Ph low - 6.4 -- cycle stalling?

[caitylady]

I'm fishy cycling a 10gal still. My tap water has a ph of about 6.5 (East Cascade Shrub-steppe area for other Geog. dorks). Is this affecting my cycle? I read somewhere that a low ph inhibits bacterial growth. Someone previously recommended I change my filter cartridge, which I did. No sign of improvement yet. Ideas?

 

[nickmcmechan]

your tank will cycle with a pH of 6.4, it just takes longer, but you are right, acidicwater is not the best conditions for bacteria

however, as your tap has low pH, this will be the ongoing conditions, so sit it out

whats your ammonia in ppm?

 

[caitylady]

It gets to .25 by the time I wake for class in the morning. A 20% change daily is managing it now though, as long as I change my cartridge every couple weeks.

 

[blue2fyre]

Changing your filter cartridge while a tank is cycling will slow it down. Filter cartridges should not be changed while a tank is cycling since so much bacteria resides in the filter.

 

[OldMan47]

What kind of cartridge are you using that controls ammonia? The ones that chemically remove ammonia will definitely interfere with properly cycling the tank. The usual practice with a fish-in cycle is to change water as needed to control ammonia and only rinse out the filter media when it starts to become plugged physically. Until that point you let the filter load up with whatever is in the water and develop a nice rich bacterial culture. The water changes should keep the pH from dropping too much and will take care of ammonia or nitrites quite well. Depending on the fish you keep, you may want to add some calcium carbonate as crushed shell or as gravel to raise the water hardness and pH a little in the tank.

 

[NeonFlux]

Seashells would help

 

[Cerianthus]

Raising pH of water in fine but now though. pH of 6.4 does not slow down the establishement of bio activities. And also , at pH of 6.4, pretty much majority of ammonia is in non-toxic form, NH4+, ammonium ion. Thus I dont think you have to do pwc on daily basis. Just to keep it controllable/reasonable level so you wont have to deal with High NO2 peak as tank cycles.
Remember you need to have ammonia in water to establish bio activities (bacteria) and amt of of bioactivities will equal amt of bioload (ammonia), so dont go out of your way trying to keep it at .25ppm. Too much water changes can also delay cycling process.
The reason for not to mess with pH at this moment is a fact that as pH rise, NH4+ will shift to become toxic ammonia (NH3).
When tank is cycled and you wished to mess with pH, I would recommend to do so via water changes rather than adding chemical and/or other induced methods directly in/on the tank.
You can simply prepare and/or alter NEW WATER, vias whatever methods you choose (CC or baking soda),, before starting water changes. Thus when new water is added, it would be somewhat gradual changes.
I agree with others as to leaving the filters alone while cycling no matter how filthy filters may seem. I would not even vacuum unncessarily while cycling as bioactivities will take place on any surface areas in the tank.

Hope this helped a bit.

 

[caitylady]

My water is already hard, just pretty low kh. I have activated carbon in my cartridges. Someone suggested changing it. I think I'll jus cut out the carbon in a couple weeks and keep the floss. Thanks guys!