question: getting the right pH

H

hayabusasp

AC Members
Dec 13, 2006
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after much patience and aggravation, im still stuck on gettin the perfect pH for my angelfish tank. ive done some research and found that for a comfortable living condition, they require a pH from 6.6 to 6.8... my current pH is 7.0 but still needs to be slightly more acidic. i have a 30g w/ the stock whipser 30 and a penguin 350. plus pwr head. no fish yet. and when i put in my new "pretty large" piece of drift wood i expected it to soften up the water, and it did, but too much. the pH dropped to 6.0. so i stopped by my LFS and one of the workers recommended that i mix some crushed coral in the gravel to raise it. but for some reason, it didnt show a consistent pH. i dont want to rely on chemicals to adjust my pH. so if there is any advice, i would greatly appreciate it.

plus im fighting cloudy, soon to become tinted water because of the driftwood. but the guy at the LFS said to use phos-x. anyone heard of it? used it? recommend?
 
honestly, most angels are tank bred nowadays, and can adapt to the local pH. don't fret about the pH.
 
Actually, unless you have some specific breeding reasons, you didn't need to do anything to the pH. Now you are caught up not only in getting it to a "supposed" requirement, but trying to maintain it at every water change.

They will be perfectly fine in a pH from 6.0 to 8.0. Consistent and steady is best.
 
You don't need to worry about the PH with angels unless you are trying to breed them.
Your Ph is fine and let it be. Better to have consistant ph level then a fluctuating one. :)
 
nice, thanks alot. as for my filtration... the 30 and the 350 should be good right? the temp is is a consistent 82 degrees F. hope thats alright too..

plus. how do i fight the cloudy and the slow leeching?
anyone heard of phos-x?
 
How long has this tank been operating? Have you cycled the tank? The cloudy could just be a bacteria bloom and it will go away on its own.

Did you boil the wood to help reduce the tannins? Running lots of activated carbon will help, but that natural blackwater look is great.
 
rbishop said:
How long has this tank been operating? Have you cycled the tank? The cloudy could just be a bacteria bloom and it will go away on its own.

Did you boil the wood to help reduce the tannins? Running lots of activated carbon will help, but that natural blackwater look is great.
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tanks been running for 2weeks. and as for the cycling, still a newbie so i have to look up how to do it properly. im hoping its just a bacteria bloom( since its a new tank and all ) as for the driftwood, its too large to put in a convential pot. so i just scubbed it my bath tub and used scolding hot water cycles, thats about it. when you say "run lots of of active carbon", do you mean just add more carbon packs in the the filter cartridge? thanks alot.
 
Yes, but I am not familiar with your filters and do not know how much they hold. Most HOB filters do not hold a significant volume of carbon and it is a very poor quality. Eventually, the wood will stop leaching tannins, but it may take quite a while depending on the type of wood. If the discoloration bothers you, see if you can put a bag of it in your filter and change every 4 or 5 days.

Be sure to read up on cycling so you prepare the tank for adding fish. You need to develop a bacteria colony that will convert the ammonia from waste to nitrites and other bacteria to convert nitrites to nitrates. You will remove the nitrates by water changes.

Have you purchased a good liquid master test kit yet?

I don't think you need the phos-x. The fewer additives you use, the better.
 
the filters total. approx. 330 gal/h. they both use bio-filters.

yeah i have the API master kit, ammonia is 0 ppm. and so is the nitrate levels NO3 and NO2
 
recommended that i mix some crushed coral in the gravel to raise it.
Click to expand...

Wouldn't this lower your PH?
 
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