Newbee needs help, low low pH levels

[jason.burba]

Please!! I need help... I lost 2 Gold Dust Mollies. This morning when i woke up i did my normal feeding and sat down with a cup of coffee and noticed 2 of my mollies were dead. I tested the water and the pH levels are at 6.2, Ammonia 0.25 ppm, Nitrite 0 ppm, Nitrate 0 ppm. I also tested the pH in the tap water and it is at 7.4 ppm. I have been having an issue with my pH levels staying at a consistent pH level of 6.0 to 6.2. I also noticed that my mollies are swimming at the top of the tank. What can i do to to raise my pH levels back to a safe level for my fish without hurting them? Any information would be greatly appreciated. I just don't want to lose any more fish.

 

[Old Scales]

It is NOT normal for your pH to lower that much from what your tap is. Something in your tank is causing this. It's time for you to become a detective. Do a 50% WC right away. When pH goes below 6.4 your BB slows down. That may be why you're seeing ammo.
Is your tank cycled? How long has it been set up? Your tap pH is good for mollies.
pH swings can also be caused by really soft water, like < 3 dKH. If you keep having issues after checking for the pH lowering, you can buy some crushed coral and put a little sack of it in your filter. Your mollies would love the higher pH and KH. OS.

 

[jason.burba]

Old Scales, to answer your questions, yes the tank is cycled. I have had an established tank for almost a year now. I'm still learning though. I'm going to swing by Animal Jungle today and pick up some crushed coral today. What about using Reef Crystal Salts? I was looking into this for freshwater aquariums.

 

[CPryor]

Hello, jason.burba!

I work at a chain pet store in a neighboring state to you, and I've had a rash of people come in lately to buy pH up and various pH buffers lately. The conspiracy theorist in me wants to link this to the Duke Energy coal ash spill, but I have no idea why it's happening right now

I don't recommend the chemical stuff in bottles - I like Old Scales advice to raise the kH with coral sand - I'm trying it myself soon too. In tracking my own pH woes (6.8), and various customers', I've noticed the kH reading is also extremely low, as it has been for awhile - I think that's why we're seeing such fluctuations.

I'll keep working on it in my own tank, and hope to keep up with you in I find anything out - good luck to you!

 

[jason.burba]

Hello CPryor, thanks for helping me out. How much crushed coral should I use? I don't want to over do it if you know what I mean. I have a 55gl tank with 2 aqua-tech 30-60 power filters running.

 

[CPryor]

Hmmm...I hope someone with more experience doing this replies to your question, but I did find this when poking around on google (could not find any info in the article section on AA...hope it's ok if I post a link to another forum):

Results: Using crushed coral to raise KH/PH

She lists her readings after adding two teaspoons to a 10 gal and two tablespoons to a 55.

I'd think it has a lot to do with the agitation in your filter, and your other water parameters....but looks like a good starting point.

Also, I called my local water treatment plant, since I looked up the consumer confidence report and saw our pH was listed at 7.4. The lady told me that pH decreases as it moves though the water pipes to the houses, and also that heavy rainfall (like we've been having here) will lower the pH. Something to keep in mind, I guess....test your tap when having dry spells and rainfall to see what you're starting with.

 

[jason.burba]

CPryor, Thanks for the link. Going to do a 50% water change and add some crushed coral to my filter. Question, do I permanently keep the coral in my tank or do i just keep it in there till my pH is where I want it to be and then remove the coral?

 

[Rivercats]

You really need to ph test your tap water. Fill a glass of water and let it sit 24 hours stirring occasionally to help gas off. Test the water after 24 hours and this will give you the taps true ph.

If the tap water has a low ph then you will either have to use crushed coral or use Seachem Equilibrium for planted tanks or Replenish for fish only tanks. This product will remineralize the water. I do not recommend ph up as it is only a temporary fix. You can also add baking soda to get your initial ph up.

When ph drops below 6.5 biological activity slows and once it hits 6 or below biological activity stops and BB begins to die off. When you raise your ph you will have to monitor ammonia and nitrites for awhile as your tank will most likely experience a mini cycle. The lower the ph the less toxic ammonia is but as your raise your ph it will become more toxic. So be careful when raising it.

If your tap water has a high ph then there is something in the tank causing it to drop so low or your not doing enough large WC's to replenish buffers into the tank. I suggest getting an API Gh and Kh test kit so you can monitor those readings, especially the Kh.

 

[jason.burba]

Rivercats, do you think it would be safe to place the driftwood back in the tank. i took it out thinking that is what was causing the low pH. I tested the tap water after 24hrs and it has a pH reading of 7.4 ppm. I do a 25% water change every friday after work.

 

[Rivercats]

I would up the weekly WC to 50% and personally I'd wait to add the DW until you get the ph stabilized at the level you want it.

 

[jason.burba]

Ok, I will try that. Thanks.

 

[CPryor]

Ah...thanks rivercats, i had never let my tap water rest before testing....got some out now to set by. I'm racking my brain, and I have no idea what would lower the pH in my tank....no driftwood for me

With a low kH that's been very consistent, i figure a small dose of coral can't hurt - if my tap pH really is 7.4, then I have a little wiggle room.

 

[jason.burba]

Well i did a 50% water change and the mollies seem to be swimming around and not swimming at the top. how soon should i wait to test the water?

 

[Rivercats]

I always wait a couple hours minimum because newly added tap water has a lot of gas in it which will give you a false reading. It's the same principle as letting water sit out 24 hours before testing the ph. Mollies do best in hard water with a higher ph so seriously I would do another WC today.

 

[jason.burba]

Sounds good. Question, doing these constant water changes will it stress out the fish? Just curious.

 

[jason.burba]

Should I do another 50% ?

 

[Rivercats]

I've done multiple large WC's in a day. I do a 50% WC weekly in all my tanks but if I do a large rescaping causing tons of detritus to get into the water column I don't think twice about doing another 50% WC in a couple hours or every day for a few days depending on the results I'm wanting to achieve. I've actually found large WC's actually stimulate plant growth and since I use replacement water that is a couple degrees cooler than the tank water my fish often spawn within 24 hours. Yes they can be somewhat stressful when they drastically change the water chemistry but if there is a problem with the water chemistry that is affecting the fish then multiple WC's are still the best. You saw how your fish responded favorably so as long as you wait a couple hours between WC's or do a 50% WC every day till you get the tank levels where you want them it will be fine on your fish.

 

[mrvincent]

Maybe the carbonated hardness of the water is really low. If the tank is fully cycled and there's 0ppm ammonia in it, you can add a bit baking soda. Add it slowly and in low quantities, this should raise KH, then average PH.

 

[jason.burba]

Thanks for the info. My local pet store is getting in some crushes coral today. Going to add some to my tank.