pH problems

[Marinemammalover]

I have been fish-in cycling my twenty gallon tank with six zebra danios. I have had my ammonia spike and am currently having a nitrite spike. Ok so here's the problem... my pH has been slowly dropping and now it is at 6.0! i read somewhere that below seven the nitrification process slows and around six it stops completely! I have been doing 50% water changes everyday to keep the nitrite under control and to raise the pH. however I have not sucessfully been able to raise the pH. The pH of my tap water is 7.8 so I don't know how it is so low and staying so low in my tank. The only thing I can think of is that the water condtitoner I use to treat my tap water (amquel plus and novaqua) some Please help!

 

[Andrew McFadden]

Have you.tested the water out of your tap after sitting out for 24hours?

 

[Marinemammalover]

Not yet the one time I tried to do it someone dumped the water into the sink. Even though I put a sticky note saying do not touch and I haven't had time since then! Lol I'll try again tonight and make sure that everyone knows not to touch it.

 

[Andrew McFadden]

Not yet the one time I tried to do it someone dumped the water into the sink. Even though I put a sticky note saying do not touch and I haven't had time since then! Lol I'll try again tonight and make sure that everyone knows not to touch it.

Lol
Mine drops after sitting out but not as much as yours.

 

[jcolon]

You haven't mentioned plants so I'm assuming your not running CO2 so I see two reason's why your pH is dropping ...

1. Either, as Andrew Mcfadden said ... you need to test the pH of your tap after sitting around for 24hrs ... then you'll know the stabilized pH after outgassing etc.

2. Beneficial Bacteria are consuming the minerals in your tap that buffer the water. Without those buffers, you have soft water and your pH is free to swing wildly. This is known to happen in newer tanks where the bacteria are still trying to establish and consuming minerals. If this is the case, you can put some crushed corals, or limestone in a media bag and place it in your filter to add buffers.

Your next step could be to test the kH and dH of your tap for hardness and let a glass of your tap sit out for 24hrs.

 

[blert]

It is common when "cycling" a tank to have the pH go a bit wonky on you. Try a 50% PWC and in an hour or so do another one.

 

[Marinemammalover]

I forgot to mention it in my original post but the last time I tested my water for hardness it was around 25-50... So I have really soft water that's probably why the pH is such a problem. Could I get crushed coral/limestone at my LFS and how would I put it in a mediabag... Could I just put it Ina pantyhose in my filter cuz my filter only has room for one cartridge....

 

[Andrew McFadden]

I forgot to mention it in my original post but the last time I tested my water for hardness it was around 25-50... So I have really soft water that's probably why the pH is such a problem. Could I get crushed coral/limestone at my LFS and how would I put it in a mediabag... Could I just put it Ina pantyhose in my filter cuz my filter only has room for one cartridge....

If its needed yes

 

[Marinemammalover]

Ok so today I tested my pH and it is now at 6.4 . I haven't gotten the crushed coral but I was wondering if coral substrate would work?

 

[librarygirl]

Try letting a glass of tap water sit out (maybe hide it lol) for 24 hours, stir it occasionally and test PH again. Sometimes after it outgasses it changes from what it is out of the tap. The reading after 24 hours tells you what your tank's PH should be. If it's really mid-6's you might want to buffer it with some coral. I think substrate would be too much and would likely raise your PH too high from what your tap's ph is. THrow some in a media bag or a clean nylon stocking (never washed with detergents) and put it in your filter.

 

[BBradbury]

Your pH question

I have been fish-in cycling my twenty gallon tank with six zebra danios. I have had my ammonia spike and am currently having a nitrite spike. Ok so here's the problem... my pH has been slowly dropping and now it is at 6.0! i read somewhere that below seven the nitrification process slows and around six it stops completely! I have been doing 50% water changes everyday to keep the nitrite under control and to raise the pH. however I have not sucessfully been able to raise the pH. The pH of my tap water is 7.8 so I don't know how it is so low and staying so low in my tank. The only thing I can think of is that the water condtitoner I use to treat my tap water (amquel plus and novaqua) some Please help!

Hello Marine...

Your fish will be the best indication of a water problem. If they appear normal, I would concentrate on keeping the water free of nitrogens like ammonia and nitrites and don't be overly concerned with the hard or soft water at this point. You just need to test the water daily for the two toxins and then a 25 to 30 percent water change is sufficient to remove enough waste to put the water back into the "safe zone" for the fish.

If you haven't already, get some floating stem plants into the tank. Anacharis, Water sprite, Water wisteria and Pennywort are some very good natural water filters.

Pieces of driftwood are a nice addition to the tank and will help steady the pH.

Just a couple of thoughts.

B

 

[bobc4d]

I have really soft water also, less than 25 mg/l CaCO3 and my tank pH stays over 8.3, the tap runs the same