# Ph slide....help!



## GKFISH (Oct 5, 2010)

Newbie....a few questions

First off I want to commend the wealth of information on this site. My return to the hobby after about 30 years has been a delight thus far. My tank includes:

55gal tank
Fluval 305 canister. floss, purigen and bio-max along with the sponges.
3-4''Eco-Complete substrate
T5 HO lighting with 2 48'' 54 watt life glo bulbs
Various wood and rocks.
After much reading I decide not to use Co2, but I do dose Flourish Excel as a carbon source 1 cap daily, I also use Flourish 1 cap weekly as directed. My plants include Java ferns,Crinums(Balanse and Natums), Crypts, and Red ludwigia and Green Cabomba. Ive tried other plants that didnt do well but im happy with what I have now. I'm guessing this would be considered a low tech tank. I may have too many fish but they seem happy and thriving, they include a green and gold severum (3-4") 5 blood fin tetras, 3 giant danios (3''), 1 geo juripari (11/2''), 1 pleco, 4 siamese algae eaters.
Im pretty happy with the tank, but recently my Ph has Started to slide, my parameters are ;

ph 6 however my kits low end is 6 so it could be lower.
N02 0 PPM
N03 15 PPM
NH3 .25

My tap water is pretty steady at 7.2 ph, but it does have a good bit of iron judging by my local data. I do bi-weekly water changes of roughly 25-30% total. I change the floss and rinse the sponges with tank water monthly. My first concern is the slow slide of my ph, it was steady at about 7 but has fallen to 6 or less in the last 2 months. Ive tried to test GH and KH but cannot get an accurate reading.
My main question is the ph slide and Am I reading too much in the GH/KH deal because im lost thus far understanding it? Id rather adjust the ph naturally if possible.

Any suggestion at all are appreciated.

Greg


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi Greg,

I see you are new to APC.....welcome! This is a great site with excellent information and friendly people. I am glad you joined us!

You said your tap water has a PH of 7.2. Do us a favor and take some tap water, let it sit for 24 hours, then check the PH and let us know what you find.


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## darkoon (Jun 7, 2010)

I started with fish only tank years ago, i also had similar issue, it took me a while to finally realize that fish waste and uneaten food if not cleaned up frequently will cause ph to drop. you can add some (for your tank size, maybe half of a fistful) crushed coral in your canister fileter, that should help stablize the ph, and it will also release calcium into water, which is beneficial to both fish and plants.


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## GKFISH (Oct 5, 2010)

Thank you for the welcome, Ive done a 40% water change, the ammonia really scares me. I also have some tap water sitting overnight and will check ph tomorrow night. Can I post my towns water parameters for more experienced then myself to see and advise?

Greg


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

> Can I post my towns water parameters for more experienced then myself to see and advise?


Sure Greg,

No problem!


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## GKFISH (Oct 5, 2010)

Here are the parameters for my town,I dont know if it help but its all I could find. Thank again. Greg

Sample (Range) ment MCLG (MCLorAL) 
Inorganic Contaminants ..
Copper ND - 0.23(1) mg/l 1. AL
Lead ND _1.(1) ug/l 0 AL
Sodium 2.4 - 32.6 mg/l n/aMCL
Nickel ND-4.2 ug/l n/a MCL
Zinc ND - 0.09 mg/l n/a MCL
Calcium ND-2.0 mg/ None 
Chloride 2.7 - 18.7 mg/I n/a MCL
Iron ND - 1,060 ug/l n/a MCL
Mangane ND-40 ug/l n/a MCL
Sulfate ND - 9.3 mg/l n/a MCL
Magnesium ND - 1. mg/l n/a


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi GKFISH,

I don't know where you are located, is your water really "soft"?

It could be "fish poop", what are you feeding....maybe beef heart, blood worms, "meaty" stuff?


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## GKFISH (Oct 5, 2010)

_ Ive done a 40% water change, the ammonia really scares me. I also have some tap water sitting overnight and will check ph tomorrow night._

My water parameters today 10/7 are:
ph 6.2
NO3 10 ppm
NO2 0 ppm
NH3 .25 ppm
Not much of a change in ammonia, that scares me. Now I am a newbie, but the plants need some nitrate to survive is 10 ppm ok. Can I do another 40-50 % WC this week. As advised I let some tap water sit 24hrs. it began at 7.6 and went to 7.0, im not sure what this means but the WC didnt alter it much. I live southeastern NY state. I copied this from my water districts website:_Generally the water has a medium soft hardness (34 mg/l as CaCO3 or 2 grains of hardness)_. Thanks again,

Greg


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi GKFISH,

Your "true" tap water PH is 7.0, which is nuetral, not 7.6 which is alkaline.

