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I've had my 20g tank setup for 4 months now and it has a pH of 6. I setup a 10g tank and its pH is 7.6! Water is all from my tap.

The 20g has a huge Amazon Sword plant with several smaller ones that branched off of it and a few other plants. A Whisper HOB filter and a good sized air stone. I used Biozyme in the beginning to speed up the cycle process. Black gravel substrate. Heater is keeping temp around 77°F. There's also artificial rock formations.

The 10g has a Aqueon HOB filter, more natural looking gravel. Heater keeps it about the same temperature as the 20g. I've added a little Biozyme and Sodium Biphosphate. The Sodium Biphosphate is pretty old, it was given to me with some unwanted aquarium equipment. It has 3 small plants (Syngonium & Dracaena).

Is it just the time the 20g has been running that caused the pH to drop?

I need to get these Danios out of the 20g but I don't want to burn 'em in the 10g tank. I read peat moss will help lower the pH... how fast? Should I just get some chemical treatment? The Danios only need to be out of the 20g long enough until my Ram babies aren't big enough to eat.

Saint Paul, Minnesota USA 20g Freshwater Started June 10th 2008
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How often do you do WCs and how old is the 10g? Unless something in the tank is driving down the pH, you could be experiencing old tank syndrome and/or your water isn't well buffered. Can you test for kh (carbonate hardness)?

I personally use Seachem Acid and Alkaline buffers to control pH and raise kh. I stay away from phosphates.

I recently setup the 10g tank. I put a tablespoon of vinegar in and the pH is now 6.0. In went the Danios and now the Rams have the whole 20g to share with the Otocinclus who don't bother the babies. Boy there sure is A LOT of babies.

The vinegar only holds the pH down for a while. But the Danios cycled my 1st tank when the pH was higher. I'm just going to be sure to check the pH often hopefully it'll level off between 6 and 7.6 and the Danios will get used to the level.

Saint Paul, Minnesota USA 20g Freshwater Started June 10th 2008
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Hi,
Once you have things under control, and the fish in their
tanks, you might want to run some checks.

There are several things that could have occurred to give
you the two different pH readings within the 4-5 months
of drawing the water.

4 months ago, we were in the Summer months and your
water company could have changed the sites from which
they draw their water.
In some cases it is different wells and different
aquifers. In other cases it is drawn from different lakes,
or different levels within a large lake. Each new source
can present different water chemistries. Treating that
new source can cause them to add more, or less of various
chemicals that can affect the water's pH.

As hinted to in the reply about Old Tank Syndrome, the
result of the accumulation of organic waste products is
increased organic acids. This accumulation will drive the
water into the acidic ranges. I kind of doubt this is
the case in your tank as it was only set up 4 months ago.
I shudder to think of the conditions of a tank that would
cause it to go into OTS within 4 months. As an experiment,
I found it took my 29 over a year to reach that point.
http://www.bestfish.com/oldtank.html

In water with no carbonate rocks (limestone, dolomite,
coral, etc.) in it, the normal behavior is for the pH to
drop toward the acidic ranges as the tank ages. That is
why good tank maintenance, including water changes and
gravel vacuuming is so important.

I did not see anything about your water test kit.
That could be your villain. If you are using paper test
strips, they are notorious for giving false indications.
Literally, everything from temperature, to moisture, to
light, adversely affects them and the results are what
you see... Way off readings from just months earlier.

If you are using the liquid reagents, they too can be
affected by light (that is why they come in opaque bottles)
and heat. They are also time sensitive and you should note
the "use by" dates on each bottle. Tests with a kit that
was marginal 4 months ago and now definitely out of date,
could very well give different results, when the water is
actually or nearly the same. When stocking shelves in any
type of store employees are trained to take the stuff
currently on the shelf and move it forward and place the
new stuff behind it. That way the oldest is sold first.

Any time "we" find a result similar to yours in testing,
we should always take a sample to the LFS and ask them
to test it and see if the results confirm your findings.
In over 5 decades of fish keeping, I have yet to find a
store that refuses to do free testing.

Some "stuff" to think about.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

I am many miles from you in Aust but I do know the water peramiters do change partiular in our area the readings in mid spring-early summer are totally different to the colder winter months.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info
Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

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