Help! Low pH

E

evster

AC Members
Oct 12, 2006
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San Diego, CA
Hi everyone. First off let me say that this place has been an immense help for me since I've found it. I've been keeping fish for 5 years now, but only recently when I moved and had to set up a new aquarium did I take the time to do it "right".

That said... I now have a 10G tank that has been running for around 2 months and my pH is consistantly extremely low. It comes up as 6.0 or below on my AP test kit. The pH of my tap water is around 7.6. Even when I do a 20% water change, I only get a pH reading of about 6.2 the day after.

I do have 2 nice pieces of driftwood in the tank which I got from Petco. I have read that this will lower the pH, but I don't think it would have this large of an effect. The driftwood was soaking in a tank st the store when I bought it, but I didn't know that I was supposed to soak it myself for a couple days until after it had been in my tank for some time.

The tank has some live plants. A few betta bulbs which have grown in very nicely and some anacharis which I added just yesterday. I have 4 zebra danios which seem to be thriving in there. Here are the reading from the tests I just did:
pH - 6.0 or less (off the charts)
ammonia - .25-.5 (this is because I threw away my filter before I learned I shouldn't do that and I now have a "mini-cycle" to overcome)
nitrate - approx. 40
Nitrite - 0

So my question is... is this something I should even worry about? The pH level is holding steady, which from what I've read on here is more important than a perfect number. Should I take out one of the 2 pieces of driftwood and see if it makes a difference? When I do decide to add more fish, will they take to this low pH? Please help!
Thanks!
 
The general rule is a steady wrong pH is better than a fluctuating pH.

That said, I would be a bit concerned with a figure below 6.0

You tested your tap water, but have you tried letting the tap water sit out before testing it? Give that a shot... it will most likely drop in pH, test it after 24 hours, and again after 48 hours and see if it changes, and you will know what your true tap water pH is.

You could try boiling the driftwood. If it makes the water look like tea when you boil it, it is still releasing tannins (tannic acid). Try to remove as much tannin as you can by boiling.

Whatever you do, do not use any chemical that promises to raise oro balance your pH. They cause way more problems than they solve.
 
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It could be a culmination of things : tannic acids from the drift are lowering your ph , organic wastes from the fish and plants .. are often do you clean your substrate? water changes?
 
Thanks guys. I will let my tap water sit out overnight and test it again. I never thought of that. So far I've noticed no discoloration of my tank water with the driftwood in there, but I will try boiling a piece and see if it causes any discoloration.

I have been doing water changes at least once a week (if not more) since the tank got started so I don't think that's the problem. Also when I do my water changes, I treat the new tap water going into the tank with Ammo Lock. That's the only time I will use chemicals in my tank.
 
evster said:
Thanks guys. I will let my tap water sit out overnight and test it again. I never thought of that. So far I've noticed no discoloration of my tank water with the driftwood in there, but I will try boiling a piece and see if it causes any discoloration.

I have been doing water changes at least once a week (if not more) since the tank got started so I don't think that's the problem. Also when I do my water changes, I treat the new tap water going into the tank with Ammo Lock. That's the only time I will use chemicals in my tank.
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Why are you treating your new water with ammo lock?


Using a bit of crushed coral will raise your ph. However, if the fish you have now are doing fine with the ph as it is, i wouldnt worry about adjusting it. My ph is also at 6 or below according to my test kit. I have added crushed coral to my tank for my snails. This raised the ph to ~7.2. I also have a large amount of driftwood.

Blue
 
The ammo lock was to dechlorinate and remove the ammonia from the tap water to make it suitable for the fish. That's what I was told to use at the LFS. Should I be using something else to treat my tap water?
 
Ammo Lock is normal used to lock out ammonia during a fishy cycle, etc. Its not generally used as a routine water conditioner. Its really yoru choice, however there are cheaper water coditioners out there , such as prime.

Blue
 
update: I boiled one of my pieces of driftwood for about an hour tonight and the water turned a very tea-like color so it looks like the wood had a lot of tannins to release.

I was going to do the other piece but my bamboo shrimp is hiding deep in a crevice and won't come out so it looks like it will have to wait until another day.

I will post my pH levels again after both pieces of wood have been boiled and I've done a water change. Thanks for your help everyone!
 
Well I boiled my second piece of drifwood tonight so we'll see how it goes.

And yes CaptnDan...I have tested my tap water for ammonia and I got a reading of between .25-.5 (hard to tell because the colors are so similar).

Also tested the pH of some tap water that had sat out for 24 hrs and got a reading of around 7.6.
 
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