I am new to the hobby completeley... I want to get the water right for the fish and I am hoping someone might feel sorry for me & help me get started!
I am a quick learner & an information junkie, so I have had no problem learning & understanding what I need in order to have the fish I want. I have well water that gives me a very low pH (6.0) from the tap with 1gH and <1kH.
I purchased a 45 gal (tall) tank & have the undergravel filter with a Tetra Whisper 60 filter on the back of the tank and a Rena 300 to supply my 2 tubes with airstones. I also purchased a 36" bubble wand & hooked that up to a separate Air-Tec pump. I have only put 3 small fish in it thus far. The fish I want (& have) thrive in a gH of 3-6 and a kH of 6-8 with a pH of 6.8-7.2. I have successfully raised the hardness to 4-5, and the kH to 5. The problem is my pH has risen to 7.2-7.5. If I do a water change, the gH & kH go down again without the treatments I used to raise them. If I add Seachem pH 7.0 to the water, the kH goes down. When I add the Buffer Up - the pH goes up.
I was reading somewhere on pH & kH and water movement/air circulation has an impact on pH?? Is this problem solved as easily as turning off the bubble wand? The current in the tank does seem swift, but I think that may be caused more by the tubes & back filter. I'm not sure. What do I do?
CAN ANYONE HELP ME PLEASE?
I am a quick learner & an information junkie, so I have had no problem learning & understanding what I need in order to have the fish I want. I have well water that gives me a very low pH (6.0) from the tap with 1gH and <1kH.
I purchased a 45 gal (tall) tank & have the undergravel filter with a Tetra Whisper 60 filter on the back of the tank and a Rena 300 to supply my 2 tubes with airstones. I also purchased a 36" bubble wand & hooked that up to a separate Air-Tec pump. I have only put 3 small fish in it thus far. The fish I want (& have) thrive in a gH of 3-6 and a kH of 6-8 with a pH of 6.8-7.2. I have successfully raised the hardness to 4-5, and the kH to 5. The problem is my pH has risen to 7.2-7.5. If I do a water change, the gH & kH go down again without the treatments I used to raise them. If I add Seachem pH 7.0 to the water, the kH goes down. When I add the Buffer Up - the pH goes up.
I was reading somewhere on pH & kH and water movement/air circulation has an impact on pH?? Is this problem solved as easily as turning off the bubble wand? The current in the tank does seem swift, but I think that may be caused more by the tubes & back filter. I'm not sure. What do I do?
CAN ANYONE HELP ME PLEASE?
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