My PH is too low!

[xplanes]

After battling a 6 gallon tank with high ammonia and Nitrite I have a cycled tank with both at 0 ppm. The PH has dropped to 5 since then. I have found this means it is 10 times as acidic as it was to begin with.

Is this a normal result of the nitrogen cycle completing? What can I do to bring it up to at least 6?

Thanks,

 

[Pacu Man]

You can use some PH up products, im not sure about this but ive heard baking soda does the same thing as ph up and is just as safe? maybe someone can re-assure you

 

[justDIY]

baking soda will raise your PH, and I think your hardness, however, it also adds sodium (salt).

most freshwater fish don't mind a little salt, but with only 6 gallons of water, you will want to be carefull not to overdo it on sodium

 

[xplanes]

Anyone know how much is safe. I read that fish can adapt to PH changes but not sudden ones.

Thanks,

 

[tkos]

Baking soda will act like a salt but it isn't salt. It is Sodium and Carbonate. Much diferent than the traditional salt that people add. I would suggest you try and avoid using products if at all possible cause it means that if you have a problem or run out of the product then your tank can swing wildly killing your fish.

What is the hardness of your water. If it is already fairly hard then baking soda will do nothing.

 

[xplanes]

The GH level is 3 and the KH went instanly to yellow (acording to the Tetra test kit this means less than 1). It seems I have such a low hardness that my PH is likely to have wide swings. I guess that means baking soda is OK if I know how much is safe for 6 gallons.

 

[Biggen]

Baking soda will increase both the KH and pH value of your water at the same time. It will not have an effect on the GH level at all.

I add baking soda (which is sodium bicarbonate NOT sodium carbonate) to one of my planted tanks to keep the KH level around 4dKH or so. Adding 1 teaspoon of baking soda per 50 liters of water will raise the KH level by 4 degrees.

BTW, I will tell you that you need to add the baking soda slowly over the next few days in order to keep the upward pH change on your fish as small as possible. However, I don't follow my same advice. I have increased some of my tank's water by 1.5 full pH points in less than an hour and no damaging change was felt on my fish that I could tell. I seriously doubt fish can tell the difference between these kinds of shifts. I think fish death's are more attributed with osmotic pressure change when pH shifts. In other words, I don't think its the actual shift in pH that harms the fish. But that is for another post.

 

[shawmutt]

How is your water so soft? Is it filtered in the house? If so, perhaps you will want to find a source that is not filtered (unless your water quality is terrible). The reasons are outlined in thekrib.com:

Typical home water softeners soften water using a technique known as ``ion exchange''. That is, they remove calcium and magnesium ions by replacing them with sodium ions. Although this does technically make water softer, most fish won't notice the difference. That is, fish that prefer soft water don't like sodium either, and for them such water softeners don't help at all. Thus, home water softeners are not an appropriate way to soften water for aquarium use.

 

[xplanes]

We don't have a home water softener. We are on city water. Tastes good too! Best water for miles. I tested the PH weeks ago when I first got the tank setup and it was fine then. I don't know if all the water changes and treatments had anything to do with it or not.

 

[xplanes]

In my 6 gallon tank I added 1/8 teaspoon of baking soda and in 24 hours the PH went from 5.0 to 6.5. It may have worked quicker than that but I didn't get to test for 24 hours.

Thought someone could use the info.

 

[Spy_90]

At 6.5 I wouldn't mess with the PH anymore, unless you are trying to really tailor to a specific species =)

 

[xplanes]

Nope! I am quite happy now thank you.