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I recently got my water tested and the pH was 6.2 in my 90 gallon tank. The reason being was because I have well water and the pH of it is 6.0 (maybe less!) I can't keep fish in this kind of water! Everytime I do a water change my fish will probably get pH shock and end up getting diseases and being unhappy. What can I do to fix this problem? If I add crushed coral to my filters won't it make it go to high and buffer it too much? I want to get the pH around 6.7. I added this sandstone decoration rock to it but I don't know if I should keep it in there because it might raise the ph too high. I had a pH test kit but I lost the vial that goes with it . I think I'm going to buy a master's test kit soon. So anyway, what should I do to fix the problem?

Honestly the easiest way to deal with ph is to know the ph of your water then get fish that will survive in that range. Do you know the KH of the water? Carbonate hardness determines how much the ph can shift. Adding crushed coral is a possible way of raising the ph. The trick is to do it slowly and not make massive changes all @once. A chage of .2 isn't all that much and isn't likely to cause them to die.....I wouldn't make any change personally. IMO this the ph difference will only be a big issue with large water changes.

^_^

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Last edited by Babelfish at 25-Sep-2004 03:27

If you are ever curious if a rock will raise the carbonate hardness, and therefore pH put some vinegar on it. If it fizzes, it contains carbonates and will raise pH and KH.

-- Gomer

Yes I did that test on the sandstone rock and it did fizz so therefore I know it leeches carbonates into the water.

If you remove any and all rocks and any calcium based material in your tank, your pH will match the well water...

A pH of 6.0 is not really a bad pH. You can simply purchase tropicals that appreciate low pH water. Just make sure you acclimate the new fish to your tank pH before adding them to the tank.

As Babs mentioned, small water changes can be done without any big shift in pH.

--garyroland.

Hi,
Actually everyone is right in what they say.
How much influence the rocks have on the water values
depends upon several things.

How "tightly bound" the Carbonate molecule (CO3) is
in that particular rock. Some rocks really hold onto
the molecule, and while it will leech out over time,
it would take forever to make any real difference.
Those are the ones that barely "fizz." Others will
really fizz, and those are the ones that could affect
the water.

What the pH of the tank is intitially. If it is acidic,
as yours is, it will affect the rocks (sort of a weak
vinegar so to speak) and could, over time break the
bonds of the rock.

What the KH reading is. If it is very low, to non existant,
then the introduction of a carbonate material (crushed
dolomite, or crushed coral, or crushed oyster shells, or
rock decorations) will make a bigger, faster, change in
the pH, as there is no KH to buffer the reaction.

If you really want to raise the pH, you can add one or a
combination of the carbonate materials to the tank in
small amounts and let "chemistry" do its thing, over time.
It's easier to add a small amount of "stuff" to the tank
and take readings over a month, than it is to add a bunch
and then have to separate the stuff out later.

As long as you are doing 10-20% water changes, or topping
off for evaporation, any pH swing will not harm the fish.

Frank


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

I think I'd try to view a low pH as an opportunity, not a problem. As someone with a pretty high pH, there are some fish I dare not keep because they really need a lower pH. In particular, many Amazon fish like a low pH. You could do something pretty cool with that water.

Okay thanks for the good replies all. BTW the rock fizzed a lot so I will take it out. Thanks again.

-Daniel