pH levels and water parameters HELP

[edmcq198]

So I haven't got any fish in my tank, it's been cycling for about 2 weeks now, I've checked my water parameters and they all are good apart from pH it's '6' ideally I want it just above 7... Is this okay? And how would I raise it? I have live plants coming in a few weeks, will this affect my pH and other water parameters??

Thank you, ed


Aquarium Advice

 

[PNWaquarist]

Are your bacteria forming nitrites or nitrates yet?

I would shoot for pH 8 (and about 82-84 deg F) for cycling. Your bacteria will grow much faster under those conditions. Add a little bit of baking soda, maybe 1/3 teaspoon at a time, wait 15 min, and measure your pH. Repeat until you get to pH 8. You'll need to change out this water at the end of your cycle anyway.

After your tank is cycled, I'd suggest using one of the cichlid buffers to raise your pH to 7. Baking soda could be used, of course, but your pH may slowly drop over time (depending on how frequently you do water changes and replenish your buffering agent). Some folks use calcium carbonate and that will work as well, though it's not very soluble and will take more time.

 

[Fishfur]

Is the water you are using coming from an RO filter ? Or a water softener ? If yes to either one, it's a problem, because both will be lacking in calcium. RO filters remove all minerals and other solids from water, it's pretty much the same as distilled water. Softeners replace calcium, usually with sodium and that's no good for fish or plants.

If your regular tap water is coming out at pH 6, then I'd agree you'd need to use something to bump up the mineral content and harden it somewhat. The beneficial bacteria don't grow nearly as well in acidic water to begin with, and only some plants prefer soft water. More of them do better in harder water with a neutral or alkaline pH.

You'd need a GH and KH test too, so you can determine if you've added enough minerals to the water to get the results you want.

 

[irdajoh]

So I haven't got any fish in my tank, it's been cycling for about 2 weeks now, I've checked my water parameters and they all are good apart from pH it's '6' ideally I want it just above 7... Is this okay? And how would I raise it? I have live plants coming in a few weeks, will this affect my pH and other water parameters??

Thank you, ed


Aquarium Advice

Has the tank been set up for two weeks, or converting ammoina> nitrite> nitrate for two weeks?

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[edmcq198]

It has been set up for 3 weeks running with nothing in other than sand and a few rocks


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[irdajoh]

Ah, and have you been adding ammoina to start the cycling. You need a ammoina source (fish or janitorial ammoina) to start the cycling process. Since your tank is young I'm sure thr bacteria are still developing.

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[edmcq198]

This is the answer I was sort of looking for, I haven't added anything (woops totally new to this) what shall I add?


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[irdajoh]

Hey Ed, I'm very new to this too but we newbies need eachother! I followed this guide with a few different tweaks to the steps. Like the ammoina dosing to 4ppm isn't needed to cycle but it works, I would dose to 2 ppm instead. http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...guide-and-faq-to-fishless-cycling-148283.html

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[irdajoh]

It took about 22 days for my tank to cycle. And it's been about a month since I stocked with only a loss of a shrimp.

Do you have an API liquid test kit? Liquid test are more accurate compared to strips.

It's kinda hard to find good ammoina, your local ace hard wear will have 10% clear ammoina hydroxide for about 4 bucks.

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[dalto]

Yes, so just to clarify, an empty tank isn't cycling at all. It is just.....an empty tank.

You can cycle your tank using fish or using an artificial ammonia source. Both ways have pros and cons and there are articles on the site covering both.

What kind of fish are you planning to keep? The reason I ask is that there is no universally correct pH. Your current pH may be fine depending on what fish you are planning to keep.

 

[irdajoh]

As long as the pH is consistent most fish will be okay with it.
And yes there's pros and cons but I think the pro of faster cycling and less stress for the fish is best.

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[dalto]

And yes there's pros and cons but I think the pro of faster cycling and less stress for the fish is best.

Why do you think that a fishless cycle would be faster than a fish-in cycle?

 

[irdajoh]

Why do you think that a fishless cycle would be faster than a fish-in cycle?

Theres a number of articals that note it. The ammoina Soruce is constant and instant thus the bacteria grow. Fish in takes more time for the ammoina to build up?

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[trennamw]

Do you know what the pH was when you first set it up?

It's unlikely since you haven't added ammonia but one possibility nobody has tossed out there is that the pH has dropped over time.

The questions about why you want it at 8 are very valid.

As PNW said, bringing it up to 8 during a ammonia-aided cycle, using baking soda, is really helpful.

But after the cycle, it's possible you need nothing.

There are people here who are far more experienced than I am with the science, but I have a lot of practice at making pH come up from 6. I got lots of different advice from fish experts and chemistry experts and what finally worked was this:

Don't use proper pH, acid buffers, or alkaline buffers.

Test KH and GH. You want them to be no lower than 3-4 degrees, for most tropical fish. Put crudely, GH is overall mineral content and KH is the ability to prevent pH swings.

People who have really high KH and pH, get fish that can deal with it or use RODI water.

If your water has low KH, your pH might go up and down a lot (much more problematic than being consistently low. You can use cichlid buffer (API Buffer Max for cichlid) at a dose to bring it up to 3-4 degrees (50-60ppm) KH.

If you have low GH, use API African cichlid salts or seachem equilibrium to bring that up. GH doesn't affect pH but it is important. Living things need minerals.

GH and KH of about 4 degrees is fine for most beginner tropical fish.

If you're keeping cichlids that need high KH and GH and pH, the cichlid salts and cichlid buffer are a natural choice.

The proper pH products, I've found, just make pH go up and down a lot.

If your KH and GH and pH are good from the tap, frequent large water changes should be adequate.

My LFS also saved me from a lot of pH stress having me use a wide range pH test that isn't more specific than 6, 6.5, 7, 8 ... It's one for hydroponics. They said even their store, which sells sensitive species, uses this test, because sweating over .2 increments is nonsense.


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