Ph Levels Too Low, How To Increase?

[Ogrt48]

My ph is less than 6.2 I believe it should be atleast 7.0 for the fish I have.. How can I increase it? =\ thanks

 

[tttnjfttt]

What is the pH of water straight out of your tap? Also, what is your KH, GH, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels?

 

[Ogrt48]

ammonia was around 1.0
nitrites was 0.25 the others I don't know. ph right from tap is close to 7.0
I did a 25% water change today, its a 10g tank

 

[tttnjfttt]

how long has the tank been set up?

 

[Ogrt48]

8 days

 

[tttnjfttt]

The most obvious reason why your pH could be low is a low KH, aka alkanity, aka buffering capasity. Basically, how many chemicals are there in the water that will help keep the pH stable.

To complicate things, your tank is currently cycling, or going through the process where bacteria is built up to handle the waste (ammonia and nitrite). It is very possible your pH will be a little higher after you are done cycling the tank.

For right now, begin doing daily water changes of 20-25%, as that will help remove some of the waste. You may want to begin wiht twice daily until your ammonia and nitrite are both below .5

What fish do you have in the tank?

 

[Ogrt48]

Right now theres a small female betta, 2 small texas chichlids (sp) 3 mickey mouse platys and a aussie blue crayfish.
The tank had been setup for 8 months or so before last sunday but in a freak accident where my cat rubbed up against the heater controls.. Boiling my c rayfish and fishies at 130f + degrees =\ So I had to empty it, get all new fish and refil the tank with new water. B efore this my water was perfect.

 

[tttnjfttt]

Unfortunately, your cat boiled away all the beneficial bacteria as well, so essientially you have a brand new tank set-up. Keep up with the water changes and keep a close eye on the pH. If it gets any lower, you can consider buffering it, which can become a hassle in the long run.

Also, i strongly recomend finding out what type of texas cichlids you have, as some can grow to be quite large.

 

[Opcn]

You have to get pretty high to boil away the bacteria, however drying out the tank or cleaning it with bleach or tap water would do it. I suggest that you keep up with the heavy water changes for a good long while, water changes are a fast and cheap way to make your fish happy, also the inhabitants might not have been chosen with the propper caution.