puffer75

I just finished cycling my tank (fishless) two days ago. I did a large water change to bring down the nitrates and then tested the water. The pH was at 7.6, which is what it is straight out of the tap. I didn't check it yesterday, but tested this morning because I was planning on buying my fish today. I was disappointed to see that the ph had dropped to around 6.1 or 6.2. Why did this happen? I did have the same problem once when I was cycling it, but used baking soda to raise it. I am pretty sure I am not supposed to use baking at this point. Obviously I know that I will not be getting the fish today, but my question is: how do I raise the ph and keep it stable?

Shawnie

congrats on the new cycle!!!! if you want something natural to raise it, crushed coral or sea shells work awesome..but its still new and the ph will continue to change ....not sure why it dropped ...how did you cycle it? most fish will acclimate to different ph's as long as its a stable ph and the drip acclimation is done slowly...

puffer75

Shawnie: I did a fishless cycle with pure ammonia. The reason I wanted to check it (I would have checked it anyways before putting in fish though) was because I saw that my nitrites and ammonia were not quite gone this morning. That is when I knew that something was probably up with my ph, because the same thing happened when I was fishless cycling (I thought that had to do with my nitrites being so high though).
The thing that worries me is in the future, after I do water changes and the ph drops like this, won't that shock my fish? Will the coral keep it stable? How much would I need for my tank (29 gallon), and how long will it take to adjust ph?

Nate McFin

Coral will keep it stable because it raises the KH of the water. Put a 1/4 in a media bag and place it in the filter. This will slowly raise the Ph. (not fast like baking soda) Rinse thoroughly before putting it in as it can cloud the water. Ph problems are a bummer. My water is very soft and my tank goes from 7.6 down to 6.4 over a weeks time.
As far as fish go...its not so much Ph changes but Kh changes that can harm them. (Kh changes will in turn affect Ph)

aquarist48

Congrats on the fishless cycle! Here is a link you http://www.ratemyfishtank.com/articles/107may find helpful concerning pH levels.

puffer75

Would it be possible to get my fish today if I did a partial water change to get ph back up and then put the bag with coral in the filter to help keep that ph stable? Or should I put the coral in and wait a few days before adding fish. I know, I'm being impatient! Seriously though, I will do what ever is best for the fish.

puffer75

Ok, so curious about the KH of my water I ran up to the store and got some strips to test it with. It looks like the KH is between 0 and 40 (looks much closer to 0 than 40). This same strip also tests general hardness which looks to be somewhere around 15 or 20- hard to tell though as the colors are very similar. I guess this is bad news as far as an unstable ph goes. I did get a bag of crushed coral as well and hope that will help buffer the water.

richardsmith

Which ph strip do you use to test the water in your aquarium? Are you sure it it showing accurate results?