pH to low
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pH to low
Just did a test last night and my pH has dropped to an alarming 6.0, if not lower,. How can I raise it safely without chemicals? Besides my loaches I have a Pleco as well that I have to consider when using chemicals. Every thing else is ok nirites are 0 nitrates are 20 or lower amonie is a smidge high though nothing I'm worried about. Also please keep in mind that I live in California so any sugestions for something that I can get here would be great.
"Life is short and hard like a body building elf."
You need to work out why your pH dropped in the first place. Any rocks/bogwood added to the tank etc? There is little point trying to rasie your pH until you find why its being lowered-you coudl just end up fluctuating pH up and down which isn't ideal and will cause more stress than just leaving the pH as it is for the time being.
A little ammonia showing-I wouldn't be concerned as at lower pH ammonia is in the form ammonium which is less toxic.
Also did you check to see what the pH out of your tap is? Has that changed also or is it just when its added to the tank?
Do you know the hardness of your water??
Ashleigh
A little ammonia showing-I wouldn't be concerned as at lower pH ammonia is in the form ammonium which is less toxic.
Also did you check to see what the pH out of your tap is? Has that changed also or is it just when its added to the tank?
Do you know the hardness of your water??
Ashleigh
Nothing new was added to the tank except 2 clown loach a herd of ghost shrimp and a red tail shark a few weeks ago and last night I had just added a khuli loach and another ghost cat fish. The water in this area is notorious for having a high pH. I do not know the hardness of the water...is there a test kit for that? By nothing new added to the tank I mean no deco but I have ALOT Egeria densa aka Anacharis. I am always buying that stuff as the fish eat it and what not.
"Life is short and hard like a body building elf."
If your pH is stable out of the tap, then theres obviously something going on. Yes there is a test for hardness-I would check that as soon as you could.
High co2 levels can also lower the pH.
Carbonate hardness (KH) acts as a buffer-this is what keeps the pH stable. Keeping the carbonate hardness stable is important. If its not stable, your pH will be more likely to swing.
You can add baking soda to raise your KH, Im by no means an expert in this, I have never had to play around with my pH or hardness. There are others on the forum that will be able to instruct you on how to do this. Whatever the method, you must do it slowly.
Im sorry I cannot suggest anything further, but like I said, I have little experience in this and would be afraid of telling you the wrong thing
Hopefully someone else will be along soon 
Ashleigh
High co2 levels can also lower the pH.
Carbonate hardness (KH) acts as a buffer-this is what keeps the pH stable. Keeping the carbonate hardness stable is important. If its not stable, your pH will be more likely to swing.
You can add baking soda to raise your KH, Im by no means an expert in this, I have never had to play around with my pH or hardness. There are others on the forum that will be able to instruct you on how to do this. Whatever the method, you must do it slowly.
Im sorry I cannot suggest anything further, but like I said, I have little experience in this and would be afraid of telling you the wrong thing
Hopefully someone else will be along soon Ashleigh
The other scenario that comes to mind when the pH drops is Old Tank Syndrome.
This is a condition that is common in tanks that have not had adequate water changes over a rather long period of time. The nitrate rises rather high, and the KH and pH crash. This is probably not what is going on here, though, as one common problem with OTS is that new fish die within a few days.
Please test and post the results of the following tests, and perhaps we can figure out what is going on.
Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, pH, KH, GH
Any other tests you have.
Test both tap and tank, and repeat the pH test on some tap water that has sat out for 24-48 hours.
GH and KH test kit is available from API in a single box that includes both tests.
This time of year is common for tap water to change, as the rains start, and the water companies can get the water from different sources. My own tap water has changed from 8.2 a month ago to 7.5 tested tonight.
KH is carbonate hardness. Carbonates and bicarbonates are one of the most common pH buffers in aquariums. When the KH is high the pH is generally high. When the KH drops the pH is generally low.
Some plants use carbonates as a source of carbon instead of CO2.
Some substrates can remove KH from the water, and the KH drops.
GH is general hardness. It is a measure of calcium and magnesium in the water. It is not directly related to pH. This connection is indirect.
Rain water has no minerals in it. When that rain seeps though soils that are high in minerals (like many of the soils in the Golden State) the water dissolves some of these minerals, and the water becomes harder and more alkaline.
One of the most common groups of minerals is calcium and magnesium carbonates. There are other minerals that are often found in soils like this that make these soils very rich for agriculture. Water that has these minerals in it will show high KH and GH, and will be on the alkaline side of neutral.
KH will react with the hydrogen ions in water that are what is read to figure out pH. When there is a lot of KH many H+ are removed from the water, and the water tests alkaline (high pH).
When something removes the KH the H+ is left in the water and the water becomes more acidic (low pH).
IF this is what is going on with your tank, then the answer is to add more carbonate to the tank. The most commonly available source of carbonate is sodium bicarbonate, baking soda.
I have found that 1 teaspoon of baking soda added to a 29 gallon tank will raise the KH from 0 degrees to 2 degrees (still very low) and the pH from 6.0 (well, bottom of the test results) to 6.2. This is not too big a change at any one time, but you will have to keep testing KH and pH and dose baking soda as long as the problem exists. You might want to bring the KH up to about 3 degrees, pH is more stable when KH is about 3 degrees.