Let me try asking the question again, what are you feeding your fish and how often?


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## GKFISH (Oct 5, 2010)

I feed once a day usually around 6pm EST. Im feeding Omega One cichlid flakes and Tetra Color granules. every other day at night I drop a Hikari algae wafer in my pleco's corner. Once a week I give one cube of frozen blood worms. When i feed I observe the consumption rate and am very careful not to over feed. I have noticed recently that there are more blood worm cubes missing then I have used. I am in the process of investigating this as in somebodys feeding without my knowledge:spy:....KIDS.

Thanks for your paitence, Greg


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

HI GKFISH,

LOL! Let's just hope they are feeding them to the fish!


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## GKFISH (Oct 5, 2010)

LOL. While doing a water change tonight 10/8 I uncovered a root ball from a Flame Sword plant that I recall planting months ago and died off. I guess I hoped it would grow back and forgot about it. It was black and really stunk, could this have been a cause of poor water parameters.

Greg


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi GKFISH,

Absolutely! Decayed food matter and any other decaying organic materials can increase the concentration of Ammonia within a tank.


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

City water repost shows ND (none detected) of calcium and magnesium. Also, your own tests of KH and GH seem uncertain to you. 

I would add some minerals to this water. 

Seachem Equilibrium, or Barr GH Booster would increase the GH, adding several minerals that the plants and fish need to survive. 
Baking soda would add carbonates (KH) which can help stabilize the pH. Some plants also use carbonates as a source of carbon. 

Add 1 teaspoon of baking soda per 30 gallons to raise the KH by 2 degrees. In your tank, try 1 teaspoon, then test the next day, then add another, then test... until you get a reading of about 2-3 degrees. 
The instructions for GH booster will be on the label. Try adding enough to raise the level by about 1 degree per day until you get about 3 degrees of hardness. 

When you do water changes add these to the new water so the water change does not create problems for the fish by altering mineral levels.


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## GKFISH (Oct 5, 2010)

Diana, thank you for the reply!

"City water repost shows ND (none detected) of calcium and magnesium. Also, your own tests of KH and GH seem uncertain to you. 

I would add some minerals to this water. "

I added API proper ph 7.0 about 6 months ago and man what a mistake, all my plants died! Since than I have been very hesitant to maninulate the ph other than with WC's. As I noted in my last post, I uncoverd and removed a rotting root mass 2 WC's ago. Since then my what parameters have leveled off. I now realise that I need a fertilizing regement, however I have alot of uncertainty on which to follow until I find what works for me. I am at work now but will post my parameters tonight.

Thanks again, Greg


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## darkoon (Jun 7, 2010)

Increase KH will not manipulate PH, but to stabilize it, making it hard to slide. I personally add crushed coral in my canister filter instead of adding baking soda after every water change. and crushed corals will also release calcium into water which is soft in my area. so 2 birds in 1 shot for me.


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## GKFISH (Oct 5, 2010)

Hello Everyone, so I bought some Equlibrium and am in the process of a 50% WC. The direction say 16g or 1 tablespoon per 20 gal. So for my tank 55gal I thought I would dissolve 48g or 3 tablespoons in 2 gallons of water and add it at the end. I use a python for WC's and am afraid to add powder directly to tank . Does this sound ok.

Greg


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi Greg,

Yes, I dissolve mine prior to adding it to my tanks as well. Some granules don't dissolve completely and drop to the bottom of the tank but are gone by the next morning.


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## GKFISH (Oct 5, 2010)

Hello Everyone, 
Yesterday 10/19 I did a 50% WC, I added 2 1/2 tbl. spns. of dissolved Equilibrium and 25ml Excel to the tank at the end. My water parameters tonight 10/20 are:

ph= 6.6
nitrite 0ppm
nitrate 3ppm
ammonia 8-10ppm

From last week I'm pretty happy with these parameters. Finding the rotting root ball last week was a key component of the lower ammonia...I think.

In my past tests I haven't been able to get a GH/KH reading, it was way off the charts. I have the API kit where you count the drops and I would stop counting and give up at 25 drops. Tonight my GH test took 13 drops to change from orange to green, which encouraged me...finally a reading. My KH however is still unattainable. Any thoghts or suggestions on this?

The tank looks good and has no foul smells, there is minor algae but its the circular kind on the glass, which I remove with WC's. Now I want to start a fertilizing regiment, does anyone use the Seachem calculator that is on this site?
In closing, I really appreciate the input I have gotten for this forum...Its so accurate and puts my mind at ease. I have to admit it was difficult adding the Equilibrium, but I trust the people and advice here at APC so Thank again.


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