I think I screwed up...

[aarongalvan]

I found out that adding baking soda will help raise the pH level; then I found out that adding more aeration, and taking the glass lids off will help raise it as well.
I think I should have tried the later option first.
Did I screw up by adding the baking soda.
I added 4Tblspoons to my 55g and I added 2tblspoons to my 35g.

My pH wasn't even registering on the water test.... less than 6.0

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

Are you sure your pH test kit hasn't expired?

< 6 ph will stall out the Nitrogen cycle - a definite concern...

 

[aarongalvan]

Well, I don't think my test kit is expired because... I tested my water this afternoon and the pH is back up to 7.6, so I think I'm on the path to recovery.

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

I had a pH concern with my 55 a month or so after I set it up, I had the glass lids on with the slide-on plastic on the back (to keep the fish from jumping out) and at that time I was running a UGF w/power heads. My pH was dropping ever so slowly from about mid 7's to mid 6's.

I bought new glass from local hardware store that allowed for a 1"+ gap at the back and better positioning for a new light fixture, and just left the gap open and put a piece of egg crate over the back opening, and aimed the power heads a little upward to agitate the water. That did the trick. I also cut back on feedings a little, and got a ton of plants.

My tap water is 9.0 but quickly drops to low 8's / high 7's in the tank (48 hours) and usually by the end of the week it's sitting around mid 7's.

 

[aarongalvan]

So live plants helped huh?
I don't have the lighting or co2 for plants.

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

Plants absorb CO2 and give off O2 during the day and the reverse at night. They also absorb some Nitrogen (Nitrites mainly from what I understand, but some Nitrates too). I don't use CO2. I got a $15 light fixture from Menards that could take 2 - 4' bulbs and put some Max Plant Growth bulbs in there, and I fertilize with Seachem products - Flourish Comprehensive, Excel (Carbon /CO2 supplement, I use for algae control), Iron, and Potassium.

Did you test your tank water right after a water change?

You may want to find out the following things about your tap water:

Phosphate level (because if there is any, it will throw off the next test)
KH - carbonate hardness - ability of water to maintain pH
pH straight out of tap, after 24 hrs and 48 hrs sitting in a bucket w/some agitation (airstone) to promote O2 / CO2 exchange

This will give you a better picture of what's going on and what to expect

 

[Satrix]

Silly question, but running an airstone in my fresh water sitting in a bucket (waiting for a water change) will affect the pH? I had no idea!

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

Yes, water will naturally exchange CO2 and O2 at the surface, as well as releasing Chlorine dissolved in the water. The problem is the same as it is in your tank, if you have no motion on the surface, the water tension will hold back the gas transfer process. Adding an airstone breaks the tension at the surface. It's not the air bubbling through the water so much as what is going on at the surface - which is true in the bucket as well as the tank.

 

[epsolon77]

The nitrogen cycle starts with ammonia excreted both by fish and the decay of once living material. Bacteria eat ammonia and give off nitrites. A different bacteria then eats the nitrites and gives off nitrate. Nitrate is also called "fertilizer" and all manner of plants LOVE it. Dissolved CO2 in water is also called carbonic acid (think soda). An increase in dissolved CO2, either from surface agitation or from respiration by fish can acidify the water. If there are fish in the water, there is likely to be an over saturation of CO2 in the water as it is, and the aeration will help to lessen the CO2. That is obviously not always the case though. Plants will suck in a ton of CO2, which can raise the PH of you water by removing the carbon from the carbonic acid (which just gives you more water, not straight up acid). Air stones provide a double whammy as far as the gas exchange is concerned. They first circulate the water, which reduces the time it takes air soluble chemicals to disperse from the lower reaches of the water to the higher. Otherwise, in theory at least, the Ph at the bottom of your tank could potentially be higher than the top of the tank. This is also why fish have an easier time breathing in still water. Second, the gas transfer happens wherever the water meets air. The total surface area of air and water is the concern, which means waves have additional gas transfer ability over still water.

My major concern with adding a lump of baking soda is a quick PH change can, and will, kill just about everything in tank, including the nitrifying bacteria. Slow and steady is almost always better. Also, baking soda is sodium bicarbonate, which in the presence of say, carbonic acid and clorine will produce salts. Not an incredible issue, but if you do this enough your tank will become saltier and saltier without water changes. And considering a water change would probably fix the problem anyway, it seems frivolous.

In conclusion, god I need a life. But in reference to the original post, you didn't screw up, but there are better, and safer ways to solve the same issue.