Looking for a second opinion on a pH problem

[Amartha]

Hi, everyone.

I have a 5 gal planted tank with, at the moment, two Glo danios and two amano shrimp. It's my first tank, I didn't do a fishless cycle, and I've had it for a little over two months now. After the first month or so, I thought I was doing fine. Then my pH started to fluctuate drastically, spiking up to 7.6 and down to 6.0 almost from day to day. I brought a water sample to my LFS, and I was told that my water hardness was very low. They sold me some Alkaline Buffer (I use Acid Buffer to drive the pH down from the 7.6 that comes out of my tap) and told me to use that with the Acid Buffer. My water's not so soft anymore, but now, for the past two weeks or so, no matter what I do with my tank, the pH keeps spiking back up to 7.6. I consulted with my LFS again, and after some thought they said that it might be something up with my tap water. First they told me to leave out a sample of my tap water and test it every day for fluctuations. I did so, it consistently came out 7.6. They weren't sure what else it could be, so they gave me a couple of gallons of theirs, told me to do 10% water changes every two days for a week or so, and the problem should hopefully clear up.

I'm a tad bit skeptical. I trust the people at my LFS, because it's a small local business and most (if not all) of the employees there have tanks of their own at home, but I'm not sure what could possibly be so wrong with my tap water. I'm looking for a second opinion, mostly.

Here are my current water parameters:
pH: 7.6
Amm: 0-0.25 ppm
NO2: 0 ppm
NO3: 5 ppm
kH: ~100 ppm (turns green at six drops, yellow at seven)
Temp: 80 degrees F

I did a 10% pwc today with my LFS's tap water after using acid buffer to bring the pH down to 7.2 over the course of a half hour. It was back up to 7.6 four hours later, when I next tested it. I do my water changes with SeaChem acid and alkaline buffers, and I condition with StressCoat. My fish and shrimp seem to behaving okay, and I know that stability is important, so I haven't played around with my pH in the past week, aside from before water changes. When I first started out the tank, I used to have a consistent pH of 6.8.

Any advice would be helpful! Thanks.

Amartha

 

[rich311k]

All these buffers will just make things worse. Bouncing PH and KH is not good. It also looks like the tank is not completely cycled which will also effect the PH. Have you tested the KH and PH of your tap water? In general steady is all that matters, perfect is not needed at all.

 

[Amartha]

Yeah, I've tested the pH and kH of my tap water. It comes out to pH 7.6 and kH ~50 ppm (yellow at three drops). I know that steady is more important than perfect, and I try not to play with it unnecessarily, but isn't a pH of 7.6 a bit high? Should I just not bother with adjustment at all and leave it there, if that's what comes out of my tap and that's where my tank keeps going back to? I'm still new at this, and I've gotten some conflicting impressions about pH, so I'd appreciate someone setting me straight on it.

Thanks for the quick reply!

Amartha

 

[rich311k]

Yes leave it where it is. Your fish will do just fine.

 

[Amartha]

Alright, if that's what's best. Thanks for the advice!

But what about when I add more fish? I'm a little concerned about acclimatizing them from the LFS's pH 6.8 to my 7.6 in a matter of minutes. Is that likely to be a problem?

Amartha

 

[eco23]

I agree with Rich, 7.6 is perfectly fine and actually an ideal range for tons of fish. Cycling tends to wreak havoc on your pH, so I also agree that once the tank stabilizes...the pH will as well. When your tank is cycled, continue to be diligent about performing your weekly pwc's to restore the tap waters natural buffers and keep things nice and steady

 

[eco23]

Alright, if that's what's best. Thanks for the advice!

But what about when I add more fish? I'm a little concerned about acclimatizing them from the LFS's pH 6.8 to my 7.6 in a matter of minutes. Is that likely to be a problem?

Amartha

Research drip acclimation...it's the safest and most efficient way to introduce new fish. Some people make a big deal of it, and it's not always necessary, but IMO it's less hassle than bag acclimating. Honestly, all you need is a bucket and a piece of airline tubing.

 

[eco23]

I actually just typed this in another thread a couple days ago...so excuse my copying and pasting

- Float bag for ~15 mins (probably unnecessary)
- Place fish and bag water in a clean pitcher (also the pitcher goes inside bucket to catch overflow)
- Use air line tubing and start a syphon from the tank, then use a clamp or tie a couple knots in the tubing so there's a slow but steady drip, drip, drip, maybe around 1 drip per second.
- Go watch TV for a while
- Let the pitcher fill, dump out half the water than repeat
- More TV
- Once the pitcher fills the second time, I net the fish (pitcher comes in handy) and place him in the tank

 

[Amartha]

I hadn't heard of drip acclimation before, but it sounds very doable. When you say "dump out half" of the pitcher's contents, do you mean back into the tank, or just out?

And another question... How long would you estimate I have until the tank's fully cycled? It's only a 5 gal tank, and I've already had it for two months. Mostly I'm just impatient and want some tankmates for my danios. >.>

Thanks for the replies, they've been really helpful.

Amartha

 

[eco23]

I hadn't heard of drip acclimation before, but it sounds very doable. When you say "dump out half" of the pitcher's contents, do you mean back into the tank, or just out?

And another question... How long would you estimate I have until the tank's fully cycled? It's only a 5 gal tank, and I've already had it for two months. Mostly I'm just impatient and want some tankmates for my danios. >.>

Thanks for the replies, they've been really helpful.

Amartha

I never let water from any store get into my tank, so it just goes down the drain. You can just net the fish once the process is done and set them into your tank.

I think you're near the finish line for cycling...in fact if you've made any changes recently like changing filters...you may actually be having a mini-cycle. In an established tank, the levels should always be 0 ammo, 0 no2 and some level of nitrAtes. Any major changes or heavy cleaning can remove beneficial bacteria and cause ammonia spikes until the tank stabilizes.

Are you familiar with the process of fish in cycling? Right now your ammonia needs to be below .25 (so you need to do a 50-60% pwc ASAP). Above that level will burn and scar their gills :-(.

Here's a great guide you can check out-
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...-but-i-already-have-fish-what-now-116287.html

*edit*- Oops! Sorry! I could have sworn you listed ammo at .5, my mistake

 

[Amartha]

I did change the filter recently, because my water was getting kinda hazy, so maybe that's it. I'll keep an eye on it. I had a look at that guide, and it looks like I've been doing things right, with regard to testing and pwc's, since I got the fish, which is nice. xD

Thanks for all the advice and the help! I guess I'll leave the pH alone and let my tank finish cycling, and go from there.

Amartha

 

[eco23]

I did change the filter recently, because my water was getting kinda hazy, so maybe that's it. I'll keep an eye on it. I had a look at that guide, and it looks like I've been doing things right, with regard to testing and pwc's, since I got the fish, which is nice. xD

Thanks for all the advice and the help! I guess I'll leave the pH alone and let my tank finish cycling, and go from there.

Amartha

Sounds good . I do think it is a mini-cycle your tank may be experiencing. Contrary to what the stores and manufacturers tell you, you should never change a filter unless it is literally falling apart. Best thing to do is fill a bucket with water from your tank during weekly water changes, and swish the filter around in the bucket to remove any debris it has collected, and stick it back in. When your filter gets to the point it has to be replaced, jam a new filter in next to it for at least 2 weeks so the bacteria has a chance to colonize in the new before you throw out the old. The vast majority of your nitrifying bacteria lives in the filter media, and when it is thrown away you lose a huge portion of it, and your tank can have ammonia and nitrIte spikes. Good luck!