potential emergency!

[SeymourFRESH]

pH question

alright, i just put 2 pieces of wood in my 55 gallon. one is kind of long but not really dense, and the other one is BIG and very dense!

how much is that going to drop my pH and how quickly? after i finally got it set up in my tank i started thinking that it may cause too quick of a swing in my pH, and i have heard of fish dying/stressing from too quick of changes in pH.

in the tank i have 3 black mollies, 4 otocinclus, 3 ghost shrimp and 2 synodontis cats so far. i know that synodontis like more of an alkaline water, but do you guys think it would be alright? here's a picture of how much driftwood i have in my tank total now:

 

[SeymourFRESH]

bahhh my pH post got bumped too far down the page.

i just put a really dense (at least 5 lbs) piece of driftwood in my 55 gallon about an hour ago, and well here's an update on it: my pH is now down to about 7.1 and the last time i checked (about a month ago) the ph in that tank was about 7.4 or so!

should i yank that piece of driftwood out of there? i'm not sure how big it's going to drop my pH

 

[sir_dudeguy]

no, i think its fine, but i might be wrong. if its a cichlid tank then maybe, but other fish should be fine, but someone back me up

 

[SeymourFRESH]

well i have no cichlids in there. the only fish in there i'm really concerned about is my 2 synodontis eupterus. everywhere i've read that they adapt to any water level, but prefer pHs of at least 8.0 or above

other than that, i'm sure most of my fish in there could adapt, i just don't know how quickly and how much my pH is going to swing...i've been testing it every 15 minutes, and it seems to be remaining steady between 7.2 and 7.0...but it just scares me because it's never been that low

 

[Menagerie]

bahhh my pH post got bumped too far down the page.

It's literally 7 posts away and I will merge the posts for you.

...7.1 and the last time i checked (about a month ago) the ph in that tank was about 7.4 or so!

The drift wood did not do this in an hour. A little test is needed: fill a glass with tap water and let it sit out for 12 hours to allow the gases to equilibrate then test the pH. This is the true pH of your water. Within the last month has anything else been added to this tank (chemicals? other decor?)?

 

[sir_dudeguy]

you got a point there with the synodontis. do you know what ph your water is when you do a water change? if its at 8 or whatever it usually is in the tank, why not try a water change? if your water that you use for water changes is the right ph, it should work. if not then i'd pull the driftwood out, and wait for someone else to give input

 

[SeymourFRESH]

i apologize for making this exta post, i know i got kind of ancy!

nope, nothing has been added besides fish.

right before i added the driftwood i did about a 40-50% water change. the water out of the tap is 8.0 but the conditioner i use says "adjusts pH" on the bottle but i was never able to determine what that actually meant.

 

[Menagerie]

That's okay.

How long has this tank been set up? When you have done pH readings in the past, how close to PWCs were they? Have you ever tested the pH in the tank when not doing maintenance?

Personally, I added lots of wood to my 50 gallon and the pH dropped slowly--it was hardly noticeable.

... if its a cichlid tank then maybe...

A little clarification: Not all cichlids like low pH. Generally cichlids from South America do, but not the African cichlids.

 

[SeymourFRESH]

well i'm figuring now since i did about a 40-50% water change before adding it i'm thinking it'll be cool, don't you think?

i might have just jumped the gun because i didn't think about it effecting my pH until AFTER i added the wood and filled my tank back up LOL!

oh well...guess i'll just hope for the best

 

[rich311k]

It should be fine. It wont crash you ph. unless you had a KH of 1 or some such low number.

 

[Menagerie]

I think your tank will be fine and the pH really hasn't changed. Since you didn't do a pH reading before adding the wood, we won't know. Do the tap water in a glass test and let us know.

right before i added the driftwood i did about a 40-50% water change. the water out of the tap is 8.0 but the conditioner i use says "adjusts pH" on the bottle but i was never able to determine what that actually meant.

I see the problem--throw that pH adjuster away. That is causing the pH fluctuation--there is no perfect pH. Stable pH is best. Do the test as suggested and we'll go from there.

 

[SeymourFRESH]

well i'm not using the stuff to adjust my pH, i'm using it to eliminate chlorine and chloramine. we've been using the stuff for years and it works great! but you're right though, that's probably why it's lower than out of the tap

it's called "water-rite powder" and i can't find any information on it. i think it's only distributed in MO and that's why...

well damn...i guess i'll have to get a new conditioner now, at least for that tank...my amazon tank shouldn't mind a nice comfy lower pH!