Terra Cotta pots affect ph?

[micheleva]

The ph in my tank is plummeting, and the only new addition is a terra cotta pot. I also have driftwood in the tank but it was in there for a month or more before the ph went down. Does it take a while for the driftwood to kick in?? Or is it the pot making the ph go down so much??

Also, do weekend feeders affect ph???? I would think it would raise it some.

 

[dogspot]

Terra Cotta should have very limited effect. If anything, it should give some upward pressure (Please correct me if others have had different experience). Driftwood does bring it down. I try to keep my PH around 8.5 for my Africans. I have driftwood in my tank because I like the looks of it. My plecos also like it. Before I added limestone rocks, I noticed that the pH would continue dropping each week... Even after 2 to 3 months of adding the driftwood. Since the addition of my limstone, its held fairly constant at about 8.5 even with the driftwood in there.

 

[micheleva]

Need more help!

I took the driftwood out of the tank and did a 30% water change. The ph went up to 7.6 but just 10 hours later it is 7.2
Is this normal even after the driftwood is taken out?

I read somewhere that snails will take nutrients out of the water and cause the ph to dip, and I have ALOT of snails in there. It is way overstocked but Im doing 3 water changes a week and waiting for them to get big enough to bring to the fish store. They need it much higher than 7.2 for proper shell formation while they are still young.

Anyone have any thoughts?? The driftwood is out but Im still having problems!!

 

[greenmaji]

the best way to tell if something is going to effect PH is to put it into a "safe" container with distilled water and see if the ph goes up after a while.. in other words.. Testing is the best policy.. IMO.

 

[mattrox]

The pH drop is probably due to the tank being overstocked and DOC's (fish waste) are causing the dip....

The 7.6 to 7.2 drop is probably due to CO2 levels in the tap water equlibarting with the atmosphere. Regular pwcs will keep the driftwood from having too much effect.

You could keep almost any fw fish at pH 7.2 with problems.

 

[RoK]

You could keep almost any fw fish at pH 7.2 with problems.

You mean 'without problems', right?

 

[micheleva]

Well its just a snail tank for now, but I have a few guppies in there. Even after a few days without a water change the ph dips low and the nitrates dont even register 5. It is a cycled tank, ammonia 0 nitrites 0. I picked up some liquid calcium today so we'll see if that helps. I have been using weekend feeders and giving them foods like collards and turnip greens.

mattrox....
I know I can keep most fish at 7.2 with no problems, but for snails I need it to be around 7.6

Im really just wondering how long it will take once the driftwood is removed before I notice a difference...

 

[greenmaji]

If your using carbon filtration the acids from the driftwood will be removed quite quickly.. just an observation..