Ph drop issues.

[Fishman_2000]

I seem to be in and out of this hobby for the last year and after moving to a different city last year with different water quality my only aquarium just doesn't seem to do so well anymore. To make a long story short the pH of the water in the new city is exactly 7 and very soft. It was 7.8 where i used to live and would drop but not drasticly like it does here. I'm ashamed to say I don't do water changes as much as I should. The ph in the tank is 6.0 and fish have been sporadically getting sick and dieing. I have a huge chunk of driftwood in there for the bushynose pleco to munch on because I had read they need to eat the wood. If I remember correctly driftwood can drop ph right? Also the gravel I got a long time ago from the local hardware store. The rocks are about 4 to 5 times the size of regular aquarium gravel and some are kinda porous. Plasic plants with an ecco canister filter. I think the driftwood and gravel are the main problems of the ph drop. Does anyone have any ideas? Thanks.

 

[bigredspecial]

Rocks won't lower ph, only raise it. As for the driftwood, it will slowly lower the ph, but it won't do so very quickly or drastically. So, I have no idea what could drop your ph nearly 2 full points.

As an aside, what kind of fish do you have? Most... as in 99% most... should be fine in 6.0, provided it is stable. Does your ph fluctuate?

 

[Fishman_2000]

Sorry for the delayed response. Well I don't monitor the pH as much as I should but usually it just falls even ever water changes. I Read somewhere if you overstock the tank it can cause drops. I have 1 bristlensoe pleco, 1 rubbernose pleco, 5 neon tetras, 1 zebra danio, 2 guppies, and 2 corries. It's a 29 gallon tank. Ive been adding ph buffers that i have used with success in the past and it's going up some and i'm going to take out the drift wood today and do a 5 gallon water change and monitor the ph daily.

 

[kristar1982]

Try testing the water from your tap. It may be a lot higher ph than the water you used to use. Where I am. I use well water which is a neutral 7.0 and my tanks are 7.2. Except for my 55 gallon which is always lower for some reason.

Testing your tap water might help figure out why its different. Your tank does not seem overstocked to me. Thats just my opinion.

 

[Lotus]

You should test the KH of your water, and also test the pH of your tapwater after it has sat out for 24 hours. This will give you a better handle on what's happening with your pH.

If you have low KH or low pH in your tapwater, you might want to think about adding some crushed coral in a media bag in your filter.

 

[FroggyFox]

heya stranger I totally agree with lotus. You said the water at the new place is soft? so did you already test the hardness...or do you just know (I hate the feeling of taking a shower in soft water ewww) I'd look into some ways of buffering the water so you at least have a stable pH...I'd mostly be worried that your pH is fluxuating and could possibly drop WAY down if your water is really soft. Orion wrote an article about pH...you might take a look at it and see if it gives you any clues even though its more focusing on high pH for cichlids? http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/showthread.php?t=28761

 

[scubadude]

My ph drops over time. I have to raise it about every 3 weeks. I use baking soda to raise it, however i din't know if it would be alright for your fish for sure.

 

[Etheostoma]

I use a large-ish limestone rock as tank decoration for all of my tanks. Keeps the water hard and pH stable. May add a few other trace minerals to boot. I also routinely expect my fish to exceed their projected age by a few years or more, which they do so most kindly. I likewise don't get the drift associated with having planted tanks.

As you can imagine, I tend to eschew softwater or acid-loving fishes.

 

[Fishman_2000]

Thanks for all the info. The water where I used to live was 7.8 and was 4 for the gh/kh, but it would drop heavily too. Though I also had this big plastic ruined castle that I got from petsmart in there with the driftwood. The castle I don't use anymore. The water here is very soft. It's neutral the gh/kh are both around 2. I hadn't thought about testing the water after it has set out for 24 hours. That's an awesome idea. The funny thing about that tank is the guppies which prefer alkaline water seem to do OK in the very acidic water. Though they are more durable (couldn't think of a better word) then the other fish. It's been one thing after another with that tank after moving so hopefully I can get the pH under control soon. I'm thinking of moving it upstairs in my office but it would be near a window though. However it's always hot in here due to all the computers running so I don't think it will be a problem once I get the windows tinted to reduce the sunlight coming in. Thanks again for all the info.

Froggy I'll hop on yahoo or AIM sometime soon so we can catch up!