Ph Level Not Right

[matrixsc]

The PH in out tank seems to stay around 7 i'd say and i know it needs to be around 8 for Cichlids.

We have some in there atm started to stock the tank up 2 weeks ago a couple have died but the rest are fine.
I was thinking of putting some PH buffer in to raise the level is that the correct thing to do?

We have atm 9 Cichlids in the tank( Rio 180 tank )and one catfish and 2 loaches and hoping to get more Cichlids in the tank once we get the Ph right.

I've added some pictures so you can see what i mean.

Ph test : -





All in one test : -






Any advice would be great please.


Thank you.

 

[demasonisrule]

What do you have for substrate? You could use either crushed coral sand, or limestone gravel, and it will bring the PH right up.

I tend to stay away from the chemical PH buffers, mainly because they bring the PH up a lot, and it will go down when you do water changes, top ups, etc., and then swing back up when you add some more in, causing major swings, which are even worse than having a low PH

 

[matrixsc]

What do you have for substrate? You could use either crushed coral sand, or limestone gravel, and it will bring the PH right up.

I tend to stay away from the chemical PH buffers, mainly because they bring the PH up a lot, and it will go down when you do water changes, top ups, etc., and then swing back up when you add some more in, causing major swings, which are even worse than having a low PH

I don't really have anything other than a couple of rocks( slate) in there see the picture of my tank below






Thanks.

 

[lalo99]

What is your ph out of the tap? You should also know your GH and KH. If its much lower than your desired tank ph, you need to buffer the water with every water change. It also depends on teh amount of water you change. With a 10% water cahnge you should not see much of a swing in thepH. A 50% water change will see more of fluctuation. Crushed coral or limestone in the tank will help keep the water buffered. It won't buffer the water instantly. You don't want any swings in ph.

I would save yourself some money and look at baking soda and epsom salts. These will do the same job as commercial buffers, but be much cheaper. Baking Soda wil rasie teh PH and KH. Epsom Salts will raise the gH.

 

[matrixsc]

What is your ph out of the tap? You should also know your GH and KH. If its much lower than your desired tank ph, you need to buffer the water with every water change. It also depends on teh amount of water you change. With a 10% water cahnge you should not see much of a swing in thepH. A 50% water change will see more of fluctuation. Crushed coral or limestone in the tank will help keep the water buffered. It won't buffer the water instantly. You don't want any swings in ph.

I would save yourself some money and look at baking soda and epsom salts. These will do the same job as commercial buffers, but be much cheaper. Baking Soda wil rasie teh PH and KH. Epsom Salts will raise the gH.

Thanks for the info what do i use to test the GH and KH.?

 

[lalo99]

What is your ph out of the tap? You should also know your GH and KH. If its much lower than your desired tank ph, you need to buffer the water with every water change. It also depends on teh amount of water you change. With a 10% water cahnge you should not see much of a swing in thepH. A 50% water change will see more of fluctuation. Crushed coral or limestone in the tank will help keep the water buffered. It won't buffer the water instantly. You don't want any swings in ph.

I would save yourself some money and look at baking soda and epsom salts. These will do the same job as commercial buffers, but be much cheaper. Baking Soda wil rasie teh PH and KH. Epsom Salts will raise the gH.

Thanks for the info what do i use to test the GH and KH.?

You should be able to find test kits for each at a LFS.

 

[dthoffsett]

A liquid test will be more accurate than the strip test, but from what I can read on the pic for the all in one test it's showing a KH of 3 which is very low. KH is what will buffer and keep your PH from swinging. IMO a subtrate change would be easiest as you wouldn't need to add buffer at every water change. Regardless of how you do it you'll need to raise the KH slowly for the fish already in the tank.

My other concern is that you said a few fish have died already, do you know why they died? Sorting that out before adding any new additions should be your priority.