pH unstable... need advice please.

[Daral]

Hey Dear Enthusiasts;

I have a 10Gal tank with:
• Water Pump. (changing the filter once a month)
• Air Bubbler.
• Water Heater.
And 5 fishes:
• 3 Mickey Mouse Orange Mollies.
• 1 B/W Spotted Molly.
• And a Cory.

The Cory is the "oldest" and “biggest” of them all, the 3 MM Orange Mollies are 2nd generation born in that tank, same for the B/W Spotted Molly. They grow very slowly comparing to other fishes for their age groups seen on youtube and read here among the forums.

THE PROBLEM:
The pH drops like crazy, and I've tried almost everything possible to control this and no luck with that.
-I've trid pH UP and it lasts a matter of hours or at the most a few days but then it drops again.
-I've tried partial water changes and it still drops.
- I've tried the pH neutralizer liquid and it works for about 3 days and then drops again.
- I've tried the pH neutralizer tablets that dissolve and this by far has given me the longest lasting result of 7 days control pH at 6.6/6.8 but then drops again.

My tank unfortunately is standing on 6.2/6.0 pH range or even below which is horrible for any fish but my main fish mentioned above have survived a few months of these spikes thus I believe they are stronger since they have survived unlike their parents.
They don't breed/mate which I believe is caused by the low pH and they have developed and grown very slowly.

I live in Florida and the tap water + conditioner sits at an average of 7.4/7.2pH

The water changes, partial every 3-5 days, every week, and nothing the day before the change the pH has fallen to 6.0 again.
I need advice on how to fix this please, I want to provide the best care for my fish and I can’t seem to stabilize the pH.

Please any help and or advice will do.
Thanks for your time in advance.
-Daniel.

 

[jetajockey]

Hi and welcome, florida here also. My water is similar to yours and in the tanks that it is an issue I use crushed coral or aragonite to help buffer the water. Just a handful of either does the trick, it can be put into the filter or incorporated in the substrate.

 

[GodFan]

Do you have driftwood in the tank? Also what kind of substrate? It could simply be the tank wasnt cycled or you added something bad without realizing it. My ph dropped off the charts at one point because my LFS sold me bad plants...

 

[nnacho528]

Im having the same problem, however, fish do best at a stable pH, try the coral, but fluctuating the pH, especially in a small tank, can really hurt the fish. Good luck!

 

[bruinsbro1997]

DO NOT use those pH up, down, stabilizer, nuetral, whatever products. They contain harmful chemicals that will do more harm than good. In addition they will only buffer pH for so long, and once they're gone pH will fluctuate quick back to where it was.

Try crushed coral. That should last.

 

[siva]

I agree, using pH altering products is a bad idea. I would add a handful of crush coral to your filter. I have the same issue as you do. I don't do this for all tanks, since some fish do thrive at a lower pH, but for livebearers I do.

One reason your mollies might grow slow is because they are too large for a 10 gal tank. I consider 29 gals the minimum for mollies. They can grow to 4"-5" and have large bio-loads.