PH problems

[frankie4]

hey all..
i have a 6x2x2 with a colony of fronts and a colony of geophagus altifrons and yes i know they shouldnt be together..
i got a digital Ph reader the other day and thought i would test it out, i put it in my tank and it read 5.34.. i nearly died when i saw this i dont know why it was so low
does any one have any ideas??

 

[scatz]

was the ph probe calibrated first?, it could be out of calibration.
if you have any solution that you know the ph of (buffer solution), check the probe in there

 

[frankie4]

yeah a friend calibrated it for me it was spot on

 

[scatz]

does your tap water have a low ph too or is it something in the tank causing it to drop?
do you know your KH level?, it is possible to have no buffering capacity and this could cause ph swings

 

[frankie4]

i just tested the tap water it came back as 7.44

 

[scatz]

leave the tap water out for 24 hrs and test again, the ph level will stabilise after a while, just as it does when its in the tank

 

[frankie4]

ok ill test it again later.. what is the KH and the buffering capacity?

 

[Doodles]

Just to add, you can aerate some tap water with an airstone for 10-20 minutes, save leaving it to stand for 24hrs.

The buffer is what keeps the PH stable, the buffer is known as the KH. If the KH is too low the ph can drop or swing.

 

[frankie4]

does that have anything to do with GH?

 

[Doodles]

The buffer doesn't but usually if you have a high Gh you have a fairly high KH and PH, but this isn't always true.

 

[Breamlegend]

do you use rainwater?
I find my PH drops when I use rainwater.

 

[frankie4]

no i havent ever used rain water.. often thought about it though

 

[Breamlegend]

Its great for breeding but tends to make your ph drop.(well it does for me). You could always try some marble chips in your tank or filter to increase your ph. I used to use ph down/ up etc but stopped a long time ago. You tap water ph is ideal as every time you water change you slightly increase your ph. The key is to increase it slowly- any sudden change up or down can be harmful.

 

[frankie4]

i just tested the tap water i tested yesterday after letting it sit and it was 7.82.. so i guess thats not the problem

 

[scatz]

there must be something in your tank that is causing the ph to drop so much.
dont suppose you've managed to get a kh test kit yet?, i wouldn't recommend trying to increase the ph yet as it should be closer to your tap water ph already, you need to find whats causing the drop before trying to increase it

 

[Rabbit]

I thought maybe co2 but the oxygen input is so high, the fish couldnt do it by themselves and the bacteria of 1 cannister couldnt do it.
There is a bit of wood in there but nothing as dramatic as any of my tanks (6 odd planted bits).

 

[scatz]

ok, is the ph stable at 5.5?, no drift?

 

[Rabbit]

It seemed it was stable within about .06 from when i had last spoken to frankie.
I had given her kh tablets to hold the ph high but if they were put in or not will have to wait and see when she's online.

 

[frankie4]

i havent used the KH tablets but i have increased the Ph already..

 

[Rabbit]

Add some of the KH tablets too your cannister or high flow area as you have raised the ph may as well try and keep it high.