10 gallon vs 20 gallon - Query

[Bish67]

Sting...yes i live 20 mins from callington. Small world. It is the wood Thats bringing ph down...tho its confusing as ph fine in other tank...tho your right...no wood in tank. Tap ph is 7. You do need to change the water whilst its cycling...its a must really...to help the fish through the spikes ...wont effect cycle as most bacteria live in filter.
However.....I have just retested tank....following a 0.5pm

 

[Rivercats]

Some people say they figure I am because they think my tank has a female look to it, whatever that means. Maybe because I have so many non-green plants, alot which have alot of pink in them.

 

[Bish67]

Sting...yes i live 20 mins from callington. Small world. It is the wood Thats bringing ph down...tho its confusing as ph fine in other tank...tho your right...no wood in tank. Tap ph is 7. You do need to change the water whilst its cycling...its a must really...to help the fish through the spikes ...wont effect cycle as most bacteria live in filter.
However.....I have just retested tank....following a 0.5ppm on ammonia scale then water change...to fine my ph dropped to 6 Again.....so now im even more confused?
Do i continue with water change through cycle....or let ph settle....arghhhh!!! Such fun

 

[Bish67]

assuming your male river?

 

[tropicalfishlady]

Tropicalfishlady I'm a she, just thought you might like to know

Eeeeeee sorry about that :$

 

[tropicalfishlady]

Yes....i hear what your saying.....i too Dont have a filter large enough in this tank to house it. So i bought a.mesh bag n coral....half filled the bag...washed it.....did 75 % change ...but the bag behind the wood but in a high flow area....tested water 24 hours later...and...its gone to 7.2..amazing. Will keep the bag in there till tank has cycled ...then see what happens...but hopefully it will kick start my cycle again. Hope yours working well?

Mines slow actually and ill have had to add some.more coral,it has gone to 6.4 tho. glad yours.is doin.ok

 

[stingrays4]

Hi you only do the water changes if you are doing a 'Fish in Cycle' if not then no water changes - yes confusing but you will get the hang of it
PS I am a male

 

[Bish67]

ok...sorry tropical and river...just re read threads.....anyway....what to do about my baby tanks ph ....fish coping well...but feel bad cos of the fluctuation in ph

 

[Rivercats]

You've got the crushed coral going so it should regulate now. If it begins to drop just add alittle more as Library said. It will add the buffers in water that will raise the Ph and help to keep it stable.

 

[Bish67]

cheers river....will stick at at...just frustrating....i test it 4 hours ago ph 7.2 but high ammonia during cycling.....change water....re test ph ....back down to 6 yet tap water is 7

 

[Rivercats]

Even tho your tap water is 7.2 it could have no or little Gh or Kh. In a planted tank you want Gh and Kh readings to be at 4. Under these reading especially the Kh part means your tap water has no buffering minerals in it which explains why your Ph keeps dropping. By adding the CC it raises the Gh/Kh which buffers the water with minerals which in turn raises the Ph and keeps it stable. Make sense?

 

[Bish67]

i think so river? Dont understand y i got one perfect tank...and one ( the small one) low ph and stalled cycle. Should i continue with water changes during cycle? why is ph so different between tanks...same water....or is it just the wood dragging it down? Sorry to go on river....just wanna understand n get it right

 

[Rivercats]

I've never had DW or any kind bring down Ph like that, heck I have an organic dirted tank that is loaded with peat and it took months for it to make a dent in Ph/Kh/Gh. And sometimes with tanks weird unexplainable things happen. There is no plausable explanation, it just happens. I've had a couple weird chemical imbalance issues that finally seemed to work themselves out and no one could explain why it happened. So I believe your just going to chalk it up to something odd and unexplainable. You can remove the DW and see if it goes up but I would be shocked if it did.

 

[Bish67]

DW ??whats that

 

[Rivercats]

DW is short for Driftwood

 

[Bish67]

thanks....starting to think DW is a pain

 

[Rivercats]

I love DW! I think it adds alot to a tank when used properly. Here's a picture of my favorite piece of DW in my 220g tank.... Aquarium Advice - Aquarium Forum Community - Rivercats's Album: 220g 12-1-2012 - Picture

 

[Bish67]

yeah nice.....

 

[ktomminello]

Driftwood when properly soaked and cycled is not going to effect your water ph that badly, really, considering the amount of beneficial bacteria colonies it promotes, which, with proper care only drops the area of the driftwoods ph to a level that plant roots enjoy- between 6.5-6.8. Here's my list of ph buffers that I have had success with.
FOR RAISING(+) PH
crushed coral
Dolomite chips
Snail and mollusk shells
Pieces of decorative dead coral

FOR LOWERING(-) PH
driftwood (Malaysian bogwood has given me more of a buffering effect while normal driftwood makes the ideal anchor for plants)
Lava rocks
Rocks
Plants
Animals

This is just what I have observed in my own tanks.

 

[tropicalfishlady]

I love DW! I think it adds alot to a tank when used properly. Here's a picture of my favorite piece of DW in my 220g tank.... Aquarium Advice - Aquarium Forum Community - Rivercats's Album: 220g 12-1-2012 - Picture

I know i keep saying but tht tank is gorgeous