Not An Emergency, But Having Ph Problems.

[yankee]

I've been struggling to keep the pH in my tank anywhere close to 7 since I set it up. It's never been above the low 6's.

I had some trouble recently so I tested and it was off the charts on the low side. I got Tetra Correct pH 7.0, and added the specified number of tablets, 3 for my 30 gallon tank. The tank got cloudy for about a day, and the pH only went up to about the mid 6's. Sunday, I did a 10 gallon water change and put 1 tablet in each 5 gal bucket I added back to the tank. Now, the pH is back in the low 6's! The stuff I got doesn't seem to be working. Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks!

 

[Ruskull]

I have high pH in my tap water & I find it's better top just keep fish that like the tap pH rather than trying to alter it which means it will vary too much for the fish. Many Tetras like low pH..........

I'm not sure but I think lava rock also raises the pH. Maybe someone here knows better?

 

[The Taffy Apple]

Hi...firstly,what would be beneficial to you is to clarify what type of water is coming out of your tap..my theory would be that it is (like mine) very soft. A KH/GH test kit will prove this (£3/4 from Ebay).
If it does come back as soft water then there are a couple of options open to you..
1/ Adding Bicarb Of Soda (most supermarkets sell this in the home baking ailse). This will raise your PH to a nice 7.4+..but this is only a temporary measure though..the Bicarb can, and does, tend to clog together over time insode your filter, releasing all at once and clouding your tank, potentially raising your ammonia to very dangerous levels. Or..
2/ Using crushed coral or, as ruskull mentioned above, lava or some other kind of carbonate rock. I use a handful of crushed coral in both my tank itself and in a basket within my external filter, keeps my PH at a steady 7.2 (with it being 6.8 out of the tap, then drastically 'crashing' to 5.0 and below over a week or so).

Obviously, this all depends on your current tank set-up, is it cycled? Are you going through a cycle? Do you find it stalls your Nitrogen cycle, raising your Ammonia (our beneficial bacteria prefer a much higher PH than 6.0) ?

Terry.

PS..try and ignore the "PH up and PH down" chemical products, a complete waste of money that can drastically alternate your PH for the worse.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

yankee- please see to my post in this thread http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/391888-ph-is-scary-d/page__gopid__3292533#entry3292533

 

[gforce17]

I'm not an expert in any way shape or form, but my reading here and elsewhere tells me that messing with ph can be more detrimental to the fish than going with the ph you've got and stocking with the fish that can cope with your ph. Other posts suggest that many fish can accommodate quite a range of ph levels and that it is not so much of a worry. I repeat that I'm not an expert and I may be way out!

Quote from the site mentioned above by TwoTankAmin:

'pH

pH refers to water being either an acid, base, or neither (neutral). A pH of 7 is said to be neutral, a pH below 7 is ``acidic'' and a pH above 7 is ``basic'' or ``alkaline''. Like the Richter scale used to measure earthquakes, the pH scale is logarithmic. A pH of 5.5 is 10 times more acidic than water at a pH of 6.5. Thus, changing the pH by a small amount (suddenly) is more of a chemical change (and more stressful to fish!) than might first appear.
To a fishkeeper, two aspects of pH are important. First, rapid changes in pH are stressful to fish and should be avoided. Changing the pH by more than .3 units per day is known to stress fish. Thus, you want the pH of your tank to remain constant and stable over the long haul. Second, fish have adapted to thrive in a (sometimes narrow) pH range. You want to be sure that your tank's pH matches the specific requirements of the fish you are keeping.

Most fish can adjust to a pH somewhat outside of their optimal range. If your water's pH is naturally within the range of 6.5 to 7.5, you will be able to keep most species of fish without any problems. If your pH lies within this range, there is probably no need to adjust it upward or downward.'

