ph problem

[fresh_fish]

i just setup a 55g with a pool filter sand substrate that has a thin layer of laterite near the bottom. there are also two pieces of Mopani wood that were soaked in a tub for a few days to leech all the tannins out and several large river rocks i have had for years. i just filled the tank a couple of days ago and used Prime and the ph has dropped from 7 to 6.

i guess its time to test the sand, rocks and wood in buckets of water to see which is the problem :headshake2:

anyone with a similar experience?

[Riiz]

Whats the pH of the tap, after it has sat out for a bit. Your tap might be super-saturated with oxygen and after if gasses out, the pH might drops. Driftwood is known to leach tannins that soften and acidify the water, but not that drastically or that fast.

[fresh_fish]

thanks for the info, i will run more tap water tests tomorrow at varying intervals and see if that is the issue. the water is clear and not the tea color when i first soaked the wood so i dont think its the tannins.

[DAVIDFBT]

Even if the wood does not leach out tannins anymore, it will still lower the ph. Chances are, the lower ph was from the wood. But almost all tropical FW fish like a lower ph, except for African Cichlids.

[Rbishop]

I would also test the laterite. Though most references I read swears it doesn't change the pH, I think you should eliminate all sources.

[Draal5]

Test your tap water after it has beenj in a container for 1 day then 2 days I think you will find the tap waters ph will change and that's the culprit here dropping ph by a factor of one in a couple of days is not the driftwood and not the laterite. not that these won't of time drop the hp but takes longer then 2 days.

[fresh_fish]

i filled a bucket with tap water and some sand before going to bed last night and when i checked the ph this morning there was no change. after thinking about it a little longer i started to think about the HOB filter. i did not change the filter medium before running it so i tested the filter in the bucket with sand and in about 30 min the ph began to drop more rapidly.

i just put new activated carbon in the filter which i hope is the fix for my problem, after a massive water change. any idea why the old filter media could have lowered the ph so much? i thought it was activated carbon but now i think it wasn't.

[BradH]

If your just starting your tank, then it might be the ammonia doing it. I couldn't figure out why I was having my ph drop recently. My tank has been set up and cycle for months. Well, I put 2 and 2 together and found out the cause. I had treated my tank with Maracyn Plus and it must have killed some of the bacteria, causing the ammonia to rise a little bit. My ph went down from 7.2 or so, to about 6. I couldn't figure out why and then I read that ammonia can make it drop. So I realized that's what it was. It's back up now and no ammonia readings. Maybe if your tank it new and it's got some ammonia, it's doing the same thing. Also, you might want to try a handfull or 2 of crushed coral in a bag placed in your filter, or thrown into the substrate.

[fresh_fish]

the tank was fillled and Primed just 3 days ago and had no ammonia. i am pretty sure the old filter media is the primary cause. i emptied the tank and have refilled about 10 gallons of fresh water and will let that sit to test everything on/in the substrate at once.

[KarlTh]

Tap water usually rises in pH on standing, because it's CO2 which lowers it. Oxygen neither raises nor lowers pH; ammonia raises it as well. It's the bogwood. Whats the KH? Knowing that tells us whether the pH drop matters, because it doesn't in and of itself.

[fresh_fish]

Tap water usually rises in pH on standing, because it's CO2 which lowers it. Oxygen neither raises nor lowers pH; ammonia raises it as well. It's the bogwood. Whats the KH? Knowing that tells us whether the pH drop matters, because it doesn't in and of itself.

looks like it is a combo of the old filter media and the Mopani wood. unfortunately the test kit i mail ordered did not have a GH/KH test so i am still in need of one and do not have those numbers. from what i have gathered my water must be pretty soft for the pH to drop like that.

i am concerned about the pH change because it means that there will be a pH fluctuation when i do water changes from my tap.

[KarlTh]

looks like it is a combo of the old filter media and the Mopani wood. unfortunately the test kit i mail ordered did not have a GH/KH test so i am still in need of one and do not have those numbers. from what i have gathered my water must be pretty soft for the pH to drop like that.

i am concerned about the pH change because it means that there will be a pH fluctuation when i do water changes from my tap.

There will, but as long as there's no KH/GH fluctuation alongside it, the fish won't mind.

[fresh_fish]

Tap water usually rises in pH on standing, because it's CO2 which lowers it. Oxygen neither raises nor lowers pH; ammonia raises it as well. It's the bogwood. Whats the KH? Knowing that tells us whether the pH drop matters, because it doesn't in and of itself.

i finally got my KH/GH kits and my tap is 2/4 or around 35/70 ppm. as i understand it the low KH is why the Mopani wood is able to drop the pH so rapidly?

almost a week ago i removed the wood and refilled the tank without it to be sure nothing else was causing the problem. as you stated the pH in the tank has risen to about 7.4. i have been soaking the wood in a bathtub to leech more tannins out but i recently changed the water so i am going to soak the wood in a bucket tonight and test in the morning for a KH change.

do i need to worry about low KH from my tap and should i consider adding baking soda? are my concerns about pH swinges when doing water changes valid?