how do i raise the PH in my tank
- Thread starter hothew84
- Start date
You can buy some crushed coral at the pet store (it would be in the gravel/substrate section for saltwater tanks). Put some of it in your filter in a mesh bag or make your own bag from a women's stocking. It should keep your pH pretty consistent around 7.2 (I think?)
You can put some crushed coral in there. There are also various kinds of rock that will buffer the ph - like lace rock and "honeycomb" or holey rock.
Before raising the pH in your tank, you should know why it is at the level it is.
Does the pH in the tank match the pH of your tap water?
How long has your tank been set up? What is and what size the stock? What is your water change schedual?
It is better to keep a stable pH level than to have a fluxuating pH level while trying to hit a target level.
Does the pH in the tank match the pH of your tap water?
How long has your tank been set up? What is and what size the stock? What is your water change schedual?
It is better to keep a stable pH level than to have a fluxuating pH level while trying to hit a target level.
Bderick67;2277443; said:
Agreed, you don't want your pH changing with each water change, and chemicals aren't necessary. The nice thing about crushed coral is it will keep your pH constant. The nitrogen cycle (ammonia-->nitrite-->nitrate) lowers pH with time so the coral prevents that drop from occurring.
Crushed goral gravel/sand works well or crushed cockle shell in your substrate or filter helps to raise PH. Also adding ocean or tufa rock does make a difference.
well the tank is new im setting up for my jack dempsey's you may have seen the thread i put up about it and the first week of tank cycle the PH was about 7.2 now it has fallin to about 6.8 and i was told that a JD should have a PH anywhere from 7 to 8.4 and for the stocking ill be putting in 2 jacks and 1 large pleco and the PH of the tap water PH is about 7.2 and the tank has been up and running for about 1 week i think i setup the tank with water and gravel on the 28 of september and it is now october 5 2008 and i dont do any water changes but i do do topoffs and the ammonia has gone, now im getting high nitrite levels is this the info you where lookin for i hope it helps
hothew84;2278718; said:
Okay... I think I know what your issue is. Your tank is cycling and the pH is decreasing because of the nitrogen cycle. I could get into the whole reaction but basically as ammonia converts to nitrite, pH goes down.
When you cycle an aquarium, you initially get an ammonia spike (which you did). Eventually, bacteria flourish to convert ammonia to nitrite, so your ammonia goes down, and nitrite goes up (check). Eventually bacteria will convert that nitrite to nitrate. In the meantime, pH steadily decreases. This leads me to...
Two important points:
1. You need to do water changes, not just top-offs after evaporation. When water evaporates, what's left in your tank becomes more concentrated, so your pH goes down even further, and your nitrates accumulate. Routine water changes are a must. They keep your nitrates down, and also they keep your tank water's pH from dropping too far below the tap water's pH.
2. As said before, it's much more important to keep your pH consistent rather than aiming for a specific value. Your JDs will be just fine anywhere from a pH of 6 to 8, but if the pH changes quickly it can be harmful or even fatal to them. So just use your tap water with no chemicals (except a good dechlorinator of course), and do weekly water changes to keep everything routine.
Does that help?