constant low ph

[fishfan12]

hello,
i have a pretty big problem in my tank. my ph is constantly dropping. i do a 20% water change every 1-2 weeks. my ammonia is 0 and my nitrite is 0, but my ph is apx 5.7. does anyone know why this is?
thanks in advance.

 

[fisch]

How much is it dropping? What is the pH of your tap water?
You have any dead fish or plants in there? When you do water change do you also do a gravel vac?

 

[Jacko]

What type of decorations do you have and what type of substrate are you using? Do you have live plants? If so, do you use co2?

I'd check the tap water levels and if straight from the tap it seems neutral or higher than you have now, check the website of the water provider or call them and see if they use buffers. If they use buffers then over time they wear out and you'd see a drop in ph.

Other than that, you've got a ph many people would love, looks perfect for quite a few fish IMO...

 

[fishfan12]

i do change my water with a gravel vac. i have gravel as a substrate and i only have 2 fake plants. the ph of my tap water is apx 6.5. and, fyi, my fish pretty much hate low ph. i have a pineapple swordtail, a shubunkin, 2 hi-fi skirt tetras, and 2 serpae tetra.

 

[fisch]

How do you know your fish hate low pH? Are there signs of stress?
Do you know the hardness of your water? Low water hardness usually means there is not a lot to buffer pH change. This won't be a problem if your pH slowly changes and you keep up with water changes.
Try to let some tap water sit out a few days in a bucket and then test the pH. Tap water pH will sometimes change just from sitting. You want to be sure there is not something in the aquarium causing changes.
If you just have low pH in itself its not so much of a problem unless your fish arent healthy.

 

[fishfan12]

my fish show signs of stress when the ph drops below 6.2. they either become hyper active or really sluggish.

 

[mgamer20o0]

what fish do you have? i would do what fisch said.... i would leave it out at least over night and test the water again.

 

[fishfan12]

a pineapple swordtail, a shubunkin, 2 hi-fi skirt tetras, and 2 serpae tetra.

 

[jsoong]

You need to check the KH (carbonate hardness) of the water. Low KH will cause the dropping pH. Test the water pH & KH out of the tap (& after sitting out for a day) to find out where you are at to start. If the KH is really low, it is advisable to increase the buffering capacity of the water by adding a bit of crushed coral or other carbonates to stabalize the pH.

 

[SparKy697]

Just curious, what are you using to test your pH?

 

[fishfan12]

i use the wardley test kit to check my ph