pH mysteriously keeps dropping

[Veeshun]

My 10 gallon tank finished cycling last month (I did a fishless cycle and followed the guide on these forums). I'm at the part where I'm adding 1.0 ppm of ammonia daily to keep the bacteria fed until I add fish. I haven't been able to add fish due to me traveling a lot lately due to work. I plan to add fish very soon after my last trip during Memorial Day Weekend.

Last week I happened to do a pH test after not being able to do so for a few weeks. My pH dropped like crazy and my ammonia spiked with my Nitrites no place to be found. My water also had a tint to it. I noticed my nitrates were still really high so I did a 90% water change to drop the ammonia to neutral and get the pH back to normal (out of my tap it's 7.8, orange on the high pH test). The nitrites landed up coming back and started eating the ammonia again like normal while being converted to nitrates so my tank is still fully cycled. Tonight (one week later) I noticed my pH is dropping again, it was down to a 6.4/6.6 on the test. I had to add some water tonight due to evaporation because I still have my temps up like the guide says. The added water brought it up to a 7.4.

I have a piece of Malaysian driftwood in there as my center piece. I figured that it dropped my pH in those couple of weeks because of how the water was a slight tea color when I changed it last week. Could the driftwood drop my pH again this fast in just one week now? When I got the wood I boiled it for about 20 minutes, the water was pretty dark. Should I take it out and boil it some more? The water doesn't have a tea tint this time.

I'm just not sure what else it could be, if anyone has any other ideas please let me know. I also have attached a picture of my tank so you can see how big the driftwood is.

 

[waterfaller1]

Driftwood does have the effect of lowering PH. The tea color you are seeing is tannins. It may take awhile and water changes before all is leached out, or you may want to boil some more. Another thing that affects PH stability is your waters KH. I assume you are using titration test kits?

 

[Convict2161]

I'm say that u doubt that little piece of driftwood is going to cause that drastic of a drop. I have 6 large pieces of driftwood in my 75 gallon with no issues.

Your pH drop can be a result in a few things but not limited to one.


Got this of Foster&Smith:

Buildup of organic material in your substrate or filter media. Decomposing organic waste materials have an acidifying effect on aquarium water. As the buffering capacity of the water is compromised by decaying organic material, aquarium pH level becomes susceptible to fluctuations.

http://www.ratemyfishtank.com/articles/107

 

[waterfaller1]

Herein lies the problem with 'driftwood'. Much of what people sell as driftwood is not driftwood at all, but fresh wood. Fresh wood and certain types of wood do and will continue to break down. I added a lovely piece of wood, manzanita, to my tank. It did the sliming up with bacteria as some wood does, but this was excessive. I lost several super nice fish.

 

[Convict2161]

I'm just going off the picture and name the OP used. I have several pieces and never had an issue and I actually like tannins... I really like the look. Almost like a black water setup.

Anyway back to the topic at hand. It's my opinion that the OP look elsewhere for a reason of the drastic drop in pH. I don't think that little piece of driftwood is the cause, I'm not the know all tell all so I could be wrong but I just don't see that driftwood causing that big of an issue.

 

[blert]

Test the pH of your tap water after it has gassed out for 24 hours. Put some in a cup (or jug) and stir occasionally (or aerate), in 24 hours test the pH. It could very well be 7.8 straight out of the tap and naturally fall to 6.4/6.6, not the end of the world. If you have a need to bring it up from there you may need to look into buffering your tap water with some baking soda or something.

 

[SKB]

Whatever you find out the cause is, I've learned that crushed coral or seashells will help increase pH. (Besides the baking soda thing - never used that option though)

 

[Veeshun]

Driftwood does have the effect of lowering PH. The tea color you are seeing is tannins. It may take awhile and water changes before all is leached out, or you may want to boil some more. Another thing that affects PH stability is your waters KH. I assume you are using titration test kits?

I'm using the API Master Kit, should I invest in a KH tester?

I'm say that u doubt that little piece of driftwood is going to cause that drastic of a drop. I have 6 large pieces of driftwood in my 75 gallon with no issues.

Your pH drop can be a result in a few things but not limited to one.


Got this of Foster&Smith:

Buildup of organic material in your substrate or filter media. Decomposing organic waste materials have an acidifying effect on aquarium water. As the buffering capacity of the water is compromised by decaying organic material, aquarium pH level becomes susceptible to fluctuations.

Properly Maintaining the pH in a Freshwater Aquarium | RateMyFishTank.com

I've only had this tank going since February what could be decomposing? All I've put in there is Prime and Ammonia. I also have a Fluval Pre filter on my AQ20's intake.

Herein lies the problem with 'driftwood'. Much of what people sell as driftwood is not driftwood at all, but fresh wood. Fresh wood and certain types of wood do and will continue to break down. I added a lovely piece of wood, manzanita, to my tank. It did the sliming up with bacteria as some wood does, but this was excessive. I lost several super nice fish.

When I bought the driftwood it had a tag saying it's "Aquaglobe Malaysian Wood", I still have the tag if needed.

