Whats Bringing My Ph Down?

[rocknurworld2006]

can plants bring ph down and can ammo chips??

 

[Colin_T]

a heavily planted tank can cause the PH to drop overnight when the lights are off. The plants use up oxygen at night and release carbon dioxide (CO2). This can cause the PH to drop. If you have surface movement then it is less likely to happen.

Ammo chips (ammonia removing granules) will not make any difference ot the PH of the water. However, they should not be used unless you have them in a quarantine tank. They mess up the filter bacteria trying to grow in the filters. Take them out and monitor the ammonia & nitrite levels over the next few weeks. Keep the feeding down to a bare minimum and if you get an ammonia or nitrite reading do some water changes to keep the levels low.

 

[rocknurworld2006]

i have 2 large shells in a 2 foot aquarium thats been in for 2weeks and have tried a bit of limestone alos but cant get my ph above 6.0.
there isnothing in the tank that would bring it down except ammo chips which i now know dont and plants.

 

[Colin_T]

have you checked the tap water PH? It might be really low.

Shells and limestone should raise the PH pretty quickly. Maybe take you test kit to the local fish shop and compare a sample of water with your kit and theirs. You might have a dodgy test kit.

 

[rdd1952]

If your water has no buffering capacity, the pH will tend to drop as there is nothing to keep it stable. What is the pH, GH & KH of your tap water? Are you using a liquid test kit or strips? How often are you doing water changes? I agree with Colin about the ammo chips and would remove them as soon as possible. Just keep an eye on your stats.

 

[rocknurworld2006]

If your water has no buffering capacity, the pH will tend to drop as there is nothing to keep it stable. What is the pH, GH & KH of your tap water? Are you using a liquid test kit or strips? How often are you doing water changes? I agree with Colin about the ammo chips and would remove them as soon as possible. Just keep an eye on your stats.

ph of tap water is 7.2
test kit is fine as ive checked it with another one, they are both liquid test kits 1 is api and the other is nutrafin.

weekly water changes

 

[rdd1952]

Have you tested the GH & KH of your tap water? You can take a sample to the LFS and have them test it. Just make sure they tell you the actual number rather than "soft" or "hard". the buffering capacity is what keeps the pH stable. If you have municipal water, it's likely that the GH & KH are low.

One other thing. Nitrite is acidic and will lower pH. Have you tested for ammonia and nitrite? It's quite possible that the ammo chips have already become saturated and the ammonia is being processed into nitrite and the high level has lowered your pH.