pH Swings

[jtez]

Hi guys, I'm cycling my 37gal and my pH looks to have changed a huge deal in a short amount of time.

My tap water's pH is about 7.3 and that's what my tank was sitting at when I tested it 3 days ago. At the time ammonia: 4, nitrites: 0.5, nitrates: 0

Tested again today, my pH is 6, ammonia: 0.25, nitrite: 5 nitrates: 20.

In my tank i have some wisteria that isn't faring too well, most of it is rotting away and I've left the rotting leaves in as a source of ammonia as well as fish flakes that i'm using. Could the rotting plants be affecting the pH?

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Edit: just did a few re-tests, my tank water has consistently tested at 6.5 a few times in the past 10 mins, but my tap water is bluer than my chart (which goes to 7.8). Any ideas why my tank is swinging? I may have got a bad test earlier, only tested once

How often should i test water while cycling?

 

[Rivercats]

It's not uncommon for tanks to have a large ph drop during cycling. It's not the plants unless your tank is full of dead plants. You can do a 50% WC to re-add buffers back into the water and raise the ph or you can add a little bit of baking soda to raise the ph back up. Adding crushed coral in the filter or in a media bag hung under the filter outflow is another good way to naturally increase kh which in turn increase ph.

 

[jtez]

Ok thank you heaps. I'll keep an eye on it and if its staying a bit low I'll look into some crushed coral