Low pH

[vraicovi]

Hi guys. This is my first post, although I've been lurking for quite awhile now...

I restarted the 55 gallon tank after a 5 year hiatus and after roughly 5 weeks, she's finally cycled and everything looks good, except for the pH. For the first 4 weeks, it was consistently in the 6.8-7.0 range, where I thought it should be. However, for the last week or so, no matter how much pH+ I add, it seems to settle back down to 6.0 rather quickly.

This is a community tank and fairly new, so there aren't many fish at the moment: 6 neons, 2 zebra, 3 tetra, 2 tri-color sharks and yesterday, we added a black ghost fish. No live plants.

Any ideas or should I even be worrying?

Thanks,
Vinny

 

[Pure]

PH additives don't work for very long so your results are to be expected, hence why it is recommended you leave them on the shelf at the store. As far as the tank PH goes, what is your tap water PH after sitting for 24 hrs? An excess amount of dissolved organics in a tank can cause the PH to drop especially in water that has a low buffering ability. Test your GH and KH and get back to us with the results. Also what is your water change schedule like? What's in the tank and how often do you feed and what are you feeding them?

 

[homebunnyj]

The 6.0 ph is fine for your fish. On the other hand, th econstant up and down of using the ph+ will definitely weaken them and you may soon be dealing with ich or some other illness. Stop it. Put the ph+ away and don't get it back out. All my tanks stay at 6 with no ill effects.

BTW, what are your test results for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate?

Another thought is, how is your tank maintenance? Have you added anything like driftwood to the tank? Organic matter can cause the ph to drop. My water's pretty soft, but the ph sits at 6 all the time. (If I ran co2 for a planted tank the soft water's lack of buffering ability would be a bigger concern to me.) If it had suddenly dropped to 6 from a higher level, I'd be looking at my tank maintenane procedures to see if maybe I had rotting plant leaves or something like that in the tank.

EDIT: Looks like Pure just covered all that

 

[vraicovi]

Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are all good. It took about 5 weeks to cycle, but it finally did. Until now, I was changing out 10 gallons (55g tank) a week. I'm not sure what my tap water looks like, but I'll test it later on. I would generally fill my containers, add the dechlorinate and wait for it to settle to room temperature, usually 2-3 days.

I don't have a test kit for GH & KH. Should I pick one up or just bring the water into the local shop? Are these numbers that I need to check regularly or just to troubleshoot the low PH?

Thanks for the quick answers guys,
Vinny

 

[Mahamotorworks]

First off, Welcome to the tank.

Even tho KH and GH effect your PH, I wouldnt worry about the KH and GH they are used more in a Planted tank. Constant PH is better the Perfect PH. Adding drift wood to your tank will naturally lower the PH. Some rocks will Raise it. It is stays level at 6 then I would leave it alone.

Just to let you know we like numbers here for the Ammonia, NitrIte and Nitrate Levels it will let us help you more then just "good."

MAHA

Now we have a cousin Vinny.

 

[echoofformless]

For the fish you're keeping, that pH is actually preferable.

I find myself posting this same thing quite often - the fact that the overwhelming majority of tropical fish we commonly keep in this hobby - with the exception of livebearers and African cichlids, are fish that prefer soft, acidic water. In fact, some of the fish you have in your tank are "blackwater" species who will thrive in pH below 6.8 or so.

 

[bigredspecial]

Don't use pH adjusters; they're a disaster waiting to happen.

Believe me, a pH of 6 is fine. It's never hurt any of my fish.

 

[FroggyFox]

Welcome Vinny My only concern with what you said was that the tank used to be a steady 6.8-7 and now is a 6. What is your tap water fresh out of the tap, and then what is your tap water if left out in a bowl overnight? That could tell us a lot about your water.

If the tap water if left out overnight is about 6 then you're good, just put away the chemicals and get used to the 6. If the tap water left out overnight is more like that 6.8-7 range then I'd be more concerned about how clean your tank is and I'd probably suggest doing a very thorough gravel vac as well as a large water change once a week for awhile and see if that pH levels out above 6. 10 gallons a week in a 55 isn't enough IMO, I would suggest 35-50% a week. Even though you don't have too many fish right now, I'm guessing you're still adding (which I'm sure you're aware needs to be done very slowly to allow your biofilter to catch up with the added load) so it would be a good habit to get into.

Let us know about the tap water though. I don't think the change from 7 to 6 is drastic enough for you to need to age the water for your water changes.