How to keep ph down?

[aqua_chem]

Eco Complete won't do either of those things.

 

[Niccobacci11]

Then I'm stumped

 

[Hobgob]

If im not mistaken, doesn't certain sands leach carbonates also?

 

[Blitz]

I still say it's the rock, from the photo, the rock looks marbled to me, unless you are testing the entire rock, you can't always tell with a Vinegar test. Back to what Aqua_chem said, Unless the Petco sand is Salt Water sand, there really is nothing else that can drive the PH up so high.

What Chems do you use to prepare your water when doing a change? ie Chlorine Remover, etc?

 

[Niccobacci11]

I use prime when doing water changes.

 

[Delapool]

I can't really tell from the photo what the rock is but some thoughts on this. You could try warming the vinegar or looking under a magnifying glass when you put the vinegar on or if you can scratch any of the rock into a powder and then put the vinegar on. These may give you a better chance of detecting any reaction. If there is any dolomite in with any calcite then the reaction could be slower. We used to use 10% HCL acid and fairly pure dolomite still only gave the odd bubble after watching for a few minutes. I assume you are testing for more reactive rock like calcite but against that is vinegar is a relatively weak acid.

I was wondering if the rock has a smooth face (very fine crystals on it) that looks fairly impermeable or is made of fine "sand-looking" grains that look permeable (ie water could soak through)? If the water can soak through I'd go with either a sedimentary or weathered rock, either which could have carbonates and be a problem. Some thoughts anyways.

 

[Blitz]

I use prime when doing water changes.

Nope, then that's not it.