WTF is with my pH?

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C

cvermeulen

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Jun 4, 2007
1,876
3
36
Los Osos, CA
ok, is this something that might happen within the bounds in normal fishkeeping conditions? I've been having weird problems with my tank. All nitrogen numbers are where they should be, but the water has been cloudy and the fish not eating. I even had a thread about it:

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98776

I finally clued in and checked the pH of the water, and it was down around 6, whereas my tap water is around 7.2. So, in the last three days I've done 2 75% water changes... and so far the pH has not moved up from 6. wtf? I'm tempted to throw some crushed coral in my fx5, but it seems like treating the symptom rather than the cause... and I don't really want to have my pH balanced on a hair pin so I always have to stay on top of it, you know? I never had a problem with it dropping before, so what's different now?

I am also aware that the pH scale is a logarithmic one, and each point is 10X the concentration of ions of the previous one... so it takes an enormous amount of diluting the low pH water to move it up... but it seems to me that a pair of large w/cs should move it SOME at least.
 
you need to check the hardness, i have had similar problems to this and added filter media cloth holders filled with crushed sea shell to help buffer the water.
check the hardness and post it here.
 
GH is around 25
 
I'd be happy to add some crushed coral or seashells to my canister or sump. I guess I'm afraid of overdoing it. I could start with a relatively small amount I suppose and work up till my pH is stable where I want it.
 
When was the last time you washed your gravel???
Any rotting wood/plants/fish in your tank?
 
Crushed coral in your sump would probably work better than the canister. Rotting driftwood, plants, fish etc would all cause a likely pH drop.
 
I had the exact same problem with my ph being unstable, 8.2 out the tap then droping to 4 in around 3 days. I bought some crushed coral and put a handfull in each external filter and it buffered it up to 7.0 on the button.
 
Had a similar problem, turned out to be driftwood rotting, also nitrate levels really jumped, nitrite had been fine. It pays to check and avoid expensive and emotionally painful incidents. I lost 3 large Geophagus I had had for years.....not pleasant
 
I'll try some crushed coral in a media bag in my sump and see how that does. I still would like to find the root cause though. I have done some thorough gravel vaccing lately, so there isn't a large decaying mass somewhere that I can think of. I do have some driftwood though, and the fact tha tnoone is eating probably contributes to a viscious circle (uneaten food laying around).

Thanks!
 
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