Tank Stuck At 6.0 Ph

[tmoney7]

I have a ten gallon planted tank with 5 cherry shrimp and three anubias plants, java moss, Malaysian bog wood.  My pH seems to be stuck at 6.0 and i have tried raising it but it doesn't want to seem to stay higher.  I know the pH is probably okay at 6.0 but i would just like to have it up to at least 6.4 and have it stay there.  Anyone have any suggestions on how to do so? 

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Cant you post your KH. Dealing with pH is not done in a vacuum, it involves KH which is what keeps it stable.
 
The bog wood may be working to lower your pH. You say you have tried to raise it, how? if you did things that should have raised it but seemed not to, then the problem may be the testing side.
 
Finally, do you know the parameters of the water from the tap as opposed to in the tank?

 

[tmoney7]

I do not have a test for KH what test would i get for that and i dont use water from my tap because it is way too hard and loaded with iron.  I use water from my fish stor which comes with a pH of about 6.8 and ammonia and nitrite at 0

 

[HHH]

well i think it may be the bogwood... How long have you had it?

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Usually fish store water is ro or ro/di. If this is what you are using you need to mix in some of your tap or else add in some stuff.
 
The store can test your KH for you. It is what keeps pH stable.

 

[techen]

As TTA said you don't want pure RO water in a tropical tank.

 

[tmoney7]

Yes i have some RO water that i only use for topping off every once in a while but other than that i just use their tap water that is filtered and put at stable conditions

I got the bog wood when i got the shrimp so probably about 3-4 weeks now
whoops i messed up its not bog wood its Malaysian driftwood

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Filtered and put in stable condition can mean anything. Can you ask them to give you a more detailed explanation. I "filter" my water though an ro/di unit. Do you know what the parameters are for their filtered water are?

 

[tmoney7]

pH at 7.0, ammonia - 0, nitrite - 0 and that's all i know

 

[yoshimitsuspeed]

Removing the driftwood may help. It really depends on how high the concentration of tannins are in it. The longer it is in the water the lower it will go.
Personally I would try to keep the wood and add a base PH buffer. You do want to avoid things like PH up and PH down as it will just cause your PH to fluctuate which is worse than anything.
If the RCS are the only things in the tank then 6 is probably fine. I always figured being inverts that shrimp would want high PH and hard water but then I found this product.
http/www.ebay.com/itm/Up-Aqua-Shrimp-Sand-Substrate-/400477755453?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5d3e55983d
 
I did a little more research and found that they do well in the 6-7 range. You might try some of that sand and see if it brings things up a little bit. Otherwise you could slowly start adding pinches of calcium carbonate in the form of sea shells or other things like calcium sand you find at the pet store. You want to be very careful though as the calcium carbonate will easily take you too high if you put too much in. You would be much better off staying where you are than causing drastic changes.
 
If I was in your shoes I would probably leave it and monitor it. Don't use the RO water. Keep an eye on PH. Maybe drop a sea shell in the tank. I would make 6 my low end. If it drops below that start adding one of the above media to try and get it back up.
If you get any fish or other creatures from the pet store pay attention to their requirements. You may have to address this if you get something that is supposed to be in higher PH. Otherwise just give then an extra slow transition from the pet store water to your tank.