More Ph Questions

[targa66]

I have a small (30l) tank that I use for quarantine/fry. It's empty now (but I keep it cycled) - has one of those TetraTec HOB filters. I recently put a pregnant guppy in it and she was really distressed - swimming frantically around, really really fast gill movement and even hitting the gravel/sides of tank. After about 24 hours, she settled to the bottom of the tank and didn't move - at that point, I thought this must be more than moving stress and pulled her out and put her back in my big tank. Since then (almost a week) she's been fine, eating, etc.

My water stats are all good (0 amm., 0 nitrate) EXCEPT the pH is higher in the small tank - big tank it's about 7.6 and small is about 8.2. (Tap water is about 7.2.)

-could the pH be what was making her so distressed?? I thought she was a goner when she was just sitting on the bottom.

- she was alone - would adding another guppy maybe help? I thought guppies weren't shoaling fish and wouldn't care - there's lots of plants in there and I turned the light off so she wouldn't feel too vulnerable...

- I am very curious - why would the little tank's pH be that much higher than the large tank? do I need to do anything about it? As I said, it's got a HOB filter in it, some plants, gravel on bottom. The filter just has the spongy media and charcoal sack that came with it. I've had fish in it in the past - some were sick when I put them in and died, but that was several months ago and since then, I've cleaned it out and successfully raised some guppy fry in it.

Thanks for any comments/advice.
Shelly

 

[rowdyburns21]

I would most certainly agree that the ph change would shock the fish, you say you have a gravel base in your quarintine tank, what is the substrate in your main tank?

 

[targa66]

I would most certainly agree that the ph change would shock the fish, you say you have a gravel base in your quarintine tank, what is the substrate in your main tank?

It's also gravel, but now that you mention it, most of the gravel in the big tank was from a different source (it was some generic stuff I bought at an aquarium/pond store). The gravel in the little tank was from Pets at Home....
anything I can do to make the little tank bearable? from what I've read, it doesn't look like a good idea to start putting chems in to try to lower pH.
thanks for your help!
Shelly

 

[neonoah75]

You can use peat moss in filters to lower pH, but you have to test every day because the pH can drop very quickly in a short period of time. An easier (though more expensive) way is to use 50% distilled water and 50% tap water (dechlorinated of course) when you do your weekly water change. This will take longer, and it may not make the pH exactly waht you want it to be, but it will stabalize it to a neutural level; 6.5 - 7.5.

 

[targa66]

You can use peat moss in filters to lower pH, but you have to test every day because the pH can drop very quickly in a short period of time. An easier (though more expensive) way is to use 50% distilled water and 50% tap water (dechlorinated of course) when you do your weekly water change. This will take longer, and it may not make the pH exactly waht you want it to be, but it will stabalize it to a neutural level; 6.5 - 7.5.

Thanks for the advice. ~Do you mean the distilled water that they sell in stores with spring water, etc.? thx.