ph instability

[benee16]

I have a 10 gallon tank, with soft water, and the ph  of my tap water is generally 6.8. I use ph up during water changes to raise it to 7.0. However I have been testing the water every other day for ph, ammonia, nitrites and nitrates since the tank is fairly new and I've added new fish 2 weeks ago and the ph has been dropping to 6.6. Is there anything I can do to keep it more consistantly at 7.0 besides adding ph up and stress coat every other day. The water temp is at about 78-80 degrees.
Denise

 

[Gnome]

Check for KH
if yor KH is low, say below 3, that would bring ph down in no time (fast ph swing)..so you need to keep at least PH at 4.5dKH...you need to add some baking soda to the water 1/8 -1/4 tea spoon for 10 gallon tank or you can  use Kent Ph Buffer which is phosphate and nitrate free....I have tap w/ a 2.5-3.0 dKH w/ Ph at 8.2...but after I let it sit for a day or so PH down to 7.4 - 7.6 or something....and w/ regular water changes, say 30% it will be fine...and don't use PH buffer that contain Phosphate coz if you have plants it will do no good for the plants and it promotes algae. Also at ph will alter if there is a lot of CO2 in the water.

 

[benee16]

thanks for the fast response. I am going to test the kh now. Will the baking soda raise the ph or keep it steady? Should I put stress coat in when adding the baking soda?
Denise

 

[luvfishies]

No need to add StressCoat unless you're adding water to the tank.

I would do the baking soda, but that gets used up fairly quickly if the KH is low. Another good option that is more stable and long-lasting is crushed coral in the filter (in a filter bag of course), calcium carbonate "susbstrate" in the filter, or a rock called Traverine or Tuffa. Both of those rocks when used as decor will leach buffers into the water column if the pH/KH gets too low.

Aragonite is another substrate that buffers water that tends to be soft.

Hope that helps a little.

 

[RedTurquoise]

The other side is not trying to adjust the ph! Of course, that will depend on the fish you have or want to get. Personally, I would not start adding chemicals to adjust ph because in the long run, its a pain in the arse! In the short term, you will constantly be having ph swings. From a fish point of view, consistant water parameters are the best even if the ph is a little low or high.

Another test that will help determine your ph is letting your tap water sit in an open plastic container for a couple of days and test the ph. This allows the gases in you tap water to equalize with the surrounding atmosphere for example dissapate any C02.  *thumbsupsmiley*

 

[benee16]

I tried to let the instability go. After letting the water sit for a few days without fish it has a ph of 6.6 and kh changes from blue to orange after 2 drops.  I think it may be the cause of the demise of 2 platys. The water is  testing fine for the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates, but the ph is always the problem. The temp is between 78 and 80 degrees.  I'm heading to the petstore and will see what they have there. Thanks for the imput. It was very helpful
Denise

 

[RedTurquoise]

What kind of fish do you have or would like to get? Ph of 6.6 is fine for most fish and I only dream of having your water. It is perfect for discus!  *thumbsupsmiley* I would leave the ph alone, imo! As mentioned before, a constant ph is far more important than trying to achieve an ideal ph.

My tap water has a ph of 7.6, kh and gh of 100! I also wanted to 'change' my tap water to match discus. Well, I tried for a bit, used buffers and ph down etc! What a pain in the arse! I crashed my ph quite often and finally gave up! Its just too much work! Ive talked to breeders and other successful hobbyests with discus and they said they do not bother with trying to change their water parameters except for breeding. At the moment, Im using tap water in my growout tank and all is good!

 

[benee16]

In my 10 gallon tank I have 6 leopard danios, 2 cory cats and 2 platys. The problem I'm having is that I've lost 2 platys  in the past 3 weeks and I'm thinking its due to the fluctuations in the ph. Of course it could be that the platys  I bought have problems too. Who knows. I just know that before the platys died, they were hanging out toward the back and bottom of the tank, and sometimes swimming rather slowly around, but not eating. Then the next day they were nose down in one of my plants. I've got a bubble stick and good filtration so that's not the problem and nobody is gasping for air. I've seen nothing suspicious on the fish and neither did the pet store fishkeeper. She recommended getting tetras instead. She said that maybe the platys could take the changes and before I add more to the tank, I should wait and see what happens with the 2 I have left.
Denise

 

[koolkatzfish]

If the ph isn't dropping, I wouldn't mess with it until your tank has cycled.  The ammonia is less toxic the lower the ph.  
Once your tank is cycled, if the ph is dropping then consider adding a product call liquid neutral regulator by seachem (also comes in a powder).  Works much better than ph up, and it lasts.  
My quarantine tank, which also houses my baby bristlenoses, was going quite acidic ( I have soft water also).  I was using baking soda every water change and in between and could not stablize the ph, it ended up killing a batch of fry.  Since using the seachem product I am able to keep my ph at 6.8 to 7.  Its cost more than the other products, but I think it is worth it.  It helps buffer the water to a neutral or ph of 7, I just don't add quite as much as I am supposed to, to get the lower ph.  Once the water is buffered, I only have to add it occasionally.  Amquel also makes a similiar product in powder form.