water hardness/PH

[carolines100]

hi guys, we are having problems with our PH (it keeps dropping to 6), ammonia and nitrites are zero. someone has suggested it could be the softness of our tap water.

could you give us some advice on what it should be and how we can make it harder if it is too low

 

[ernesto]

You can use mineral (bottled) water, read first the chemical facts. Here tap water chemistry is very similar to some brands of mineral water.

 

[tank125]

Get yourself a hardness test kit. Test for hardness. If your hardness is relatively low, that is why your pH drops so easily, you have little buffering capability. Keep in mind though that rays like soft water though.

Report you hardness here and we will talk some more!

 

[Nic]

as long as the ph is crashing alot quickly then i wouldnt worry........

 

[carolines100]

>6 is the reading for GH and 3d was the reading for KH

water hardness is one thing i dont really know much about as we've never had the problem with the other tanks. Is this low, what would you do with it?

The PH seems to be going up and down after water changes

 

[kingborris]

Its the KH which will affect pH. your water is pretty soft. you can raise KH (and therefore increase pH buffering, which will generally increase pH and keep it stable) by adding sodium bicarbonate powder. i'd do it to water change water rather than directly into the tank. get the KH up to around 6dKH and it should be stable, without increasing the TDS too much. by changing your water change water, you can make sure its at this level every water change (add the same amount each time). this should keep the tank at around the same level if you change water regularly

p.s. KH is used up during bacterial respiration, hence you'll find it drops quickly in tanks like ray tanks with a heavy bioload

 

[Miles]

You don't want your pH too low, as apparently nitrifying bacteria doesn't grow as well..

I see alot of people use crushed coral as a biological media which also releases a calcium based buffer for your alkalinity.. Used alot in monster style asian tanks.. where nitrifying bacteria is so heavy it rapidly decreases the amount of minerals in the water, thus lowering your alkalinity and hardness..

 

[epicentyr]

I just tested my levels

Hardness 7 dKh
Ph 7.65

How do these levels look?

 

[carolines100]

Looks fine to me ,my test only does 3/ 6 /10 /15/ 20 . i got mine sorted now bought some chemi prue keeps it stable and water is crystal clear