Rising ammonia is a consequence of the low pH. Whether it is the low minerals or something else I do not know, but nitrifying bacteria have a very hard time in low pH. Optimum conditions for the nitrifying bacteria include a pH in the mid 7s and GH and KH of around 5 degrees. The acceptable range seems to be pH not lower than 6.5 and GH and KH not lower than 3 degrees.
This is a condition that is common in tanks that have not had adequate water changes over a rather long period of time. The nitrate rises rather high, and the KH and pH crash. This is probably not what is going on here, though, as one common problem with OTS is that new fish die within a few days.
Please test and post the results of the following tests, and perhaps we can figure out what is going on.
Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, pH, KH, GH
Any other tests you have.
Test both tap and tank, and repeat the pH test on some tap water that has sat out for 24-48 hours.
GH and KH test kit is available from API in a single box that includes both tests.
This time of year is common for tap water to change, as the rains start, and the water companies can get the water from different sources. My own tap water has changed from 8.2 a month ago to 7.5 tested tonight.
KH is carbonate hardness. Carbonates and bicarbonates are one of the most common pH buffers in aquariums. When the KH is high the pH is generally high. When the KH drops the pH is generally low.
Some plants use carbonates as a source of carbon instead of CO2.
Some substrates can remove KH from the water, and the KH drops.
GH is general hardness. It is a measure of calcium and magnesium in the water. It is not directly related to pH. This connection is indirect.
Rain water has no minerals in it. When that rain seeps though soils that are high in minerals (like many of the soils in the Golden State) the water dissolves some of these minerals, and the water becomes harder and more alkaline.
One of the most common groups of minerals is calcium and magnesium carbonates. There are other minerals that are often found in soils like this that make these soils very rich for agriculture. Water that has these minerals in it will show high KH and GH, and will be on the alkaline side of neutral.
KH will react with the hydrogen ions in water that are what is read to figure out pH. When there is a lot of KH many H+ are removed from the water, and the water tests alkaline (high pH).
When something removes the KH the H+ is left in the water and the water becomes more acidic (low pH).
IF this is what is going on with your tank, then the answer is to add more carbonate to the tank. The most commonly available source of carbonate is sodium bicarbonate, baking soda.
I have found that 1 teaspoon of baking soda added to a 29 gallon tank will raise the KH from 0 degrees to 2 degrees (still very low) and the pH from 6.0 (well, bottom of the test results) to 6.2. This is not too big a change at any one time, but you will have to keep testing KH and pH and dose baking soda as long as the problem exists. You might want to bring the KH up to about 3 degrees, pH is more stable when KH is about 3 degrees.
Rising ammonia is a consequence of the low pH. Whether it is the low minerals or something else I do not know, but nitrifying bacteria have a very hard time in low pH. Optimum conditions for the nitrifying bacteria include a pH in the mid 7s and GH and KH of around 5 degrees. The acceptable range seems to be pH not lower than 6.5 and GH and KH not lower than 3 degrees.
38 tanks, 2 ponds over 4000 liters of water to keep clean and fresh.
Happy fish keeping!
Happy fish keeping!
Okay I have been looking everywhere for a kh and hardness test with no luck. ALL the hardness tests I find are linked with ph tests. My nitrite is zero nitrates are 20 or lower and ammonie a smidge high. Is kh what they call it in California cause when ever I ask they look at me like I have lost my mind? Also about the baking soda I am confused by this to raise the ph. I thought baking soda was a base as in the opposite of acid. So how would a base help my ph go up?
"Life is short and hard like a body building elf."
Low pH is more H+ ions, and is called acidic. pH below 7.0 is acid.
High pH is more OH- and is referred to as alkaline, or base. pH over 7.0 is alkaline.
Carbonates and bicarbonates latch onto and release H+ and therefore control the pH.
If there is not much carbonates, and there is a lot of H+ in the water then all the carbonates are busy with H+ and the remaining H+ makes the pH test react showing low, acidic pH.
If there is more carbonates then more of the H+ will be locked up and there is less to read on the pH test. It can get to the point that there is an excess of OH- in the water, and this will test as a high pH, or alkaline.
Another name for the KH test is alkalinity.
Here is a link to API water hardness test kit that contains both the GH and KH tests in one box. This is the API web site, you need to find this test kit in the local stores or order it on line from some place like Drs Foster and Smith or Big Als On Line. I do not think API sells direct to the public.
http://www.aquariumpharm.com/Products/P ... oductID=74
High pH is more OH- and is referred to as alkaline, or base. pH over 7.0 is alkaline.
Carbonates and bicarbonates latch onto and release H+ and therefore control the pH.
If there is not much carbonates, and there is a lot of H+ in the water then all the carbonates are busy with H+ and the remaining H+ makes the pH test react showing low, acidic pH.
If there is more carbonates then more of the H+ will be locked up and there is less to read on the pH test. It can get to the point that there is an excess of OH- in the water, and this will test as a high pH, or alkaline.
Another name for the KH test is alkalinity.
Here is a link to API water hardness test kit that contains both the GH and KH tests in one box. This is the API web site, you need to find this test kit in the local stores or order it on line from some place like Drs Foster and Smith or Big Als On Line. I do not think API sells direct to the public.
http://www.aquariumpharm.com/Products/P ... oductID=74
38 tanks, 2 ponds over 4000 liters of water to keep clean and fresh.
Happy fish keeping!
Happy fish keeping!
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