 

[CezzaXV]

I agree. Trying to change your pH is only going to cause you trouble down the line. Unless you've got fish which need a very specific requirements (think Discus, some cichlids etc) then there's really no need to change the pH - fish are much more adaptable than people give them credit for. I have really soft water and my pH is always all over the place. I've yet to lose a fish due to pH issues.

 

[C.J.]

I also agree. Keep your pH in your tank the same as in your tap. gforce17 gave an awesome quote. Even a small pH change can really stress fish. Changing the pH more than, say 0.2 at a time without letting the fish adjust could send them into a "pH shock", which they could die from.

On a side note - I kind of envy you I like to keep my tank water pretty acidic, but my tap is in the 7.2 - 7.8 range.

 

[yankee]

as the taffy apple suggested, i left out some important info. Here's the long of it.

The tank has been running for around 3.5 years. The pH was never really stable, when I was starting out, I tried to control it and keep it close to 7. Never really got above 7.2 or below 6.8. I was living in a different place then, with well water and actually had to adjust the pH down(using pH down). About 2 years ago, I moved to another place, still well water, but I had to adjust the pH up at this new place. Also, foolishly, I stopped doing any other treatments to the well water and eventually gave up on trying to keep the pH stable on any level; I just gave up and this particular well the pH fluctuates a few points seasonally. Obviously, this caused me all sorts of grief, stressed and dead fish and plants, an infestation of black beard algae and other horrors I'm still repressing.

About a year a go, I saw the light. I'm treating my water with Amquel and Novaqua. Weekly 10 gallon water changes and a new filter pad every 2 weeks. However, still no control over any water parameters. I had the test strips, just never even used them because nothing looked awry. About 2 months ago, I had some 2 ladder loaches who went homicidal and killed and ate 4 Siamese algae eaters and then promptly died themselves. At that point, I did a major vacuuming and rescaping. About a week ago, one of my black widow tetra's had cloudy eyes, so after googling a bit, I checked the pH, and here we are.

Water Stats:
                    Tank    Tap
Nitrite(mg/L)       0       0
Nitrate(mg/L)       0       >10(is this even possible?)
Hardness(GH)        ~95     ~95
Chlorine(mg/L)      0       0
Alkalinity(KH)      ~25     ~25
pH                   Below 6.2

I now also have an in tank pH monitor, and it's reading between 5.8 and 6.2.

 

[Dieses Madchen]

Crushed coral in a stocking, stuffed into the filter will help raise and buffer your tank water.

 

[Ruskull]

Hi...firstly,what would be beneficial to you is to clarify what type of water is coming out of your tap..my theory would be that it is (like mine) very soft. A KH/GH test kit will prove this (£3/4 from Ebay).
If it does come back as soft water then there are a couple of options open to you..
1/ Adding Bicarb Of Soda (most supermarkets sell this in the home baking ailse). This will raise your PH to a nice 7.4+..but this is only a temporary measure though..the Bicarb can, and does, tend to clog together over time insode your filter, releasing all at once and clouding your tank, potentially raising your ammonia to very dangerous levels. Or..
2/ Using crushed coral or, as ruskull mentioned above, lava or some other kind of carbonate rock. I use a handful of crushed coral in both my tank itself and in a basket within my external filter, keeps my PH at a steady 7.2 (with it being 6.8 out of the tap, then drastically 'crashing' to 5.0 and below over a week or so).

Obviously, this all depends on your current tank set-up, is it cycled? Are you going through a cycle? Do you find it stalls your Nitrogen cycle, raising your Ammonia (our beneficial bacteria prefer a much higher PH than 6.0) ?

Terry.

PS..try and ignore the "PH up and PH down" chemical products, a complete waste of money that can drastically alternate your PH for the worse.

Good advice I have a brand new bottle of API pH Down that's only been used once because of the above. You're better off altering your pH naturally as possible, driftwood will lower the pH, and lava rock & coral will raise it. The down side is if your spread your water changes out too long making larger changes, you will make your water pH fluctuate too much. Better off with smaller more frequent water changes in this scenario.