I'm just going off the picture and name the OP used. I have several pieces and never had an issue and I actually like tannins... I really like the look. Almost like a black water setup.

Anyway back to the topic at hand. It's my opinion that the OP look elsewhere for a reason of the drastic drop in pH. I don't think that little piece of driftwood is the cause, I'm not the know all tell all so I could be wrong but I just don't see that driftwood causing that big of an issue.

I'm just really confused and not sure where else to look. From 2/6/2013 to 3/27/13 (which was during my cycle) my pH never dropped. I kept a small notebook to log my results of my API Master Kit Tests and it was stable the entire time. It did not start dropping until after I finished my cycle.

Test the pH of your tap water after it has gassed out for 24 hours. Put some in a cup (or jug) and stir occasionally (or aerate), in 24 hours test the pH. It could very well be 7.8 straight out of the tap and naturally fall to 6.4/6.6, not the end of the world. If you have a need to bring it up from there you may need to look into buffering your tap water with some baking soda or something.

I will try this but as I said above my water stayed at 7.8 from 2/6/2013 to 3/27/2013 without dropping during my fishless cycle.

I just find it weird that it started doing this after my cycle was complete. Could really high Nitrates be the cause? I have not been able to get them down under 20 ppm. All I've been doing is using a dropper to drop ammonia in the tank for the 1 ppm like the guide says to keep the bacteria fed and I have my heater up like the guide says.

Also when I had to do the 90% water change last week my pH was so bad that it was not registering, both tests (API pH and High pH) were both showing a yellow color.

 

[Veeshun]

Also what would cause this weird looking white substance on my AQ20's media bag? As well as the little black spots? Those weren't there before. Could this be causing the drops? They weren't there last time I checked.

 

[dwayne.aycock]

What type of fish are you planning to keep? If you have an acid loving fish, then you have no problems (like angels or other South Americans). On the other hand, fish like African cichlids would have a problem. Your nightmare might be a blessing to the right fish. Just remember that with a small tank, your water changes have to be more frequent, and the number of fish you can keep should be small ( 5-7 in my opinion) Avoid certain Goramis as they produce a lot of amonia. Good luck!

 

[Veeshun]

I could not find a GH/KH API test kit in town so I will have to order one online.

Does anyone have any idea what that white stuff is on my filter media in the picture above?

It just doesn't make any sense. My pH was a stable 7.6 for almost 2 months without dropping during my fishless cycle. Then all of a sudden it drops after over the course of 3 weeks and then drops again in one week? I just want to make sure I don't kill any fish.

Also how often do you guys recommend cleaning out an Aquaclear filter? I haven't cleaned it out since I February.

 

[waterfaller1]

When you clean out the aquaclear, just take the sponge and media bag and swish it around in the water you remove from the tank during a water change. Never in fresh water.I cannot see in the pic, but if there is slimy white it may be a bacterial bloom from the driftwood.

 

[Veeshun]

When you clean out the aquaclear, just take the sponge and media bag and swish it around in the water you remove from the tank during a water change. Never in fresh water.I cannot see in the pic, but if there is slimy white it may be a bacterial bloom from the driftwood.

Could the bloom be causing the weird pH drop? I've attached a better picture below, it looks like white paint on the bio media bag.

 

[Convict2161]

Could the bloom be causing the weird pH drop? I've attached a better picture below, it looks like white paint on the bio media bag.

It's possible... This is what I do and again this is just me. I run TWO aqauclear 110's. once a month I clean one out entirely! Take everything out and rinse it in a bucket of tank water. I swish the bag of bio max around and I soak the sponge in the bucket and squeeze all the gunk out. I do not use that grey basket insert( those are in the trash) no need for them. Then I take a bottle brush and clean the intakes and piping. I then scrub the inside of the unit. You'd be surprised what debris are on the bottom. I do one a month, seems to be working just fine. Parameters are just fine and water it pristine, something we all strive for.

 

[waterfaller1]

Anyone that can keep that many fish alive in one tank is doing something right.
It looks wonderfully clean.

 

[Convict2161]

Anyone that can keep that many fish alive in one tank is doing something right.
It looks wonderfully clean.

Thank you for the kind words. It's work lol but I really enjoy it! And I love knowing my fish are happy and healthy

 

[Veeshun]

It's possible... This is what I do and again this is just me. I run TWO aqauclear 110's. once a month I clean one out entirely! Take everything out and rinse it in a bucket of tank water. I swish the bag of bio max around and I soak the sponge in the bucket and squeeze all the gunk out. I do not use that grey basket insert( those are in the trash) no need for them. Then I take a bottle brush and clean the intakes and piping. I then scrub the inside of the unit. You'd be surprised what debris are on the bottom. I do one a month, seems to be working just fine. Parameters are just fine and water it pristine, something we all strive for.

What is your setup inside the filter? I'm using 2 sponges with a bio max bag. Should I rinse out both sponges in the tank water? Also where did you get the bottle brush? I never thought of not using the grey basket, you've had no issues without the baskets?

You have such a beautiful setup, my dream is to one day have an aquarium just like yours, fish selection too!