Need help understanding ph drop

[Fishdreamz]

Every time I do a water change I check the ph which is close to 7.0
After a few days the ph drops dramatically.
Fish seem to be ok in my 50 gallon until I do a water change of only 10 gallons and then ph drop causes white spots on the fins.
This has happened to me many times before. I placed a beta in a new tank and ph was near7. 0 2 days later saw the white spots and put in the 7.0 equalizer and with in a few hours the white spots have disappeared. I have never dealt with this before. Any ideas on how to keep the water stable?I even have some clean coral pieces in 2 of the tanks. ( not the beta tank) I am using over the amount of dechlorinator than recommended.

 

[Caliban07]

Every time I do a water change I check the ph which is close to 7.0
After a few days the ph drops dramatically.
Fish seem to be ok in my 50 gallon until I do a water change of only 10 gallons and then ph drop causes white spots on the fins.
This has happened to me many times before. I placed a beta in a new tank and ph was near7. 0 2 days later saw the white spots and put in the 7.0 equalizer and with in a few hours the white spots have disappeared. I have never dealt with this before. Any ideas on how to keep the water stable?I even have some clean coral pieces in 2 of the tanks. ( not the beta tank) I am using over the amount of dechlorinator than recommended.

You should test you water straight from the tap and then test another sample which has been left to sit for 24 hours. Ph can change after a day. Bog woods can also lower ph levels. Try adding baking Soda to increase kh. Having a higher kh means your water can absorb more acidity before the ph drops.

Test your tap water first.

 

[gilpi]

Ok let's back up a little... What readings do you get when the pH drops?
The white spots you mention, I'm not sure what they could be since most fish diseases don't come and go that fast.

 

[Aquaenthused]

Ph dropping is relatively normal it can happen because of driftwood, lava rock, vegetation, lots of reasons, it can go the other way too. If you add shells, crushed coral, base rock (treated and dried out live rock), bones etc it will raise your Ph. Best thing I've found for those mystery crashes is Ph neutral regulator by seachem with small daily changes/ top offs- I swear by it hope that helps

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[ScotJudd]

I should test your Kh. If it is 3 or below I think you will have problems with falling Ph. I use bicarbonate of soda to keep mine between Kh 3-6. My Ph never falls below 7.0, even with Co2 injection which tends to lower Ph. I make up a bottle of solution (20ml bicarb/500ml water) and add 20ml of solution to each 10l bucket going into the tank. This raises my Kh from 2 to 6. I raised it slowly by only adding at water changes, not all at once into the tank, to ensure the fish weren't shocked. Kh and Ph now very stable.
Hope that's of some help.

 

[Fishdreamz]

Ok this helps. I am in a new house so ph in the water is low already. My main tank is planted tested it this morning and wowzers the ph was as low as the test goes. I adde 1/12 teaspoons to the tank to start. I will test the ph in a few hours. I'm going to have to get a big container to do my water changes with. What should I keep the ph at in the holding container to do water changes knowing that the ph is as low as low comes. I even killed a beta. I have got to get a handle on this new issue. For now just going to test test test every thing and slowly find a routine of keeping it stable. White spots are cloudy affecting all parts if the body. Not ick

 

[Aquaenthused]

I would honestly use a ph neutralizer and as mentioned use baking soda to attain a kh of around 6-9 (my personal preference for my planted tanks). Thanks scotjudd for the tips on kh

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[Aquaenthused]

Oh- and duck weed and water sprite can help immensely in helping with your nitrogen cycle and can serve as an indicator for your other stability problems...

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