Does pH matter for invert tanks?

[ksane]

pH matters a lot to snails. Lowering it will simply cause pitting on their shells which is why pH should be maintained no less than 7.4 if you want to keep the shells intact.

But pH is an indicator of how soft or hard the water is. Someone could have a real low kh (soft water) yet throw something in that will 'raise' the pH yet the kh & gh would remain the same. It's the total dissolved solids that they need (correct me if I'm wrong). Plus it's possible to have a high pH and low TDS (soft water) or a high pH and high kh-which'd be hard water. Not common but possible. That's why I hate to rely on pH readings. I don't even bother testing pH ever. I test kh & gh. I haven't even done that for a long time as I'm on a well and it never changes.

And Bubbles, JPappy already answered. We can best tell by kh & gh tests although I think they actually have a TDS meter-?- Not sure. And no-I agree diet alone won't change anything if it's real soft water. But it's pretty easy to use crushed coral, etc to raise kh to a higher level. My water's super hard so I'm only really familiar with lowering kh by mixing in RO water.

 

[jpappy789]

http://www.tdsmeter.com/products

 

[Lupin]

But pH is an indicator of how soft or hard the water is.

Not necessarily. You can have low KH/GH yet high pH. Lake Malili in Indonesia for instance has very low KH/GH yet the pH is unusually high at 8.0. Sulawesi snails have been reported to become quite sluggish when the KH/GH are high but I can't verify this empirically as I haven't kept these snails yet. I do believe though the captive bred ones by now are more flexible in adapting to various hardness levels than the wild caught ones.

Someone could have a real low kh (soft water) yet throw something in that will 'raise' the pH yet the kh & gh would remain the same. It's the total dissolved solids that they need (correct me if I'm wrong). Plus it's possible to have a high pH and low TDS (soft water) or a high pH and high kh-which'd be hard water. Not common but possible. That's why I hate to rely on pH readings. I don't even bother testing pH ever. I test kh & gh. I haven't even done that for a long time as I'm on a well and it never changes.

The pH would still indicate the acidity of the water which is why pH is still necessary when you keep snails. If you rely on KH/GH test kits, how are you going to know the acidity of your water?

And no-I agree diet alone won't change anything if it's real soft water.

I was referring to pH, not the hardness levels.

 

[vampie]

Count me in another who believes PH does matter to inverts. And fish as well.

Not necessarily. You can have low KH/GH yet high pH. Lake Malili in Indonesia for instance has very low KH/GH yet the pH is unusually high at 8.0. Sulawesi snails have been reported to become quite sluggish when the KH/GH are high but I can't verify this empirically as I haven't kept these snails yet. I do believe though the captive bred ones by now are more flexible in adapting to various hardness levels than the wild caught ones.

I can confirm that to some degree.. my wild-caught Tylos are incredibly inactive in my tanks (all of which basically have hard water), but the babies move about as usual.

 

[austinpetemo]

so the higher the PH and hardness, the healthier the snail shell? is there a limit for too high where it is no longer beneficial?

and do crays suffer under low ph the same as snails do?

 

[boobiebutt]

My KH is between 1-2 degrees I believe. I know that it is low and this could be the cause or be what influences the wide swing in the pH of my cycling tank at the moment. I was considering buffering the water with crushed egg shells since I can't find crushed coral in small amounts smaller then 20 lbs of it.

Would the buffering capacity/ability of egg shells reduce over time? What about crushed coral? I guess I'm asking if it needs to be replaced over time. I've been trying to find something that can increase my KH and buffering capacity of the water in my cycling 10 gallon but most importantly small enough to fit in my Red Sea Nano filter. I'd only be able to fit maybe 1-2 handfuls of media at most within the nano filter. Would that be enough to buffer 10 gallons of water, if not what would? I have limited filter space.

 

[vampie]

I used a few seashells in mine when I needed to raise the hardness, but that was for a 2.5g. Is that the only filter you're running on your 10g?

 

[DarrylR]

I thought ph and softness does count... such as ADA soil for CRS and so on : / ?

Such as putting tigers or crystals in tap water = dead shrimpies? Or maybe I missed the whole question altogether..... it is late -__-;;;.

 

[Arakkis]

you can but you need to buffer the tank to stabilize the swings. 9.0 to 5.5 is a very big swing, a difference of pH of 3.5 which means that your tank gets 35 times more acid by morning. That might be enough to kill your inverts
I'll sell you ada soil if you need it.

 

[boobiebutt]

I used a few seashells in mine when I needed to raise the hardness, but that was for a 2.5g. Is that the only filter you're running on your 10g?

No. I currently run an air driven sponge filter (rated for 20 gallons) in my 10 gallon. I was planning to run the Red Sea nano filter (rated for up to 5 gallons) along with the sponge filter so I'd be able to add some form of media to buffer the water. The nano filter will be there mostly to buffer to the water, not actually biological filtration.

Hence is why I asked how much media (crushed coral//egg shells/other media that might buffer water) would actually be needed to buffer the water from 1-2 KH to something reasonable to reduce the pH swing. I'd only be able to fit maybe 1-2 handfuls of buffering media into the nano filter.

you can but you need to buffer the tank to stabilize the swings. 9.0 to 5.5 is a very big swing, a difference of pH of 3.5 which means that your tank gets 35 times more acid by morning. That might be enough to kill your inverts
I'll sell you ada soil if you need it.

Well the problem is that it wouldn't be very cost effective. As mentioned above, I'd only be able to fit 1-2 handfuls of media as most into the nano filter. From what I know ADA stuff is pretty expensive and shipping just 1-2 handfuls of soil is kinda impractical as well, unless you lived close.

Does ADA soil buffer water? If so how well is it at buffering? Would 1-2 handfuls be enough?



I'm not sure what type of buffering media I should be using.

Maybe I should be asking what form of media would be best for buffering in terms of:
- How often the buffering media needs to be changed.
- How effective it is at buffering the water.
- Which media has the best buffering capacity/amount.
- How messy it is, if I need to replace it.
- Does it stain the water.
- Which is most cost effective. -- I'm leaning towards egg shells because I wouldn't have to buy anything and saves me the most. I'm not sure about the buffering capacity of crushed egg shells though.