PH to low ? Baking soda - fishless cycle

[Jellybean123]

Hi guy,

I am currently cycling two tanks both have low PH 6.4 . Slightly confused as my tapewater PH has never been this low . How can a raise it I have read online baking soda works or should I got get PH raiser (most stores aren’t open to BH and I am away for a few days ) . The tanks have no fish as of yet they are arriving this weekend but both have plants .

Any suggestions? Thanks

 

[FranciscoB]

You may want to first determine what is the change of pH in your tap water from what it comes out of the tap, and what it settles down to 12 hours later in a clean water jug. Often, water contains a lot of CO2 when it first comes from the tap, which lowers the pH.
If your water is indeed very soft and of low pH (many people would kill to have that), you may be able to avoid major water fluctuations by using carbonate based substrata (crushed shell, coral, aragonite, etc) to increase the buffering capacity.
In any event, what kind of fish do you intend to keep? It is easier, cheaper and better to go with fish that are not too discordant to your water characteristics. Chasing pH with chemical manipulation is often ineffective, expensive and too much work to make it sustainable in the long term. Good luck!

 

[GaryE]

pH 6.4 is beautiful. You have so many options for rainforest fishes, and you will have ammonium instead of ammonia. If you research your fish purchases to match, you are a lucky aquarist. Many experienced aquarists spend a lot on equipment to get what you have from the tap.

if you didn't check first, fish like mollies will not survive in that water, but you'd best rehome them than start playing with water.

 

[Essjay]

When there are no plants in the tank and the fish keeper is doing a fishless cycle, bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) can be used to raise both pH and KH. The bacteria multiply faster at high pH and they need inorganic carbon (bicarbonate). The big water change at the end removes the bicarb before fish are put in the tank.
Bicarb is never used to boost pH when there are fish in the tank; fish should be chosen that come from water with similar pH and GH to the tap water.

With plants in the tank - assuming there's more than the odd anubias or moss ball - the plants remove the ammonia from the future fish. Bicarb is not needed in this scenario.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Baking soda will drive the pH towards an equilibrium of about 8.3 pH. However, what holds pH up is KH and that can be provided by crushed coral. Acid water dissolve the coral which in turn causes the KH to rise and that allows the pH to rise. The problem with using baking soda is the sodium.

Hardening Your Water (Raising GH and/or KH)

The following measurements are approximate; use a test kit to verify you've achieved the intended results. Note that if your water is extremely soft to begin with (1 degree KH or less), you may get a drastic change in pH as the buffer is added.

To raise both GH and KH simultaneously, add calcium carbonate (CaCO3). 1/2 teaspoon per 100 liters of water will increase both the KH and GH by about 1-2 dH. Alternatively, add some sea shells, coral, limestone, marble chips, etc. to your filter.

To raise the KH without raising the GH, add sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3), commonly known as baking soda. 1/2 teaspoon per 100 Liters raises the KH by about 1 dH. Sodium bicarbonate drives the pH towards an equilibrium value of 8.2.


If you use a smaller amount of coral in a bag in your filter, it should raise the KH but basically leave GH unchanged. It takes a bit of time for the coral to work. Incidentally, the nitrifying baceria need inorganic carbon which they can get from carbonates and bicarbonates as well as from CO2.

 

[sharkweek178]

It really is better to just find fish that go with your source water parameters. Altering the water parameters is another moving part that can go wrong.

 

[seangee]

To raise both GH and KH simultaneously, add calcium carbonate (CaCO3). 1/2 teaspoon per 100 liters of water will increase both the KH and GH by about 1-2 dH. Alternatively, add some sea shells, coral, limestone, marble chips, etc. to your filter.

To raise the KH without raising the GH, add sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3), commonly known as baking soda. 1/2 teaspoon per 100 Liters raises the KH by about 1 dH. Sodium bicarbonate drives the pH towards an equilibrium value of 8.2.

And to raise GH without touching the KH?
Its a serious question - the commercial stuff packaged for aquarium use costs a small fortune

 

[Byron]

As already stated, the first absolute you must determine are the parameters of your source water. These are GH, KH (Alkalinity) and pH. This is critical because you will have to work with this water (unless you go down the risky road of adjusting parameters).

You sasid fish are arriving this coming weekend...what fish species?

 

[sharkweek178]

pH 6.4 is beautiful. You have so many options for rainforest fishes, and you will have ammonium instead of ammonia. If you research your fish purchases to match, you are a lucky aquarist. Many experienced aquarists spend a lot on equipment to get what you have from the tap.

if you didn't check first, fish like mollies will not survive in that water, but you'd best rehome them than start playing with water.

Seriously. There are a lot of tetras, rasboras, corydoras, gouramis, Apistogrammas, angelfish, etc that would do just fine in that pH.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

To raise GH whthout changing the pH use what is in SeaChem Equilibrium or a similar product,

Guaranteed Analysis Amounts per 1 g
Soluble Potash (K2O)	23.0%
Calcium (Ca)	8.06%
Magnesium (Mg)	2.41%
Iron (Fe)	0.11%
Manganese (Mn)	0.06%

• Restores and maintains mineral balance and GH
• Does not contain sodium or chloride like competing products
• Ideally suited for use with RO or DI water or any mineral deficient water

 

[Jellybean123]

I am more concerned it’s not going to stay consistent as my normal tank water comes out slightly higher than that .

 

[10 Tanks]

Hello. Unless you plan to keep and breed rare fish species, you really don't need to worry about the chemistry of your tank water. It's not important to keeping a healthy tank. You just need to keep the water chemistry steady. You do this through large, weekly water changes. Once the fish have been added, you simply change half the tank water every few days for the life of the tank. If the tank is less than 30 gallons, change half the water twice a week. If the tank is larger, then change most of the water weekly. If you feed just a little every day or two and change the water, you'll have few, if any tank problems.

10 Tanks (Now 11)

 

[Byron]

I am more concerned it’s not going to stay consistent as my normal tank water comes out slightly higher than that .

The GH and KH of the tap water on its own should tell you/us what to expect with the pH.