Very soft water...

C

creoguy

AC Members
Jan 7, 2008
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Portland, OR
My 20 gallon tank has finally finished cycling so I have my Ammonia and Nitrite under control and the Nitrate is at 5. Do have a diatom issue but that's pretty normal from what I've read.

The problem that I'm now looking at is the fact that my tap water is extremely soft. With my API GH/KH test, it only takes one drop of each to have the color change. The PH in the tank right now is about 6.2 which is the lowest level on my test, so for all I know it may be lower. Haven't had any issues with the fish besides the fact that one of my GBR doesn't have much color, but the other one looks good. They are all eating fine and seem active. I know that most don't recommend messing with the PH but I worry about future issues.

Would adding some crushed coral help bring up the buffering capacity without causing even more issues?
 
Your rams and cardinals love soft and acid water (your snails may not). So what is the issue??
 
Haven't had a problem, just worried about the low buffering capacity and was putting it out there. Also wanted to see what my options are for other tanks, like the RCS tank that is currently cycling and any future tanks that may not work with a low ph.

Tap water is at a PH of 7 as well.
 
You can always add a little crush coral to act as a buffer. That would be OK.
 
tanker said:
Your rams and cardinals love soft and acid water (your snails may not). So what is the issue??
Click to expand...

Word to that. Your corys, too. The snails? Not so much. I want to add apple snails to my tank but alas, like you, my water is super soft.

Anyway, yes to crushed coral and cuttlebone to raise your buffering, but that will raise your pH as well. If it's slow enough, your fish will adjust. Just be careful cause soft water is prone to swing.

Also, since your pH is neutral from the tap, after your regular water changes you'll see the pH increase. It probably dropped from the nitric acid while you were cycling. I had mine drop pretty dramatically the same way.
 
Sounds like I need to just leave well enough alone! :grinyes:

Thanks for all the info.
 
I'd avoid using large pieces of driftwood. I just removed a big "centerpiece" sized driftwood from my tank for this same reason... soft water. It drops my pH too easily for my liking.
 
If KH is unmeasurably low it's a pH crash waiting to happen. I'd personally use sodium bicarb to get the water to a KH of around 3 degrees.
 
I got the same problem, I'm adding crushed coral slowly as an additional substrate for my oscar tank.
 
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