Ph drop

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FishyBusiness

Aquarium Advice FINatic
Joined
Jul 26, 2012
Messages
564
Location
Central Minnesota
I just did a ph test before I came to work and it was showing 6.4?! My ph before I put fish in Friday was at 7.2. Here's my list if anyone can help me out:

90g (cycled)
20 mbuna chiclids
On Friday I also added 2 small pieces of lace rock and one carved tufa rock. I had everything else in for a month and nothing changed. My ph in my 20g tropical is constant 7-7.2. The drop is a concern for me.
 
Fish release carbine dioxide which can in turn drop your pH. Out gassing is another possibility, although more likely in the winter season. Old tank syndrome will cause pH crashes as well. What is your KH? I suspect it is low.

David
 
It might be the rock(s)....I think they tend to raise PH and not lower it but it's possible. To be sure you could take them out and put them in some water and test PH over a few days and see if it drops (maybe put them in separate containers to seee if it's one doing it over the other); if so then that's your answer. What's your water change frequency? In soft water the PH can drop as buffers and minerals are used up so regular water changes are a good idea. Although if you have another tank that's stable then it might point to another variable like the rocks if you just added those and the PH started dropping at the same time.

Sometimes the water municipalities will change things in the water that can affect PH. You could test some water out of the tap and then leave a glass of water out for 24 hours (give it a stir once in a while) and then test PH again after a day or so; that will be your true PH and what your tank's PH should be. If it's higher than the 6.4 then something else has to be causing the drop.

Tank cycling can cause PH fluctuations too but you mentioned that the tank is cycled and has been stable for a while. I'd pull the rocks, test them in some water and test the tank over a few days and see if things level out. A water change should raise PH back up too.
 
I do changes on my other tank every week. I just put fish in this Friday but did a water change yesterday morning because my 4 year old decided to feed them before I got up because they were begging for food lol. I plan on doing ten weekly as well. My fish cleaning days are Friday mornings, do them both at the same time.y ph this morning was at 7, so I'll check it in a little bit. I'll keep an eye on it for a few days and if it continues to fluctuate ill take the rocks out and separate them as you suggested.
 
Big chunks of driftwood can drop the pH. If the tank is overstocked, that can contribute as well. Did you check your nitrogen readings?


As far as CO2 or rocks, I would highly doubt both. To get that kind of pH drop, you would need to have a CO2 level in the mid 20s, which you won't see without CO2 injections. As far as rocks, many minerals are carbonate or bicarbonate based (basic), but I don't know of any minerals that have aciding components (short of some heavy metal, unlikely).
 
Nope no driftwood. Not overstocked either. It was still ok before work tonight so I'll check again in morning. Right now guessing it was a false-y test :/
 
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