Ph

[firstdon]

Hi,

I have a 20 Gallon Freshwater Tank with 3 pieces of Malaysian Driftwood. I want to keep a ph of 7.0 but due to the driftwood its at a constant 6.0.. What can I do to stabalise it at 7? or is this impossible with the driftwood? I have one pleco one ID Shark, one tiger barb, one bumblebee catfish and 3 kuhli loaches. I used the ph up drops but it doesnt seem to work. Will these fish thrive with a 6.o ph?

 

[tanker]

1) The fish you have are mostly low PH fish anyway.

2) Your water is probably too soft to raise PH withjust the drops. To raise PH the water must also have buffers.

 

[bigtoeknee]

Stop using the ph up drops, they are no good and usually work only temp. Most of your fish will do well in your ph. The driftwood realeases tanins which are lowering your ph over time this will stop and with frequent water changes your ph will come up closer to what your tap water is.

 

[Loachkeeper]

Do you know somone that lives out in the country? I do and my water is full of buffers and calcium. My well water PH is somewhere around 8.8-9.0. Sounds like a gallon or two of that type of water would really help. It would boost the PH but most importantly add a lot of buffering...??...

 

[ashdavid]

Add a handfull of crushed coral or some bakinig soda to increase the buffers in your tank. If you use baking soda ,add it gradualy over a few days. Maybe try 2-3 teaspoons over 2-3 days and then measure your ph. Whatever you do do it slowly, b/c when changing your ph it can be very stressful on your fish.

 

[RTR]

Clarifiaction: Fish do not "read" pH, but they can be very sensitive to changes in the osmolarity/TDS (total disolved solids) in the water. Sudden changes in TDS can be stressful to fatal for fish. So ashdavid's advice stands, but for slightly different reasons than as stated.