FishProfiles.com Message Forums

Hi there

I'm having some trouble with my aquaria..

I have a 130 cm long Bowfrot Aquarium and I've been experiencing trouble with my PH.

Tap water in my region is PH 7.0 but it seems that my aquaria consumes de KH from the water and drops the PH to 5.5

I've been trying in the last few weeks to remove anything that could influence the PH such as Decorations (no influence noticed) Rocks (no influence noticed) and even filter media such as activated carbon ( no influence noticed)

Everytime I take something out I correct the PH with a water change and/or a ph buffer... next day everythings back to 5.5

anyway I'm now suspecting that my amazon Swords are consuming de carbonates in tap water due tue a lack of CO2 present in the tank coz I don't have CO2 Fertilization.

do you think that if I ad CO2 to the aquarium and again correct the PH to 7 that it will stay stable ??

please all input needed

Miguel

Face up make your stand and realize your living in the golden Years

What is the kh of your tapwater and tank? The kh may be staying the same but is too low to maintain the ph. If your kh is less than 3 the ph of the tank may drop from the acids normally found in a tank. Just the breakdown of fish waste can cause the ph to drop considerably if the kh is too low. Simple solution is to add baking soda to raise the kh enough it holds the ph where you want it but make sure you have a kh test first. Also constantly raising the ph with water changes or those cheap temporary ph changing chemicals you can find at fish stores is going to cause the death of your fish. Changing the ph more than a tiny amount at a time will stress the fish far more than leaving it low for awhile while you take the time to make it stable. Do small daily or every other day water changes(~10%) adding the baking soda to the water change water at the kh and ph you want and the tank will eventually level out at the correct ph. Then so long as you remember to add the same amount of baking soda to the new water before every water change your tank will stay stable.

Ok

I do have a KH test

It's a nutrafin test so the mesurement units are ppm

TAP WATER : 50 PPM (5 drops till turn YelloW)
Aquarium Water : 20PPM ( at the first drop it doesn't get the colour it should then at drop 2 it gets totally yellow)

so the tap water I use is it good?

By the way I know that changing the PH drastically may cause casualties... I usually only buffer it to a maximum of 6.5 from 5.5 or 1º as it is recomended. Stating that I don't have any casualties since I Noticed the 1st Ph drop.

I'm feeling a bit hepless and a bit afraid of ading baking soda... and if I add it how should I dose it.. I fill my thank with 5 liters containers..

Thanks by your help.
hoope you answer again.

Miguel

Face up make your stand and realize your living in the golden Years

Usually 1 drop equals 1 degree of hardness(multiply by 17.9 to get ppm from degrees) so your tap is 5 dkh(degrees carbonate hardness) and your tank is 2dkh. Which could just be your tapwater settling and the acids naturally found in the tank lowering it a bit more. My tapwater will go through all sorts of crazy changes due to the amount of gases in the water. The gh nearly doubles after it sits for 12hours and the ph goes from 6.8 to 8.2-8.4. If your getting different values from the tap and tank and have eliminated most possible causes in the tank I'd try just leaving some tapwater sit for 12-24hours in a plain container that shouldn't have any effect on it and then run the tests again. The plants may remove small amounts of minerals from the water but usually you wouldn't see any noticeable change unless you had a very heavily planted tank and didn't do very many water changes over a long period of time. I doubt that's actually having much of an impact on your kh. The breakdown of fish waste and excess food in the gravel would have more effect especially if you don't gravel vac some areas very well. Increased co2 in the tank will also cause a drop in ph but not kh. If your tank doesn't have much water movement at the surface the co2 levels may be higher than your tapwater and contributing to the ph drop.

I still bet your kh is too low to start with and you need to add a little baking soda to buffer it. Usually you measure out baking soda in teaspoons and add to a set amount of water. I believe 1tsp per 30g(~113litres) raises 2 degrees. So all you need is around 1/4th of a teaspoon to each water change. Probably a little less. I'd try 1/8th first. Add the baking soda and then mix it up for awhile such as running a small water pump/powerhead or even airstone for a half hour to an hour and test the kh and ph. If they are still low add a little more baking soda and if they are too high dilute it with some tapwater and don't add as much the next time. Be sure to mix and test again if you make any changes before using it. Try to get the kh of the tank between 3-5dkh depending on where the ph sits. 5 would probably be better but might bump the ph a little over 7 to around 7.2-7.4. If your tapwater doesn't change after sitting in the bucket then I would still try raising it to 7-8dkh before adding to the tank and see if the tank holds at 5dkh after a few water changes.

If your test kit is using ppm then you would divide by 17.9 to get degrees. Which means your tank would have just over 1dkh. That's very low and definitely would cause ph problems.