PH Swing

[monaro_gto]

So I changed out my substate, added driftwood etc etc and now my tank PH is a stable 6.8. My tap water is 8.0. I feel like my fish are stressed every time I do a water change.

Can I use one of the PH decreases in a large trash can? Do the PH modifiers work safely?

 

[Rivercats]

No they are not and ph usually rebounds in around 24 hours. If you want to match your ph your going to have to use RO to cut your tap water. But I have to ask why do you think your fish are stressed? I do a 50% WC weekly on my 220g. The ph is around 7.0 and my tap ph is over 8.0. I've been doing this in the tank for well over a year and it doesn't bother the fish in the least.

 

[monaro_gto]

well its really just a hunch on other things I have read. I have had to do a lot of PWC's as I made the common mistake of not knowing anything about cycling and it seems a lot of the time they are acting more stressed after water changes. I just noticed just about every main brand API, Top Fin etc etc had PH increase and decrease modifiers and wanted to see if they would help.

 

[Rivercats]

It could just be the physical act of you doing the WC so often that is got them acting off after you do them.

 

[Cactuspixie]

Just asking because I still don't have a good grasp on the ph thing:

Wouldn't a rebound only occur if it was something in the tank that was affecting the ph?

I understand not using those products to change the ph of the tank, but I would have thought, like the OP, that matching the ph of the replacement water with that of the tank water would be best practice?

 

[Rivercats]

People worry about ph swings but if your Kh and Gh are constant, which you can test for, that is what matters. People who use CO2 have ph swings daily as ph is lower during the day when the CO2 runs and then raises back to it's normal level at night. Not an issue but if you test your Gh (general hardness) and Kh (carbonate hardness) they remain consistent which is what matters.