sudden drop in ph...

[Deaths Sting]

the ph always remained stable though ={
the ph remains stable in my other tank (which doesnt have anything to buffer the ph)
and the ph use to be stable in this tank (12g).
is it possible for it to be caused by the substrate?

i hate when my tanks have issues

no ur substrate isn't causing it....i would go with the crushed coral if i were u. don't buy Kh and ph up, that stuff is crap...crushed coral will raise ur ph but it will stabilize it. most fish can adapt to a wide range of ph but they cannot adapt to fluctuation in ph.

i would rather have a stable ph of 7.5, then a crazy roller coaster ph any day.

 

[sonycrr]

thanks for the help =]
ive been reading on this topic and now i understand it a little better

basically with water straight from tap, on the test strips the alkalinity is at moderate levels. i dont have the number right now.
after i do a water change, the alkalinity drops very low to almost none. what would cause alkalinity to drop?

i read that putting oyster shells will stabilize the alkalinity but not raise it above the level of the tap .

i also read that i can use baking soda. is this the same as using those ph up and ph down chemicals?

is it true that BB dies once the ph is below 5.5?


i think i can get another tank setup this weekend. a 30g. should iset up the 30g and use a AC50 that i already have cycled in another tank and put the fish in there, and take the 12g and start it over? put all new gravel, new bio wheel(for filer) and start a new cycle b4 adding fish back in there.

this is stressing...=[

 

[sonycrr]

came home last night and measured the ph again. kh was pactically 0 and ph was the lowest i have ever seen. never seen this color in the test strip b 4.
fish were letharic, hiding, and not eating.
i put out a bucket of water earlier in the morning and tested those water parameters when i got home and the readings were stable.
took out all the fish and put them in a quarentine tank, tore down the orignal tank. cleaned everything real good, threw out the gravel. put the fish back in the tank and measured the parameters this morning. everything is stable again.

the end =]
hopefully =/

 

[djoverdose]

hi sony.... maybe its because of your tank volume.... water is much stable in bigger tanks compared to a smaller tank.... for example: if you have a heater and you have a 50gal and a 75gal tank.... you set your heater to 30 deg (outside temp is at 27deg) after the heater reaches 30deg it will shut off... it will take more time for the 75gal to lose its temp over the 50gal because it has more water volume... bigger water volume= more stable water....

so considering you only have 12gal like you posted on your 1st post. its really hard to have your water stable... because the ammonia can build up quite fast... try to limit your feeding say 1x/day every other day.... then make partial water change everyday like 15-20% try this for a week and monitor your water params.....

on a side note....

i want to ask some of you guys here about pH too.... i have the same problem as sony has... the only difference is that my pH doesnt go down instead it goes up.... my tap(deepwell water) has a pH of 7.2... now after making a waterchange (either 25% or 50%) it goes up to 7.6.... im using api pH kit... i guess its higher that 7.6 cos the kit can only read upto 7.6.... i dont know whats making my ph high...though its stable... just want to know why it always go up... even after putting a driftwood. want to maintain a ph of 7.2... same goes to my green aro tank....

i have a 50gal tank, bare bottom. im using a custom made 3ft glass OHF and a DIY pvc canister filter.... medias used was 3kilos of ceramic rings/3-4dozen nylon potscrubbers/sponge/filter floss.....

inhabitants are 4 IT dats, 1 AT, 1 Sen, and 4 Silver dollar...

do you think that it is because of the ceramic rings???? im using resun and sobo brand....

thanks guys....