Manda Posted December 15, 2009 Report Share Posted December 15, 2009 Does anyone no anything about gravel affecting PH levels. My tank has a low PH (I thought due to the fact it was cloudy and I added "Tetra clear water"). I talked to my LFS and he said because my gravel is a few years old it has lost its mineral content and if I replace it the PH will stabilise. Then I happened to talk to HFF and they said gravel doesnt need replacing... it could be a low KH level thats effecting the PH. Feeling rather confused and dont want to spend money if it wont fix the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N1CK Posted December 15, 2009 Report Share Posted December 15, 2009 what else is in the tank, wood, other rocks, fish, plants ect. kind of hard to know what could be going wrong without knowing all the details Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted December 15, 2009 Report Share Posted December 15, 2009 sounds like you got 2 half correct educated guesses. it would all depend on the sort of gravel you have. what is it? stuff like "autumn harvest, brightwater" etc etc are pH neutral. others like dolomite, limestone, calcium are not, and increase the pH. (natural substrates not available here lower pH and are typically stolen from river beds). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 What is the ph level of the tank that you are worried about? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manda Posted December 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2009 I have several plants (not sure of type - just standard ones). I have riverstones from my garden which have been in the tank for years and an ornament also been in the tank for years. I change about 15-20% of the water each week. My stones are Autumn Harvest, about 3 years old. I have 4 Kribs, 10 platys, one pleco and 3 gouramis in an AR620 tank. The PH was the lowest yellow on the swatch and I had used PH UP twice already. I hope thats enough information. Thanks for all your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted December 18, 2009 Report Share Posted December 18, 2009 pH Up will only alter the pH temporarily and cause more problems as the pH will swing back and forth. I suspect the problem is waste being produced by the plec. What size is it? I assume you mean a common plec. Do you have any readings for the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate? I wonder if, as the plec has grown, the amount of waste it is producing is lowering the pH. I have found this happen in the past with big fish. Your tank is not big enough for a full grown plec either I am afraid. Never heard of gravel losing its mineral content and affecting the pH as it ages :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manda Posted December 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 24, 2009 Thanks Caryl. I ending up buying a KH tester and KH up as the girl at HFF convinced me it was needed (no kh level showing). But the guy at the other shop reckons you dont need to worry about KH with the type of fish I have. (Platties, pleco, kribs, gourami). And he still insists I need new gravel. I have been sucking thru the gravel when I change the water once a week - could I be doing that to often? I dont think its my pleco - he is still quite young only about 7cm long I would say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted December 24, 2009 Report Share Posted December 24, 2009 Have a look here and see if that helps you understand the Kh and how it relates to your tank. I assume by 'sucking thru the gravel' you mean with a siphon during water changes. This is good as it will be getting rid of excess waste. I doubt you are doing it too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel Posted December 24, 2009 Report Share Posted December 24, 2009 A few questions - Why are you worried about the PH? has it drop drastically lately? If your tank is afew years old and PH is always low then I would not worry about it, your fish will have gotten use to the PH and trying to UP it will really stress the fish IMO I would leave it alone - the only time you may have problems is when introducing new fish to the tank, but if you aclimatise them properly you should be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manda Posted December 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 26, 2009 The water has been tested recently and was fine, it was till after I treated it for algae that I have had PH problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N1CK Posted December 26, 2009 Report Share Posted December 26, 2009 What did you treat your algae with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morcs Posted December 26, 2009 Report Share Posted December 26, 2009 What did you treat your algae with? Duh duh duh! algae rid? i havent read the full label on the algae rid products, but perhaps there is a warning not to use with soft water as it will cause a ph crash due to insufficient buffer... Also dont use KH up, once again it is just temporarily chemically altering your water, and everytime you change some, youll need to adjust again. buy a whole bag of crushed oyster shell and either put it in your tank or filter, put enough in to bring your KH readings up to about 3 degrees and you should be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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