The team (my polys)
- Thread starter clm08k
- Start date
I’ve been having a pH problem the past 2-3 weeks. It is usually 7.6 out of the faucet. But after 3-5 days in the tank it drops down by almost 1. Last week it did 7.6 to 6.6.
Saturday (3 days ago) I did a 75% WC. Ph looks to have dropped 0.6
Ph: 7. The tap I use is at 7.6.
Ammonia:0
Nitrite:O
Nitrates: 20.
Temp: 78 F
I did a 25% WC because the water is cold in Florida today and I don’t have an in-line heater. I’m also a bit nervous about the pH jump affecting them. Any help would be nice. My usual routine is a 75% WC every 5 days. They are in a 55g currently. Any help would be appreciated. There is talk of upgrading for Christmas or the summer.
Saturday (3 days ago) I did a 75% WC. Ph looks to have dropped 0.6
Ph: 7. The tap I use is at 7.6.
Ammonia:0
Nitrite:O
Nitrates: 20.
Temp: 78 F
I did a 25% WC because the water is cold in Florida today and I don’t have an in-line heater. I’m also a bit nervous about the pH jump affecting them. Any help would be nice. My usual routine is a 75% WC every 5 days. They are in a 55g currently. Any help would be appreciated. There is talk of upgrading for Christmas or the summer.
Possible variables:
-Air stone hasn’t been on as much
-snail population
-using Prime(which says it doesn’t change pH)
-using flourish tabs, flourish excel, and flourish potassium
- 1+ year old mopani wood ( I thought it wasn’t supposed to alter ph
-hair algae and plants
-no carbon in filter
- filter sponge gets filthy so I clean it out 2x a week in a bucket of tank water
-now am doing 75% WC ~about every 5 days exclusively with the python.
-I do add water from the python into the aqua clear 110 box. This is straight from the tap. Is this bad?
-tap water is typically a lot colder than tank water(78)
-Air stone hasn’t been on as much
-snail population
-using Prime(which says it doesn’t change pH)
-using flourish tabs, flourish excel, and flourish potassium
- 1+ year old mopani wood ( I thought it wasn’t supposed to alter ph
-hair algae and plants
-no carbon in filter
- filter sponge gets filthy so I clean it out 2x a week in a bucket of tank water
-now am doing 75% WC ~about every 5 days exclusively with the python.
-I do add water from the python into the aqua clear 110 box. This is straight from the tap. Is this bad?
-tap water is typically a lot colder than tank water(78)
Temp can effect ph so when colder it can be higher. But my guess is organic waste and the nitrogen cycle. Both drop ph. The wood as it rots will depleat your ph. I wouldnt worry to much. If it really bothers you get some crushed coral substrate and put a bag of it in your filter. Just start small test and see what effect then add more if needed/wanted.
Agree with this ^^^
The city water when I lived in Portland was really really soft, so my ph tanked, too - even more than yours... below 6. My fish never seemed affected but I was worried it would at some point, or take a toll on their long-term health. I ended up using crushed coral and that worked for me.
Excited for you to get an upgrade!
The city water when I lived in Portland was really really soft, so my ph tanked, too - even more than yours... below 6. My fish never seemed affected but I was worried it would at some point, or take a toll on their long-term health. I ended up using crushed coral and that worked for me.
Excited for you to get an upgrade!
You really should be checking your kh vs your ph. Kh is the ability to resist change in ph. If your kh is low you will have a harder time maintaining any stable ph. I wouldnt nessicarily go chasing numbers. But if kh is low baking soda can be used to boost it. And like I said before so can crushed coral. If your kh is good and I'm sure its probably low the issue may be like I stated but in a much more exaggerated amount, like tons of mulm built up somewhere. It would take a lot of organic waste to effect the ph of water with a decent kh. Again don't worry so much about ph. I rarely test for it. I did start testing my gh and kh more regularly as snails and plants will pull calcium and magnesium and iron out of the water to grow shells and plant cell walls. This will drop your gh and can also effect your kh and by doing so your ph will fall. I noticed the shells on my snails were weird looking and light in color. Some plants started having issues with leaves also. 6-8 lbs of crushed coral seems to have fixed the issue. Gh kh are tied together if the ions that make up the gh are out of wack then the kh could also fall and cause ph to crash. Calcium magnesium and iron are the base of gh.
Did you have chemistry yet this semester? Lol
Did you have chemistry yet this semester? Lol
Way more in-depth then I want to get but a great "little" read.
http://www.koiphen.com/forums/showthread.php?138404-PH-KH-And-GH-in-Depth
http://www.koiphen.com/forums/showthread.php?138404-PH-KH-And-GH-in-Depth
