Ph Help,6.0?!

Sammyb · Nov 11, 2011

Well just tested the PH, first time ive done it, oops
well it seems to be under 6.0...
i would like to raise it to around 6.5 at least as its sort of in the middle for the fish i have and want, ive seen baking soda can be used, is it any good? how much do you put in? its 110L
ive also seen limestone can be used? what dose it even look like, i have 3 pure white smooth rocks, are they limestone?
Any help would be great!

fishy16 · Nov 11, 2011

Sammyb said:
Well just tested the PH, first time ive done it, oops
well it seems to be under 6.0...
i would like to raise it to around 6.5 at least as its sort of in the middle for the fish i have and want, ive seen baking soda can be used, is it any good? how much do you put in? its 110L
ive also seen limestone can be used? what dose it even look like, i have 3 pure white smooth rocks, are they limestone?
Any help would be great!

some rocks/stone can change your PH. Did you test the tap water or the tank water?

Sammyb · Nov 11, 2011

Tested the tankwater and tapwater, tapwater came out at 6.8

nurglespuss · Nov 11, 2011

do you have bogwood/old leaves etc. in the tank? this will further lower the pH...

so long as you have low pH compatible species you should be fine, unless you want to start using bottled water!

I used to have to do that, thank goodness for pound shops!

Sammyb · Nov 11, 2011

Yeah got a huge piece of bog wood in it, thats probably why, do you think after a certain amount of water changes it may go up a little?

nurglespuss · Nov 11, 2011

Again it all depends if thats what you want to happen...

What is your current stock of fish?

are they healthy?

Sammyb · Nov 11, 2011

5 danios, 6 neons, 1 hifin pleco (yes i know it will get massive!) and 2 celestial pearl danios, we sort of rescued them thats why theres only 2..., and then a few plants, 2 shrimp also

nurglespuss · Nov 11, 2011

hmmm well the neons won't complain at that pH! (although many are now aquarium bred ;p )....

The others though, well, provided they look healthy, are eating, have good colour etc. and the pH is not dropping any more I wouldn't panic too much.

pH 6 is the lower end of the danios range, and the plec will be fine in it to (though yes, you know he'll get huge and be a poop monster! ;p ).

The shrimp, i have not idea! Some shrimp like low pH some don't... glass/ghost shrimp don't do particularly well in it...

Sammyb · Nov 11, 2011

well i think i would still want to raise it a tiny bit just to be on the safe side for all the fish, they are amano shrimp... :good:

eaglesaquarium · Nov 11, 2011

A water change will bring the pH up temporarily. If you do too big a water change too quickly though, you may stress the fish with such a big variance in pH. You can still do a large water change, just be more methodical about adding the new water in, especially the first bit. If you are looking to raise pH over the long haul, a tiny bag of crushed coral will do that. HOwever, it will also raise the hardness of the water and your fish are ones that prefer softer water. If I were you I would just increase my water change frequency. If your normal schedule is to do 30% once a week, try doing 15-20% twice a week. The more frequent but smaller water changes will keep the tank closer to the levels of your tap water and further from an extreme difference.