I am so frustrated!!!

[JessiMommy]

Ok I've posted about my acidic water problem before but here are the highlights...

Tank has been cycled for 2-3 months. No problems there. I was told & read that pH should be kept near 7.0 when I first began all this. I used the white powder proper pH stuff to accomplish altering my tap water from somewhere in the 7.5-8.0 range to a more "proper" 7.0. This seemed to be all fine & dandy for a few months actually. When I would do partial water changes I would alter the new water to a pH of 7.0.

More recently my pH has been way low like 6.0-6.2 ish. I've done nothing differently. I tried changing the water every other day & then after that didn't seem to be working came here & was told I shouldn't be using the proper pH to alter the water. So... for the past week & a half I've been changing water without touching the pH. Yes I declorinate it first. I can not get my pH past the 6.2 mark. I know I'm not supposed to stress over pH levels but this acidic water is spawning ugly algae!!! aghaghag!!! I cleaned the sides of the tank 2 days ago & did a partial gravel vaccum, only 1/3 of the bottom. (Didn't want to disturb the bacteria too much but that algae gunk was growing fast & making me crazy.) Sure enough tonight I see a very small nitrite spike.

I was also told here that I needed to test the Kh of the water. I have to say I've had no trouble understanding the other test kits but this one perplexes me. If I'm testing right my Kh is very low at 1 dkh?? Obviously this has something to do with my low pH. However the instructions on the test kit say to increase my Kh levels I need to add the proper pH stuff. Well that hasn't worked in the past & I was told here that it was not a good idea to use. The fish all seem fine other than one of the cory's sorta seems a little less active but I could be over reacting on that one. I am at a complete loss. I think I'll take a water sample to LFs tomorrow & see what they have to say, although I never know how knowelegeable they really are. Any suggestions???

For the record I have a 12 gallon eclipse tank stocked with 4 neon tetras, 2 platies and 2 cory cats. Thanks for all advice!

 

[Juggernaut22988]

Well, after all that work and the water is still acidic!!!!
I would just ignore the acidity
water change regularly
Get new test kits

 

[yhbae]

First of all, what is your reason for wanting to change your pH in the first place? It is far easier to pick group of species that works for your aged tap water pH than to mess around with pH. (Been there, done that, messed up big time before getting it right eventually... )

It's an uphill battle to change from your natural pH - there will always be a tendency of pH settling back to your original level. I eventually chose not to change pH for all of my fishes even though some of their native environment demands lower pH according to articles. It works fine for me.

The only time when I change pH significantly is when I try to induce breeding on some species. For this purpose, I use Peat Moss.

 

[JessiMommy]

First of all, what is your reason for wanting to change your pH in the first place? It is far easier to pick group of species that works for your aged tap water pH than to mess around with pH. (Been there, done that, messed up big time before getting it right eventually... )

It's not that I want to change my pH. As I stated in my post I was led to believe in the begining stages of fish keeping that I should have proper 7.0 water, so I adjusted accordingly. I now know that I never needed to do all that. My question is.... what do I do now? I can't exactly dump all the water & start again. I have fish friends in there! I don't want to upset the bacteria or the fish by cleaning or changing too much water at a time. Unfortunately my 25% water changes aren't getting it done.

I also can't just go buy fish that are adapted to my tap's pH. I already have a stocked tank. I want to succed with my curent fish. Am I making more sense?

 

[reg2k2]

Crushed coral in a mesh bag in the filter works for me.

Baking soda is another option, but I don't know the dosage...

 

[CFC]

If your tapwater is pH 8 and your tapwater is 6.2 then something within the tank is causing the drop.
A excessive build up of dirt in the filter and substrate or rotting plants is the most likely cause as when organic matter breaks down it creates acidic conditiions (which is why peat and oak leaves are so good for amazonian tanks).
The other cause could be if you are using injected co2 but you havent mentioned it so i presume you dont.
Try giving the filter a really good clean (in tank water) the next time you do a water change, not just the sponges but inside the filter canister as well, the following week give the gravel a really good vacuming.
If after this your pH is still crashing then mixing a little crushed coral into the substrate will help stabilise the pH but only add a little at a time once a week testing each week before adding anymore to avoid raising the pH too rapidly.

