aecw

I've been reading the other posts on high pH and low ph and how to adjust them safely - so here's my issue: My 150 gallon has a ph in the low 6's, my tap water reads at around 7.4-7.6 and when I set this tank up (about a month ago) I used Proper ph 7.0 to deal with the high ph of the tap water since the fish were used to a bit lower ph. Tank didn't really need a cycle because this was the tank that we moved from work to home and I immediately set the filter up on a small tank and ran it and fed it til the 150 was ready - we were successful and managed to keep most if not all the good bacteria alive!

So back to my question - my aquarium water seems a little low and I thought I might try the crushed coral trick to safely buffer and regulate but my question is how much do I need for a 150 gallon tank (it comes in 15 lb bags) I don't want to add too much and change the ph too fast. Anybody know - and please no mathematical equations (I was an art major) - if you keep it in simple 3rd grade terms I can have my son help me!

sirdarksol

7.4-7.6 is ideal for almost all fish. Some fish (such as the Amazonian fish) like a bit lower pH, but will adjust. I'm keeping tetras in pH that gets to around 8.

What's the nitrate level in the tank? Looking at the livestock, you may just have an excess of nitrogen in the water, which will lower your pH drastically. More frequent (or larger) water changes would keep the pH at a more comfortable level if this is the case.