Ph dropping significantly

[Byron]

I would not waste money on another test for GH/KH as you only need to know these numbers for your source water. The levels from the online data are more likely correct, and as essjay or someone suggested, take a sample of your tap water to a reliable fish store and ask for a GH test. Just make sure you get the number and their unit of measurement; do not accept meaningless terms like "moderate" or "OK," we must know the number.

 

[Aynia]

I'm going to talk to my husband and take a water sample to our LFS probably tomorrow afternoon, so I can get some hard numbers and finally see what we're dealing with

 

[Aynia]

So we took a water sample to the local fish store and they tested and said it was 150. We ordered a kit on amazon that includes gh/kh and it read that our GH was 180+ and our KH was 0. Our PH issue is still happening, it's gradually fallen down to 6.0-6.2 range. We just don't know when it will stop, and now that it's down to 6 I'm starting to worry, because our test only goes down to 6.0 >.< We do have a decent size piece of driftwood in there, should we take it out? Could it really have made the ph drop 1.8?

 

[Aynia]

After some more research I've concluded that the KH being at zero means there's no ph buffer and it's causing our ph to crash. Went and picked up some crushed coral and put it in a mesh bag and tucked it into the corner next to the intake filter. I'm hoping that if we get our KH up we can get the ph to stabilize back around 7.

 

[Byron]

So we took a water sample to the local fish store and they tested and said it was 150. We ordered a kit on amazon that includes gh/kh and it read that our GH was 180+ and our KH was 0. Our PH issue is still happening, it's gradually fallen down to 6.0-6.2 range. We just don't know when it will stop, and now that it's down to 6 I'm starting to worry, because our test only goes down to 6.0 >.< We do have a decent size piece of driftwood in there, should we take it out? Could it really have made the ph drop 1.8?

I assume the 150 is in ppm (degrees would be impossible with so high a number). That equates to 8 dGH, for those of us who think better with the smaller numbers, lol. The kit you acquired read 180 ppm (= 10 dGH)...be careful how you interpret the colour change, it is the very first change even if faint. We can assume though that you are in this range. The KH is zero. And yes, that is why the pH will naturally lower due to the breakdown of organics. More below.

A piece of driftwood is not going to have much if any impact. And with a pleco, you need the wood as this is "eaten" by the pleco and keeps the intestines healthy.

After some more research I've concluded that the KH being at zero means there's no ph buffer and it's causing our ph to crash. Went and picked up some crushed coral and put it in a mesh bag and tucked it into the corner next to the intake filter. I'm hoping that if we get our KH up we can get the ph to stabilize back around 7.

Yes, the KH is the lack of buffering...but it is not correct to say the pH is crashing. It is lowering naturally and this is fine for soft water fish. It is better to leave it alone. A crash occurs when a stable pH is suddenly impacted unnaturally and immediately "crashes" down, killing fish. This can be brought about by poor maintenance (lack of water changes) and/or by use of chemicals to adjust pH.

Crushed coral is not a buffer unless it has aragonite or dolomite in it. It will however raise the pH and likely very high. I used 2 tablespoons in the filter of my 90g tank and it went soaring up to 7.8 in less than 24 hours which is not good with fish present.

 

[Aynia]

We've had it in about 20 hours, and I checked the water on my lunch break today. Ph has raised from 6 to 6.5, KH raised from 0 to 40. We're going to keep an eye on it and if the ph starts to get too high we'll take it out. Good thing we put it in a media bag and didn't just add it to the substrate >.<