ZakTheRipper
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
I have a 20 gallon tank that currently only has two residents: an albino oscar and a common pleco. I use tap water that I of course condition with chems first, and I am guessing it's very hard, because I always get a white crusty buildup on certain parts of the tank's outside (Calcium deposits?). The weird thing is, I consistently have a low pH, that usually hovers around 6.0-6.4, despite my using a 7.0 buffer and pH Up. Every time I raise it, within a day or two it's crept back down. Is there some way to control the pH better? Why would it be so low if I have excess Calcium? I've heard that hard water can make it difficult to control pH, but I still don't see what's making it so low.