pH Problems

[wyldfyre05]

I am having pH regulation problems. I have a 10 gal turtle "pond" with 3 small turtles for my children. When I checked the pH it was roughly 6.0. I set up my 55 gal and want to move the turtles to the "bigger pond". But the pH in that tank is 7.6!! I am using Seachem Neutral Regulator to get both tanks closer to 7.0. The 10 gal is responding, but the 55 is not. Due to laziness, the 10 is stocked with distilled water, the 55 stocked with tap water (due to cost). My 2 problems are 1; the 55 gal tank is not responding though it has been treated 3 times and 2; the turtles' shells are showing some white color change after their tank was raised to 6.6. (I think the turtles like the acidic water better.) Does anyone know a better way to get this 55 gal tank down to a better pH? Thanks for your help.

 

[loganj]

If you've been putting straight distilled water in the turtle tank, that's why the pH is so low in there. Distilled water has no mineral content and therefore no buffering capacity. It will go acidic almost immediately due to the biological processes in the tank. Turtles are kinda nasty anyway...they generate a good deal of waste. I kept a turtle here for the kids in 7.6 water for several years and he did fine in it. It was a sideneck of some sort. pH is easy to raise, but hard to lower. You have to overcome the buffering capacity (ability to absorb acid) in the tap water before you can effectively lower the pH and get it to stay down. If it was me, I'd try to acclimate the turtles slowly to the 7.6 water. You can cut the buffering capacity of the tap water by mixing distilled water with it, but that will probably turn into a pain long term. I would suggest doing a series of small water changes in the 10 using the tap water until the pH is at least 7.4 and then move the turtles into the 55. Acclimate them over a period of about two weeks. One other thing to note is that ammonia becomes toxic above 7.0 so you might want to pick up a test kit for that. I don't think turtles are as sensitive to ammonia as fish are, but it would be in their best interests to limit their exposure to it as much as possible. What kind of filtration have you been using? What do you have on the 55?
Welcome to Aquarium Advice!

 

[wyldfyre05]

I tested the amonia levels in both tanks and they were nil. I must be filtering the turtles decently well (undergravel and Whisper 20). The 55 has an undergravel, a Whisper 50, and a Hot Magnum 250 canister. (It was my old oscar tank. They were messier than these turtles.) The 10 gal is the tank that responded better to the Seachem. But I do understand the concept of raise is easy, lower is a bear.

Thanks for the info. Might have to go to the store for a few more gallons of distilled.