Ph Levels

[PlatinumAngel]

Help! I've just set up my new 75 gallon tank. It's been running for 48 hours and the ph level will not lower. I've put in something that should lower it, but it's not even on the charts on the color guide. Is there a way to safely lower it quickly?
What should I do?

 

[WillyRBeek]

Help! I've just set up my new 75 gallon tank. It's been running for 48 hours and the ph level will not lower. I've put in something that should lower it, but it's not even on the charts on the color guide. Is there a way to safely lower it quickly?
What should I do?

What kind of fish do you plan on putting in there first of all?

 

[PlatinumAngel]

What kind of fish do you plan on putting in there first of all?

I have 2 angels, some guppies, black tetras, 2 balas, and a few others that I currently have in a 25 gallon, which is usually around 6.8-7

 

[WillyRBeek]

What kind of fish do you plan on putting in there first of all?

I have 2 angels, some guppies, black tetras, 2 balas, and a few others that I currently have in a 25 gallon, which is usually around 6.8-7

There's other members that can give you a more detailed/through answer then me, but I really wouldn't worry too much about the pH, as usually that's not going to make or break things for you, and if your pH is around 6.8-7 in your other tank and you're getting the water from the same source(I'm assuming your tap), the pH in your new tank will probably settle. But having a pH that's high or low really isn't going to harm the fish, so long as you take a little extra time when you're climatizing them. Having a steady pH is much more healthy for your fish then having a fluctuating one. What you want to be more concerned with is the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels when your tank begins to cycle.

What kind of filter do you have for both tanks?

 

[PlatinumAngel]

There's other members that can give you a more detailed/through answer then me, but I really wouldn't worry too much about the pH, as usually that's not going to make or break things for you, and if your pH is around 6.8-7 in your other tank and you're getting the water from the same source(I'm assuming your tap), the pH in your new tank will probably settle. But having a pH that's high or low really isn't going to harm the fish, so long as you take a little extra time when you're climatizing them. Having a steady pH is much more healthy for your fish then having a fluctuating one. What you want to be more concerned with is the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels when your tank begins to cycle.

What kind of filter do you have for both tanks?

On the 75 it's a Marineland Emporor 400, on the 25 it's an undergravel system. Not sure beyond that. We tested the ammonia and it was ok. I plan to move most of their water over to the new tank with them. I just dont want to lose them when I do.

 

[WillyRBeek]

There's other members that can give you a more detailed/through answer then me, but I really wouldn't worry too much about the pH, as usually that's not going to make or break things for you, and if your pH is around 6.8-7 in your other tank and you're getting the water from the same source(I'm assuming your tap), the pH in your new tank will probably settle. But having a pH that's high or low really isn't going to harm the fish, so long as you take a little extra time when you're climatizing them. Having a steady pH is much more healthy for your fish then having a fluctuating one. What you want to be more concerned with is the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels when your tank begins to cycle.

What kind of filter do you have for both tanks?

On the 75 it's a Marineland Emporor 400, on the 25 it's an undergravel system. Not sure beyond that. We tested the ammonia and it was ok. I plan to move most of their water over to the new tank with them. I just dont want to lose them when I do.

I'm still fairly new to the hobby and both of my tanks are only 25 gallons so i'm not really that familiar with that one, but if you have the type of filters in both tanks that have the little cartridges of media that you insert, like the sponge, the carbon and the bio-media, then if you add that mature bio-media right from the old tank right into the filter of the new tank, you can pretty much skip over the whole cycling process by doing that for the most part. That's what I did while setting up my 2nd tank. If you're not able to do that with your particular filters though, there still possibly is ways to greatly accelerate the cycling process in your new tank using your old tank, but you'll have to wait for a more knowledgeable member to come across this thread before they can help you with that, because that's beyond me, lol.

 

[PlatinumAngel]

I'm still fairly new to the hobby and both of my tanks are only 25 gallons so i'm not really that familiar with that one, but if you have the type of filters in both tanks that have the little cartridges of media that you insert, like the sponge, the carbon and the bio-media, then if you add that mature bio-media right from the old tank right into the filter of the new tank, you can pretty much skip over the whole cycling process by doing that for the most part. That's what I did while setting up my 2nd tank. If you're not able to do that with your particular filters though, there still possibly is ways to greatly accelerate the cycling process in your new tank using your old tank, but you'll have to wait for a more knowledgeable member to come across this thread before they can help you with that, because that's beyond me, lol.

Thanks. We don't have the same type of media. The new filter has something like that, but not the old one.

I've put some of their water in the new tank and will be putting their plants and stuff too. I just want to make sure it's stabalized ok before we put them in there.

 

[tenohfive]

Theres nothing to be gained in transferring water from one tank to the other-the water doesn't hold anything beneficial. What you need is the bacteria that breaks ammonia down, and the majority of that lives in the filter media (or in the case of undergravel filters, in the gravel.)

In all honesty I'm not sure how successful transferring the gravel across would be, and unless you've got a desperate pressing reason why the fish can't live in their existing 25g for a couple of weeks I'd cycle the 75g fishlessly. Once its cycled, check your pH then - hopefully it will have settled down.

Link on fishless cycling:

http/www.fishforums.net/content/New-to-t...shless-Cycling/