killifan Posted November 10, 2004 Report Share Posted November 10, 2004 I am on roof water which seewms to stay fairly constant so I need to put in one dose of PH Down at each water change to keep my tank water ok. However I was away for 4 days during which time a Dwarf Gourami died and the PH level went pretty high. It was only a week since I had done a water change. What kind of things can alter the PH level like that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted November 10, 2004 Report Share Posted November 10, 2004 Most likely it'll be your gravel. I have the opposite problem, the PH keeps trying to go down... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke* Posted November 10, 2004 Report Share Posted November 10, 2004 If it stays constant why add pH down? Just use the water straight, let your fish adjust to it first though. Consistent pH is more important than a fluctuating pH and popular belief is that it doesn't really matter what that consistent pH is. For example discus can quite happily be kept in a constant pH of 7.8+, not so long ago this was considered certain doom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted November 10, 2004 Report Share Posted November 10, 2004 Luke they may survive in that, but will they breed?? Ask Dogmatrix what pH he uses. He appears to be doing something right. Alan 104 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kim Posted November 10, 2004 Report Share Posted November 10, 2004 look at the rocks , gravel or anything else you have in your tank that is keeping your ph up, as luke says dont change the new water change the tank.... to much mucking around with your tank will kill your fish more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killifan Posted November 11, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 I have gravel, three pieces of wood, two having java moss growing on them, and some terracot pieces providing caves. Do any of these have a changed on the PH? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 No on the moss and pot, slightly on the wood (Acidic) and depends on the gravel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killifan Posted November 11, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 this was just the regular gravel from the pet shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 Does it have any shell in it?? Alan 104 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 Alan asked: Luke they may survive in that, but will they breed?? I'm on tank/roof water, and the Gouramies thrive and breed in it no sweat. Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eon Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 i know i will prolly get told off for this but i while back i got sick of always playing with my water to keep it at what is concidered optimum quality so i started changing things, i did not do water changes as often and i slowly let the ph rise to a lvl that was concidered death for some of my tank inhabitants, to my suprise they did not seem to mind one little bit, the would breed and carry on as usual, mind this was done over a prolonged time frame so they could adjust ...in addition i cut right back on cleaning my filters and so on because in my opinion bacteria is awesome in your filters, i almost never touched the media for my marine tanks as well and when i did clean or change somthing it was only one thing at a time... After much playing arround i have come to believe that many water changes , filter cleaning and having a PH at one end of the sclae or the other does not have to make a difference at all, it appeared to me as tho it was the other factors that seemed most important. The only exeption to this i found was with corals, they do not tolerate a hell of alot in my opinion, but then again maybe it is just me. What i would do is just slowly adjust your fish to a higher and higher PH until the time that you do not need to add anything to your water Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kim Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 you dont get a regular gravel all gravels have different ph.... you find the more colourful eg fruit salad, or orange gravels are high in ph...... dark gray gravel is low in ph. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killifan Posted November 11, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 mine is a mixture of grey, white, and orange - I guess that qualifies as 'fruit salad'? Ph gets up to about 7.6 which the LFS said was way too high. What thoughts on that for a community tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 Might be a little hi, but I could live with it. So could my fish. Stop worrying. Alan 104 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jude Posted November 12, 2004 Report Share Posted November 12, 2004 Alan, there is a little bit of shell in the gravel I plan to use in my new tank. I've picked out the biggest bits and I guess what is left would be less than one small piece per ummmmmmmmmmm 4 cups of gravel - it may even be less. Is this going to be ok or should I rethink my plans Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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