seahorse Posted June 18, 2002 Report Share Posted June 18, 2002 Hi guys. I have a major problem in that my Ph has just hit 6.0 in the space of a week for no apparent reason. I have been treating with Proper Ph 7.0 for the last 2 weeks with no lasting outcome. The Ph keeps going back to 6.0. Even with more frequent water changes because of the treatment. I there anybody out there that can help me with this problem as my local fish store have been of no real help. They basically told me to ad Activated Carbon to my filtration system and that should see it right, but it has had no affect what so ever. Should I be treating or should I be looking for the cause of this sudden rise in acidity?? And if so... What should I be looking for?? or treating with?? Any help would be greatly appreciated as the fish are still doing fine at the moment, but I fear that this wont last. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted June 18, 2002 Report Share Posted June 18, 2002 What's your tapwater PH like? Are you filtering with peat or have a lot of wood in the tank? Adding a lot crushed coral to the substrate or in the filter will raise the PH. Where to get that? Ummm...I dunno. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benny Posted June 18, 2002 Report Share Posted June 18, 2002 sounds like youve got some good discus water there. i have heard of rocks releasing minerals and raising pH, but lowering? as Ira said are you sure ypur tap water doesnt have a pH of 6? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seahorse Posted June 18, 2002 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2002 Have just done a Ph test on tap water and get areading of 7.0. I have one log in my big commiuntity tank along with numerous plants of all varieties and a few rocks. All were purchased at my local fish store, so I presume ( maybe wrongly) that all would be fine there. In my smaller tank (nursery)ther is no wood, just rocks and plants. Will try other suggestions and see how I go. Thanks for your help. Any other suggestions or ideas would be great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted June 18, 2002 Report Share Posted June 18, 2002 Nice to see you back Seahorse. Crushed Dolomite will reverse your pH as well, but whatever you do it should be done "very gradually" as a sudden change from 6.0 (or any reading) can stress your fish and may even kill them. Have you checked the ammonia levels, and the nitrite/nitrate levels.? How often are you feeding, and how much? Water changes will be needed if your levels are out, possibly large ones, but without more info it is hard to advise. As with the other posts, check for anything that you might have done differently since the drop occurred, like have you added anything different... wood, logs, additives etc, which can all upset the balance. We have also learned, (from other posts) that, (as Ira points out) the tap water is the first suspect, and can vary from day to day depending on the different councils. Sampling over a period of time will establish this. Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seahorse Posted June 18, 2002 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2002 Hi Pegasus. Guilty only of not posting, have been visiting regularly though, as it is good to keep an eye on all the postings and gleen as much info as possible. I have just bought a Master Test kit to try to find out all the possible info needed to fix this problem, but wouldn't you know it, when I got it home I discovered that it was missing all its color charts. I went back to the store I bought it from and they have put me in touch with the producers of the kit, and I am now waiting for them to reply to my request for replacement charts. Until then I'm sorry but all I can give you is the PH (6.0) and the ammonia (0 ppm) It is becoming a very frustrating situation with my local store as I fear that they have gotten so used to seeing me.(Familiarity breeds contempt???) I just seem to get the brush off there at the moment. As I said in the last post, I will try any suggestions at this point,(so long as they are tried and true.) I don't want to put my fish through any undue stress. And not to worry. Now that I have found The Fishroom and had such a great response from everyone, I'm not about to leave in a hurry. There are too many people here that have a lot of great experience and a wealth of knowledge. Not to mention a lot of friendly feeling. Thanks guys!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted June 18, 2002 Report Share Posted June 18, 2002 Nice to know you're happy here :) Perhaps to save you a long wait another member may be able to give you the colours here, or even scan the chart and post it here. They would need to know the exact brand, but if it is a common type there should be no problems. Can someone help? PS: Time you changed to a store that cares for it's valued customers. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted June 18, 2002 Report Share Posted June 18, 2002 Just because you got the rocks and wood from a pet store doesn't mean it will automatically be 'all right". When we first set up years ago we too got all our stuff from the pet shop. Lovely dark red looking gravel. Set up tank with guppies. pH kept rising to 7.8 no matter what we did. Tried adding pH Down and other products but it went right back up again. Turns out the gravel was meant to be used by those wanting to breed Africans and it was supposed to raise the damn pH. I have never trusted a pet shop since! The majority are out to sell as much as they can get. Our local shop keeps selling chlorine remover to customers, but our water doesn't have chlorine in it! Ordinary sea shells (had mussels lately?) will raise the pH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Posted June 18, 2002 Report Share Posted June 18, 2002 I wouldn't be concerned about rocks causing low pH - rocks/gravel would be likely culprits for high pH. Aquarium water will always tend towards being acidic, the main reason is that the nitrates dissolved in the water form a weak acid called nitrous acid. I'm not saying that high nitrates are the problem, just this is the reason for aquarium water progressing from alkaline/neutral to acidic. Also pieces of wood can cause lowering of pH - this is most likely for nelwy introduced bits of wood that are also causing coloured water (colour = humic acids = lower pH). As to how to remedy it? First off, is it causing a problem - this will depend on the fish you're stocking. The short term fix is baking soda - this will raise the pH - just make any change gradually. A longer term fix is to add some crushed shell or a gravel known to raise the pH - just have to be careful not to overdo it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midas Posted June 19, 2002 Report Share Posted June 19, 2002 Aquarium water will always tend towards being acidic, the main reason is that the nitrates dissolved in the water form a weak acid called nitrous acid. I'm not saying that high nitrates are the problem, just this is the reason for aquarium water progressing from alkaline/neutral to acidic. Further reason for the pH to drop from fish waste is that the nitrification process that converts ammonia to nitrate has an acidifiying effect. A good reference to this is the link below. http://www.fishdoc.co.uk/filtration/nitrification.htm Basically, as the bacteria convert ammonia to nitrate bicarbonate is consumed and carbonic acid is produced, lowering the alkalinity of the water and decreasing pH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neild Posted June 19, 2002 Report Share Posted June 19, 2002 I agree with Pegasus that dolomite will help buffer the pH as will crushed oyster shell but I feel that you really need to find out the cause if the ph continues to wander.Even if your tap water is acidic once it is corrected it should stay that way.To continually have to adjust it by adding buffering solutions to the tank is to subject your fish to stress that does not help their well being.Driftwood,filter material,over feeding ,overcrowding could all be contributing factors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seahorse Posted June 23, 2002 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2002 Just a quick message to say that thanks to every bodies help I have restored my Ph to a normal level using baking soda very slowly. Things seem to be fine at this point but I am keeping an eye on it as it was such a sudden change. I am still worried as to the cause, as I haven't been doing anything differently but am looking into a few of the other suggestions the were posted in these replies. Thanks for everyones help once again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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