quick questions, to keep my PH stable at around 6.5-7.. would i have to keep the GH stable also?.. i use to have a bare bottom tank and PH kept droping to the lower 4s .. is it beause my hardness isn't high enough?.. water from tap PH 7, GH KH is at 1 which is super soft, only arowana , 125gallon, thanks , if yes how can i raise the GH KH,
PH and GH
- Thread starter Wenzo0o0o0oo
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lol, funny how you have problem with low ph and Gh while the tap water in my area come ot at 7.8-8.2 ph and around 150ppm hardness and I've been trying to make them lower cuz I keep a lot of pleco and discus.
If your pH drops, it is usually an indicator that the buffering capacity (alkalinity) of your tap water is low. General Hardness, is a kind of overview of "all" your waters components, which can include iron, sulfur and/or other dissolved metals that do not necessarily buffer pH.
The calcium content (alkalinity) has the ability to neutralize the acids produced in fish urine and other metabolism by-products.
A non-substrate aquarium is a prime candidate to pH crash, unless some kind of buffer is used in a filter, or reactor.
Because your water is soft, and minimally buffered, something such as aragonite sand (crushed coral) can be used to maintain buffering, either in a fluidized bed, as a substrate, or as part of filter media. You will need to periodically replace some as it dissolves.
Some people might use baking soda in water change water, but to me that's a lot of puttering about with measuring and testing with each water change, and can become discouraging.
If I had that water, I'd keep the kinds of fish that live in it.
I've never been able to keep, and always wanted to keep Uaru fernandenzeppizi, or wild type angels in my alkaline water, so I envy your problem a bit. Those species would do very well in a pH of @5.
The calcium content (alkalinity) has the ability to neutralize the acids produced in fish urine and other metabolism by-products.
A non-substrate aquarium is a prime candidate to pH crash, unless some kind of buffer is used in a filter, or reactor.
Because your water is soft, and minimally buffered, something such as aragonite sand (crushed coral) can be used to maintain buffering, either in a fluidized bed, as a substrate, or as part of filter media. You will need to periodically replace some as it dissolves.
Some people might use baking soda in water change water, but to me that's a lot of puttering about with measuring and testing with each water change, and can become discouraging.
If I had that water, I'd keep the kinds of fish that live in it.
I've never been able to keep, and always wanted to keep Uaru fernandenzeppizi, or wild type angels in my alkaline water, so I envy your problem a bit. Those species would do very well in a pH of @5.
yeah, diftwood and bogwood do work, but whenever I do WC I ave to use buffer or my discus gonna start laying side way on the floor. I'm gonna buy an RO set soon.
Can I just clam shells ? Or i need clam shells and crush corals , since my ph on tap is already 7
pH is an indicator. If the pH drops after being in the tank, its the alkalinity (lack of buffering capacity) in the tap water that is the problem. Straight out of the tap, there is nothing to drop the pH, but once the tap water is in the tank, the fish urine (acids from metabolism, etc) that are what is dropping pH.
Clam shells can do the job, although "whole shells" will not be as effective as crushed ones. Crushed shells in a bag of some sort in a filter, or under the outfall from a filter will buffer the water effectively.
Lots of water changes will also help, you know the old saying, "dilution is the solution to pollution". Its just that if there is a lot of uric acid, and not much buffering capacity, the water changes need to be massive, and often.
The pH of my tap was @7.8, and alkalinity of 100ppm, if I didn't do every other day water changes in highly stocked tanks, the alkalinity could quickly drop to 40ppm, so I always ran fluidized bed reactors with aragonite (finely crushed coral sand) as media, as insurance against pH crash.
A large dead fish unseen in a corner could easily take pH down in a highly stocked tank overnight.
Clam shells can do the job, although "whole shells" will not be as effective as crushed ones. Crushed shells in a bag of some sort in a filter, or under the outfall from a filter will buffer the water effectively.
Lots of water changes will also help, you know the old saying, "dilution is the solution to pollution". Its just that if there is a lot of uric acid, and not much buffering capacity, the water changes need to be massive, and often.
The pH of my tap was @7.8, and alkalinity of 100ppm, if I didn't do every other day water changes in highly stocked tanks, the alkalinity could quickly drop to 40ppm, so I always ran fluidized bed reactors with aragonite (finely crushed coral sand) as media, as insurance against pH crash.
A large dead fish unseen in a corner could easily take pH down in a highly stocked tank overnight.