Odd pH in two tanks

[sinibotia]

Hello everyone! I have two 20 gallon tanks set up side by side. One of them is set up for shell dwelling cichlids (multis). It contains aragonite sand. The other tank is being cycled for GBRs and so I added a bunch of peat into the filter to soften the water and drop the pH. Both tanks contain nothing else besides a heater, a filter, and a few bait minnows. The tap water comes out hard but at around a pH of 7.3.

I expected the pH in the tank with aragonite sand would spike up and the bottom would drop out on the pH in the tank with peat.... but instead they're both around 7.4-7.6. What the heck? I've done several tests on both tanks using high range and regular range pH tests. What's going on here?

 

[mikem691]

I believe it takes time for both to buffer the ph. I could be wrong tho because I never mess with ph.

 

[Luananeko]

Argonite sand and peat do affect pH, but not drastically so. It sounds like you have fairly hard water, which means it has fairly robust buffering capability and is resistant to pH changes. That means you'll have to use more things in the shell dweller tank to push the pH up, and more things in the Ram tank to soften the water and push the pH down.

Rams tend to get really sensitive the more you try and mess with the pH, and it makes matching water parameters when changing the water a headache. A stable pH is better than one that you're constantly tweaking in hopes of getting it close to their natural pH preferences. Several Ram breeders actually breed their Rams in water with similar pH to yours, so if you have problems with your current Rams you can try restocking from them.

 

[sinibotia]

So then it would be better to not try to mess with it? My plan was to put more peat in the tank and use blackwater extract for water changes. Makes me miss my CT home water; it was rediculously soft and would drop from 7 out of the tap to below 6 overnight, and then stay there. I'm not so worried about the shellies as 7.4 is low but still ok for them

By the way, do you know any breeders of rams in hard water who sell/ship? I'd definitely be interested in those even if it costs a bit more or something like that.

 

[Luananeko]

Yes, if you're not confident you can keep the pH stable then it's better to not mess with it. If you can keep it stable at the lower pH and don't mind the hassle, go for it! They'll obviously prefer the softer and more acidic water. But if not, they will adapt and still thrive in the 7.4 range.

Joegargas on aquabid.com breeds his Rams in 7.5 water, and Yunite of SDRAMS (YUNITE | SDRAMS - Your No.1 Source of Quality German Blue Rams ) breeds theirs at 7.6-7.8. I believe Showfishing also has theirs in higher pH water as well but I don't see it mentioned on their listings... You'd have to message them and ask. Yunite's the most recommended one of the three.

 

[Gillie]

Yes, if you're not confident you can keep the pH stable then it's better to not mess with it. If you can keep it stable at the lower pH and don't mind the hassle, go for it! They'll obviously prefer the softer and more acidic water. But if not, they will adapt and still thrive in the 7.4 range.

Joegargas on aquabid.com breeds his Rams in 7.5 water, and Yunite of SDRAMS (YUNITE | SDRAMS - Your No.1 Source of Quality German Blue Rams ) breeds theirs at 7.6-7.8. I believe Showfishing also has theirs in higher pH water as well but I don't see it mentioned on their listings... You'd have to message them and ask. Yunite's the most recommended one of the three.

I agree 100%. German rams are mass produced in neutral to moderately hard water, there's really no sense in messing with the ram's ph unless they were wild and you had a large holding tank, ie 55 gallon barrel to store matching water in for changes.

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