Ph Level Will Not Come Up

[slim616]

Sorry if this is a repost but for some reason everytime I try to search it comes up as a error. I have a 55 gallon tank with african cichlids in it. When i test the ph levels in it I found that in was in the 6.0 levels so I figured I would bring it up. Well after several days of using ph increaser the levels have hardly came up at all. Were in my 30 gallon community tank after two treatmens i got it up in the 7.0 range. So the question is how come in the 55 gallon tank the PH levels will not come up?

 

[jimmyringo]

I've had all sorts of problems with my pH dropping to 6 in my community tank.I have spent months trying to find the cause but have had to give up and just concentrate on raising the pH.I didn't want to go down the route of adding commercial pH adjusters so after getting some excellent advice on here,i've added coral sand(crushed coral) to my filter and my pH is slowly rising already.

Stick with it.The guys on here will sort you out.

 

[waterdrop]

Jimmyringo is right.

In my experience we only recommend two methods for raising pH here on the "New to the Hobby" forum.

1) With fish in: Use crushed coral in in a mesh bag in the filter. Crushed coral is supplied usually in big bags available at the LFS and consists of broken shells and coral pieces that have been screened and cleaned. Its made of calcium carbonate and will very slowly dissolve into your water. The reason its used is because the rate at which it dissolves is slow enough not to hurt the fish. Not to mention that its cheap. The reason you put it in a bag is so you can take it out to clean, replace or remove, since its something that effects your water. The reason you need to keep it clean is that it won't dissolve once there is too much debris or bacteria on it. The reason you put it in one of your filter trays is to help it dissolve and be distributed a little faster. The amount to try is a small partial handful at first and eventually you can decide to increase or decrease it in small amounts.

2) Without fish (during fishless cycling): Use kitchen baking soda (-not- baking powder), which will quickly raise the carbonate hardness, with the pH rising quickly as a result. Baking soda, being supplied at this one point in time will be rapidly used up and will need to be replenished more frequently than crushed coral would, but acts more quickly, which is more what you want when you are waiting for a fishless cycle. You can use a KH (carbonate hardness) test kit to help you understand the relationship between carbonate hardness movements and pH movements, which is useful knowledge.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome to the forum Slim. It would help if we knew your tap water pH after the water has had a chance to sit for a while. If it is above 7.0, you might be able to get the chemistry under control simply by doing frequent partial water changes. That would be a better solution to the problem than many other approaches.

 

[drobbyb]

I just want to echo what waterdrop and OldMan have said. I use a combination of crushed coral and twice weekly water changes to keep my pH up. The problem with my water is that my KH and GH are almost non-existant coming out of the tap.

 

[mike os]

more limestone rocks will help.

personally I dont like using coral sand or coral gravel in freshwater tanks as it tends to be very sharp.

 

[Malfie]

Sorry if this is a repost but for some reason everytime I try to search it comes up as a error. I have a 55 gallon tank with african cichlids in it. When i test the ph levels in it I found that in was in the 6.0 levels so I figured I would bring it up. Well after several days of using ph increaser the levels have hardly came up at all. Were in my 30 gallon community tank after two treatmens i got it up in the 7.0 range. So the question is how come in the 55 gallon tank the PH levels will not come up?

This happens to me everytime too.I now have to search page after page to find out information I need

Malfie

 

[Don Trinko]

Have you checked your KH? ( the chemicals that produce a high KH buffer the PH of your water)If the KH is high it is difficult to permanently change PH, If KH is low you can get PH crash. Don T.

 

[drobbyb]

personally I dont like using coral sand or coral gravel in freshwater tanks as it tends to be very sharp.

I hang a bag containing crushed coral in my filter, not as a substrate.

 

[mike os]

personally I dont like using coral sand or coral gravel in freshwater tanks as it tends to be very sharp.

I hang a bag containing crushed coral in my filter, not as a substrate.

that works....

 

[jimmyringo]

I hang a bag containing crushed coral in my filter, not as a substrate.

me too.....although it's in an ankle stocking

 

[drobbyb]

I hang a bag containing crushed coral in my filter, not as a substrate.

me too.....although it's in an ankle stocking

I use that as well. It's lasted longer than any of the filter bags I have used before