pH Issue

[Otter2009]

I have a 5 gallon tank that has suddenly run into some pH issues. My tap-water's pH is typically a bit low (6.5ish) but the pH usually increases once I add it into the tank to about 7.5 (I assume this is due to the rocks I have in the tank). However, this has not been the case recently. After my most recent water change, the pH of the water went down to about 6.0. I'm concerned about this because I have snails in the tank and it seems like this might be impacting their health.

Any ideas on why this is happening? What should I do to fix this issue?

Other Levels:

Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: <5ppm

 

[libertybelle]

What’s the kh of the tank?

The ph change could also just be due to pressurized gas coming out of your tap. If you age water for 24 hours before adding to the tank you’ll likely see a ph shift even without those rocks.

 

[Fishlegend]

Ph raisers and lowers

You could add DW and or crushed coral to buff your params. Not sure what else to do besides add rocks that actually raise ph or lower it.

 

[Otter2009]

The kH is 50-100ppm.

 

[libertybelle]

So kh isn’t too terribly low. First I would find out what the source of the ph swing. I would take a bucket of water test the ph right from the tap then let it sit out, preferably with a bubbler in it, and test again 24 and 48 hours later. It may be you have a lot of dissolved co2 etc in your water which is keeping it low and variations in speed of off gassing in the tank are causing the ph swings. That will tell you if something in the tank is causing the ph swing or of it’s just offgassing.