Rocks and PH....should I remove the rocks?

[Jill]

Let's see....where to start. I have a 30 gallon cube that has been running for 5-6 months. It had a piece of what I know is limestone in it that I removed from the tank 10-14 days ago. There is another rock that I *thought* wasn't limestone still in there (a smooth, round, white, grey and black swirly patterned rock). Today I finally got around to picking up a ph test kit. The water in that tank is off the charts (7.6 or above). My tap water is 6.4-6.6. The limestone that I removed from the 30 gallon is now in a new 10 gallon tank, and that water is testing off the charts too. All fish are doing great....the 30 is a community tank, and the 10 is a quarantine for now with a couple of ghost shrimp and guppies. I'm hoping to convert it to a RCS tank.

Am I worrying for no reason? Should I remove the rocks?

This fish business is tough!!!

[George9]

If all fish are doing fine, dont mess with the ph. Fish can adapt to ph's out of their range. A constant high ph is better than a fluctuating one. Do you have a high range ph test so you know exactly what it is?

[Jill]

I don't, but the kits are cheap enough....do you think I should pick one up? (Thanks!)

[George9]

You could if you really want to know the exact ph. But you don't have to if knowing that the ph is above 7.5 is enough for you.

[Jill]

I worry more about the 10 gallon than the 30....I know everyone is fine in there, and I'm almost done stocking it. The 10 is a fairly new tank though. I'm tempted just to get the limestone out of there. Do you think the ph would shift too quickly for the guppies if I do that? Maybe I should just wait and remove it after the guppies are out of quarantine....now there's a solution I hadn't thought of.........lol.

[George9]

Originally Posted by Jill

I worry more about the 10 gallon than the 30....I know everyone is fine in there, and I'm almost done stocking it. The 10 is a fairly new tank though. I'm tempted just to get the limestone out of there. Do you think the ph would shift too quickly for the guppies if I do that? Maybe I should just wait and remove it after the guppies are out of quarantine....now there's a solution I hadn't thought of.........lol.

Yeah, I'd wait until the guppies are out of qt. Lol

[Jill]

Who knew one little rock would shift the ph that much?! lol I can only imagine what it must have been in the 30 before I removed the other piece of limestone.