Just out of interest what fish are you keeping?
Some fish preffer acidic conditiions so your tank could be just right for them.

 

[Sinuhe]

Your carbonate hardness (KH) is very low, so the buffering capacity of the tank is low as well, hence making the pH swing easily. My water is quite soft as well, and I've been trying to use crushed coral to raise the hardness, but adding the coral in the filter did absolutely nothing. Now I've been spreading the stuff in the gravel, but I'm still not sure if it's working. The KH in my tank(s) is still a bit higher than in the water straight from the tap, so there is something in the tank that raises is a bit, tho. A pH around 6 should be just fine for your neons. Platies generally prefer more alkaline and hard water, but they can adjust, and it also depends on what kind of water they were raised in. My Platies and Swordtails have been raised in soft water, so they are fine with it.

 

[JessiMommy]

Thanks Sinuhe & CFC you have given me some things to try & at this point I'll try anything!! Is crushed coral something my LFs should carry?

 

[JessiMommy]

Just out of interest what fish are you keeping?
Some fish preffer acidic conditiions so your tank could be just right for them.

I have a 12 gallon eclipse tank stocked with 4 neon tetras, 2 platies and 2 cory cats.

 

[JessiMommy]

A excessive build up of dirt in the filter and substrate or rotting plants is the most likely cause as when organic matter breaks down it creates acidic conditiions

The other cause could be if you are using injected co2 but you havent mentioned it so i presume you dont.

Try giving the filter a really good clean (in tank water) the next time you do a water change, not just the sponges but inside the filter canister as well, the following week give the gravel a really good vacuming.

Ok one more thing... I don't have real plants so that's not it. I don't even know what injected co2 is so it's not that.

When you say give the filter a good cleaning could you define that? I give it a rinse in dirty tank water frequently but that doesn't do much. Do you mean actually scrub the filter in tank water? I was always afraid to disturb the bacteria. There is a slimy like coating all over the top of the filter. Is it ok to give it a more thorough cleaning? I did a gravel vaccum a couple days ago (only 1/3 of the bottom) yesterday I saw a small nitrite spike, I asume because of my vaccum.

Thanks so much for your help.

 

[reg2k2]

Is crushed coral something my LFs should carry?

Yes, it's often used as substrate in marine tanks.

I'm lucky if my tap measures 1dKH...since adding coral, tank KH measures 3dKH...not a big diff, but seems to be enough to hold my pH steady (tap is >8.0...tank remains at 7.0).

 

[CFC]

Its the media in the filter that houses the bacteria so only give that a light rinse, the slimey stuff on the filter housing should be scrubbed away.

Your neons and corys probably love you pH 6 to 6.5 is ideal for them and other amazonian species, your platies wont like it much as they preffer more alkeline conditions but livebearers are tough and adapt easily, if your pH is settled at 6.2 then id leave it at that and just make sure any new fish purchases are soft water compatable (as most tropical fish are )

 

[JessiMommy]

Its the media in the filter that houses the bacteria so only give that a light rinse, the slimey stuff on the filter housing should be scrubbed away.

So even if the media has the slimy stuff leave it alone? How often should a filter actually be changed? Wouldn't that competely disrupt the bacteria? I also have a bio wheel by the way. I've nevr changed the filter. I've had the tank set up for about 4-5 months. Thanks again!

 

[smb]

So even if the media has the slimy stuff leave it alone?

No, you'll want to rinse the media out in some tank water you take out when you do a wc. Clean the housing, the plastic "box" of the filter itself if it gets gunk on there but don't change or clean the bio-wheels.

 

[JessiMommy]

So even if the media has the slimy stuff leave it alone?

No, you'll want to rinse the media out in some tank water you take out when you do a wc. Clean the housing, the plastic "box" of the filter itself if it gets gunk on there but don't change or clean the bio-wheels.

Ok, I just cleaned the box around the flossy filter stuff and the housing area. I only rinsed the flossy stuff in tank water. It really didn't do anything though. The slimy stuff is still stuck on there.