pH problems

[Current]

I used to have a piece of driftwood in my tank, but I took it out because the pH of the water dropped way too much, so much so that every fish I try to acclimate to the tank ends up dying. So far, I have done several water changes and added about a cup of aquarium salt, but to no avail.

Right now the pH is about 6.0, and the fish stores where I live keep their pH around 6.8. I need to raise the pH sufficiently so I can keep fish without shocking them. What do I do now?

[black hills tj]

I have never seen a piece of driftwood lower a tank's ph, gh, and kh that it could no longer support fish. A stable ph, is much better than trying a "suggested" ph. Also, aquarium salt is pointless IMO. What method are you using to acclimate the fish? How soon do the fish die after you introduce them? How long has the tank been setup?

[Current]

Originally Posted by black hills tj

I have never seen a piece of driftwood lower a tank's ph, gh, and kh that it could no longer support fish. A stable ph, is much better than trying a "suggested" ph. Also, aquarium salt is pointless IMO. What method are you using to acclimate the fish? How soon do the fish die after you introduce them? How long has the tank been setup?

I acclimate the fish for a half hour by pouring the bag with the fish into a bucket, and gradually adding water from the tank to the bucket. The fish I introduced on Friday died today. The tank has been set up for a month now. The first fish died two weeks after I introduced it.

[black hills tj]

Sounds like the tank isn't cycled. Can you post up some water parameters for us? Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, GH, KH, and PH would be helpful, but Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate are what I'm more curious about at the moment.

[Current]

Ammonia 0.0 Nitrite 0.0 and Nitrate under 20 ppm, so the tank is cycled. I used BioSpira on the tank, so it cycled faster.

[Purrbox]

I'd recommend trying drip acclimation taking at least and hour maybe two to quadruple the original amount of water. This will give the new fish more time to adjust to the parameters.

Please test the pH of your tap water after letting it sit for 24 hours or aerating it for an hour. It may be that your tap water has a pH that is naturally much lower than your LFS. Reguardless, I would aim for a stable pH rather than trying to mess with your existing pH.

[black hills tj]

Originally Posted by Purrbox

I'd recommend trying drip acclimation taking at least and hour maybe two to quadruple the original amount of water. This will give the new fish more time to adjust to the parameters.

Please test the pH of your tap water after letting it sit for 24 hours or aerating it for an hour. It may be that your tap water has a pH that is naturally much lower than your LFS. Reguardless, I would aim for a stable pH rather than trying to mess with your existing pH.

Depending on the fish, I've dripped anywhere from 2 hours to 6 hours.

[Current]

Thanks you two, I will try that next time I get a fish.

[Current]

Just one more question: can fertilizer tabs under the gravel bring the ph down? I just remembered that I had planted them under the gravel for plants.

[black hills tj]

Originally Posted by Current

Just one more question: can fertilizer tabs under the gravel bring the ph down? I just remembered that I had planted them under the gravel for plants.

Depends on the contents of the tab, but I wouldn't say that its impossible.