’t cycle (it had been 4 months) until I added aragonite to the tank. Then it finally cycled within 2 weeks. It needed the kh up to stabilize the ph.

 

[CowFishlova]

Nothing is wrong, per say. The pH is part of the relationship involving GH (general or total hardness) and KH (carbonate hardness, also called Alkalinity). The GH and KH basically determine the pH. CO2 (dissolved carbon dioxide) in the water also impacts pH. As would calcareous substances (limestone, marble, aragonite, dolomite, etc).

Aquarists initially fuss over the pH and make things worse for the fish. You need to know the GH and KH of the source water, as these will tell you what the pH may or may not do. Trying to alter the pH usually puts you in a confrontation with the natural chemistry determined by the GH and KH, depending.

But going simply from what you have mentioned, I would expect the GH and KH to be fairly low. If you can provide the GH and KH I should be able to sort this out.

Edit. Forgot about the cycling...this might only take 2 weeks, but it can take up to 8 weeks. If you have live plants and given this small a tank will not have many fish (perhaps a single Betta, or a small group of nano fish) it will silent cycle. Or you can use a bacterial supplement like Tetra's SafeStart.

Thank you! I will for sure look into getting a testing kit for that then! I did not know any of that so thank you for the information. Also, my boyfriend had an aquarium with the same plants as me and the same exact water (as we would get the big jugs from the store and spit them) and he had 2 red cherry shrimp and 3 nano fish and his pH is perfect so I just was so unsure why mine was so different.

 

[Colin_T]

Guppies need water with a GH above 200ppm and a pH above 7.0.

If your boyfriend had tetras or fish that naturally occur in soft acid water, they would be fine. But guppies won't do well in soft acid water.

If your pH is low, you can add some shells, limestone or dead coral rubble/ skeletons to the tank. They are calcium based and will help raise the pH.

If the GH is low and you want to keep guppies, then add some Rift Lake water conditioner to the tank to increase the calcium and magnesium levels in the water. this will raise the GH and pH and guppies will do better.

 

[CowFishlova]

Guppies need water with a GH above 200ppm and a pH above 7.0.

If your boyfriend had tetras or fish that naturally occur in soft acid water, they would be fine. But guppies won't do well in soft acid water.

If your pH is low, you can add some shells, limestone or dead coral rubble/ skeletons to the tank. They are calcium based and will help raise the pH.

If the GH is low and you want to keep guppies, then add some Rift Lake water conditioner to the tank to increase the calcium and magnesium levels in the water. this will raise the GH and pH and guppies will do better.

That helps a lot thank you! I am going to test me GH and KH soon so based off of that I will follow your advice! Thank you!

 

[Byron]

That helps a lot thank you! I am going to test me GH and KH soon so based off of that I will follow your advice! Thank you!

Perhap you can ascertain the GH from the local water authority. No need for a test kit unless you go down the road of adjusting parameters. Once we know the GH of the source water, it will be easy to advise. Adjusting water parameters is certainly possible, but it is more effort, more expense, and has more impact on natural biological and chemistry processes. If you have fish suited to the water coming out of the tap, you will have a much easier time of it. Water changes for one thing are a breeze then.