play sand

[westonrichard12]

hi tried looking over the internet but with no help does play sand lower ph levels in your tank i recently replaced my gravel with play sand and a new rock

but over the past few days it dropped from 7.5 to 6.0 my first thought was it was the rock so ive removed it done a water change and the next day its still 6.0 so i dont now weather im flapping over nothing and it will no rise given time now that rock is out or weather the play sand is keeping it low any advice would be much helpful

[J.Mcpeak]

No it doesn't. (I have play sand in 3 tanks and they didn't crash)
Give us some tank details.
Could be a build up of co2

[westonrichard12]

hi 80gal tank got c02 canister but i dont know weather the sand needs to settle or it was the chemicals off the rock how do i realise a build up of c02 thanks for quick response

[westonrichard12]

i thought the rock was just a rock but it was turning white like it had a rock colour coating so took it out straight away

[J.Mcpeak]

You have a co2 canister.

That's your problem.
Too much co2 will acidify the water.
Look up Kh, pH, co2 triangle. Plenty charts on aunty internet.

Vigorous aeration will drive off co2. (Air on at night to counter plant respiration.......standard stuff)
Not a co2 canister pro though, so you'll need a planty tech to turn up and guide you properly.

[westonrichard12]

thank you for the reply its just abit confusing the ph only dropped when i went from gravel to sand before that it was 8.0 when i switched it dropped to 6.0 it was stable with gravel sooooo confusing but thanks for advice

[J.Mcpeak]

Maybe the regulator got knocked?

[nirbhao]

What was your gravel made out of?

[TMaier]

Sand is made up of different minerals depending on where and who you buy it from.

Put some straight tap water in 2 separate buckets and let it set a day. Test the ph. Add some sand to one bucket and let it sit a day. Now test both buckets again.