Wacky PH - help please!

[lulu]

The PH keeps going low in my 10 gallon tank, and the adventurous chestnut snail that I named Columbus has been hanging out at the top of the tank for a few days now. I'm really worried. I did 2 water changes, and added sea-shells to get the PH up, but it keeps dropping. It was at 7.0 this am and dropped back down to 6.0 by now. The only new element in the tank is a natural sponge I put on the filter to keep the shrimp out of it. Could that be affecting the PH? I rinsed it in water first.

I'm going to do another water change, take all wood out and add a chunk of coral, but if I can't get the PH stable, I'm worried he won't make it.

Suggestions?
Thanks tons.
lulu

Tank:
10 gallon
3 small snails - (1 purple, 1 chestnut, 1 ivory)
1-3 cherry shrimp too small to see really.
Aqua Filter 30

[lulu]

I did a 40% water change with new water around 7.5. Added the coral and took out the wood. All the snails are quiet now, looks like they're adjusting and Columbus crawled back up to the water line. Every once and a while he does a weird in and out of his shell, that doesn't look completely voluntary. I've had snails for years, and I've never seen one do that. Thoughts?
Thanks.

[msjinkzd]

As long as your readings for ammonia and nitrite are 0, I would not panic. The snails are pretty small, do you have any filter squeezings you can add? I have noticed that the chestnuts seem to hit sexual maturity earlier, perhaps its grooming an area for eggs to be laid. Do you have the water line dropped at all?

[lulu]

The ammonia is zero as far as I can tell. I only have one tank, so no filter squeezings available unfortunately. I will add some more cycle. I also have these little white chalky cylinders that I never put in the filter. Will those help?

The chestnut seems pretty small to be laying eggs. It's about the size of a dime, if that. I'll drop the waterline a little just in case.

Also, will it help if I get the other fluval filter going? I've been holding off for fear of endagering the shrimp.

Thanks tons!

[lulu]

I remembered, I do have the Fluval filter, that hasn't been cleaned - but it's been sitting not hooked up to a tank for about 3 weeks. Could I squeeze some of that filter? Where would I squeeze it?

[Flaringshutter]

The in-and-out thing is likely his breathing. Apples have lungs as well as gills, and they breathe into their lungs through a siphon - looks a little like a giant tentacle that comes out of the side of the shell opening. When they breathe through the siphon, they usually rock back and forth a little and seem to suck in and out of the shell. Apples' lungs are huge in proportion to the rest of them, so the action of breathing is a big deal.

Any filter that you believe still has some bacteria living in it, I would hook that up to the tank. As long as it hasn't been sitting for long, it should still have some bacteria.

Also - you mentioned you removed all the wood. What kind of wood is it, and how long has it been in water? Wood that is still leaching tannins, especially highly acidic types like bogwood, can leach enough into small tanks to rapidly drop pH. That could be your problem right there.

The best advice I can give you is to remove all decor and try using a piece of pantyhose to cover the filter intake rather than that sponge. With a bare tank, it will be easier to pinpoint the problem.

Now, be careful of moving the pH too much, too quickly. Remember that pH isn't a numerical scale - it's logarithmic. So each increment is 10 times that of the last - moving from 7 to 6, you have 10 times more acidity. Moving from 7 to 5, it's 100 times more acidic. You're moving in HUGE steps, so a rapid change in pH can seriously damage fish and snails. That may be why your snail goes to the water line to breathe often - changes in pH can hamper breathing through gills.
Therefore, remember to make SLOW changes in pH - raising the pH slowly, even if you think it's much too low, is better than rapidly moving it upward.

To increase pH slowly, you can add a few airstones or move the filter outlet so that it disturbs the water surface more. More surface disturbance means more gas exchange, less CO2 in the water. Since CO2 raises acidity, by enabling it to escape the water more easily you will raise the pH.

Good luck!

[lulu]

I will hook up the fluval. The ph is between 7 and 7.5 now and the snails all seem comfortable. I'm grateful for all of this detailed info.

Thanks so much.
lulu

[msjinkzd]

best of luck to you!

[lulu]

Just so others know and don't try it, hooking the old filter up was not a good idea. There was old water in there, and it turned the ammonia in my aquarium very deadly. My snails were completely stressed and I had to do an almost complete water change immediately.

[thebullit]

man thats bad but glad your helping and hope all goes well. what wood was in your tank? as most wood ie bog/root wood will drop the ph is the tank isnt buffered.