Low PH and High Nitrate

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KingCobra

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 15, 2005
16
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Florida
About a month ago I went to Petsmart to get my water checked and the guy said my PH was a little low and my Nitrates were high and told me to do a water change.So I changed about 30% of the water using the gravel cleaner.A few days later I had the water checked again and they said the nitrate level was good and my PH was still a little low but better then last time.I think the PH was around 7.0. Now I just went to get the water checked and the guy said the Nitrate level was really high and my PH was between 5-6.I just did a water change about a month ago.Why is my PH dropping and my Nitrate level high? I have A Midas,JD and 2 convicts in a 75gal.I have 2 filteration systems. One with the bio wheel and the other with thease bio rocks and it keeps my water real clean.I don't overfeed my fish and the amonia is always real low but the Nitrate level keeps going up and the PH is dropping.
I know they sell stuff to increase PH and lower Nitrate levels but I'm hoping another water change will solve the problem.Should I do another 30% water change or more?
 
don't trust the people at Petsmart...it only cost 25 or 30 dollars to buy a test kit ( make shure it uses drops and test tubes.

Your ph will not change unless you are adding things to the water or using bottled water.

Where do you live? It sounds like you aren't very experienced so I wouldn't get into0 trying to change your ph because it's more important for the ph to stay steady then to try to change it all the time.

I just got back from texas and the water I brought back tested a ph of 7.8 and a med to high hardness. My water in Indiana tested a ph of 7.8 and a high hardness.

If you just set your tank up you will need to test for nitrites and ammonia
 
They used a test strip at Petsmart.
I used to take it to a LFS and they used tablets in a test tube.When they checked it they would tell me my nitrate level would be good and now when I have been going to petsmart
they have been telling my nitrate levels were real high.Do you think that maybe the test strips they use are not accurate compared to say the tablets in a test tube?
 
if your fish in that 75g are all full grown, then thats a heavily stocked tank as it is. You're gonna need to do ~80% water change every week to keep the nitrates at a reasonable level. 30% water changes don't do squat.
 
piranha45 said:
if your fish in that 75g are all full grown, then thats a heavily stocked tank as it is. You're gonna need to do ~80% water change every week to keep the nitrates at a reasonable level. 30% water changes don't do squat.
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The midas is around 10in,the JD is about 8in and the 2 convicts are about 4in.
I am getting a bigger tank but that may be in another month or 2.
 
The process of nitrification produces acid which will lower your ph. The problem with doing a massive water change for you is that it will drastically alter your ph. I would recomend doing about a 20% change daily for a week. The next week do 40% daily.The third week get in the habbit of changing 50% every 3 or 4 days. You could probablly get bye with a massive water change once a week if you buffer the water with each change. You need to keep the nitrates low while maintaining a stable ph.
 
slapper said:
The process of nitrification produces acid which will lower your ph. The problem with doing a massive water change for you is that it will drastically alter your ph. I would recomend doing about a 20% change daily for a week. The next week do 40% daily.The third week get in the habbit of changing 50% every 3 or 4 days. You could probablly get bye with a massive water change once a week if you buffer the water with each change. You need to keep the nitrates low while maintaining a stable ph.
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:iagree:

Well Said!
 
You could also add a few seashells or some crushed coral to buffer your alkalinity, which should help keep your pH more stable.
 
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