Hi..I am new and have a question??

[Owen Meany]

Sorry for the lazy mans search but the search engine would not process "how do i raise my ph?"...

That is my question...over the last 5 months my ph has dropped to about 5.6. The fish seem fine, but my plants are suffering as the Co2 system shuts off at this ph level...

Any thoughts as to hoe to raise the ph? Or as to why it has dropped? Prior to the "drop" it was right where I wanted it at about 7 +/-...

Thanks in advance...jb

 

[SoulFish]

you could harden your water to buffer the pH, whats hte pH of the water you change water with?

 

[Paul]

Or you could add A couple of scollop shells. Dependent on the size of you tank of course. Anything less than a 20 gal only add one shell. With constant water changes ths scallop shells will slowly increase your pH to about 6.8 in 3 to 4 days.

 

[SoulFish]

the scallop shells do what i said, make the water hard and buffer the pH, this can be done with shells, limestone, crushed coral in a bag is an easy way

 

[Owen Meany]

My tap ph is about 8.5.....

So I just drop scallop shells in? Would it be better to treat the cause the low ph?

This is a well lit, well planted, pretty well stocked, very well maintained and filtered...

2 Rams
2 Angels
3 Discus
about 15 Rumy nose teras
3 flying foxes
1 pelco

all in a compfy 50gal tank...

20% plus, water changes once a week
2 Marine land Magnum 350's
Biowheel
Co2 Injections system with Aqua Medic 1000 Reactor

That about it....

 

[Imp]

I've put a cup or two of crushed coral in my Fluval 304 and it's kept the ph at a stable 8.2 with kh of about 20-22 degrees.

 

[wayne at home]

Owen - whats your numbers for general hardness (gH) and carbonate hardness (kH). I have a feeling they must be phenomanally low to allow CO2 injection to force down your pH that far. Are you using RO, DI or distilled water for water changes?
If you are you should maybe not use this, but use tapwater, or a mix to get a 'correct' mix, that will contain more dissolved material, and won't be so unstable on application of CO2.
Test and tell on your tapwater gH and kH

 

[RedTurquoise]

Yes! The first thing to establish is what wayne mentions, gh and kh!

Another test is leave your tap water sitting in an open container for a couple of days to allow for dissapation gas and then test the ph. Often, the ph right from the tap is at a different value then sitting for a few days.

Another possibility is using a C02 liquid instead of the gas. The liquid stuff is not suppose to change ph.

 

[wayne at home]

Looking at your stock list I wouldn't worry too much.... but a few degrees higher would help, and keep things more stable. Either your tap water is mega soft , or you're using RO/DI. I don't think you're on a household softener as your fish are healthy, and all those fish will react to the typical hpusehold water softener