Acidic Water?

I have the 6 in 1 tetra strips and my recent testing showed a low alkalinity and pH level. It's been low for at least a week or so, I am doing partial water changes and putting stress coat in when I do. The most recent testing showed nitrites 0, nitrates between 20-40, hardness between 75-150 (between the soft n hard mark, showing that it isn't to bad), but my ph is like 6.5(the lowest on the stick) and alkalinity a 0! My fish seem happy. No strange behavior that I can tell. I do have a moss ball in there but I read that couldn't hurt anything. I am curious about what I should do to get my water less acidic? And I was also curious about adding a live plant.. Oh and just to note, I have a 29 gal tank, 2 neon tetras, 2 black skirts, 6 guppies, 2 Julie cories n 1 pleco. (and please no comments on the fish being happier in more of a community group, I do know this I started out with 4 tetras and lost 2...these 2 appear quite content at the moment. The black skirts were given to me and it's been just them 2 for quite a while, n I was afraid to get more cories due to over crowding) thank you for any thoughts on water being to acidic and live plants...

 

I would get a liquid pH test and get accurate values before taking action. Strips can become contaminated or rendered useless in a number of ways and are generally considered unreliable because of how easily they can become useless. A good test kit like the API master test kit is about $25 on Amazon.com and worth every penny, plus it lasts forever and is cheaper in the long run than strips too.

 

Thank you for your reply! I will definitely look into this as soon as possible. My water appears clean, fish healthy, I have been doing regular small water changes, trying not to over feed them.. Lol.. I will definitely look into the liquid pH test! Thank you!

 

New strips are just as good as the API kits, but they are more expensive per use. it's the only real difference I see. The strips are far superior in that they identified the source of your question. The API kit is 'master' in no way I can see, as at that price, it will not cover the more important longterm info an aquarist needs, on water hardness, etc. It's extremely incomplete, and the add ons you need add up.

That said, your water's like mine. You have to be a little more careful about water changes with soft acidic water, and you shouldn't buy mollies or mbuna. It's borderline for the guppies, but it's not acidic enough to be a problem for them. Your other fish will love it.

A common pleco will outgrow a 29 and cause you a lot of trouble with water quality as it grows to 18 inches and a couple of pounds....

 

Thank you, navigatorblack, for your reply. I am doing water changes... About 25%...once a wk at the moment. And when I do I run the net thru the gravel to get anything down in. I have a bristlenose pleco and was under the assumption that they grow to be about 2-3 inches... Was I wrong? Oih! I do want to look into a more accurate testing kit. Everything appears good but testing says acidic so made me wonder if my fish would start to be effected. Before I go further I will get a better testing kit and see what the numbers say... Again thank you guys! But if you did have a more acidic water how would you fix that? Just water changes? I have stress coat but I am planning on buying prime. Oh and my thermometer is a tetra ht30 submersible heater... Maintains at about 78 degrees.

 

Pb43 your bristlenose will get more around 4-5 inches which isn't that big compared to his cousin, the common pleco , which can get 24 inches.

 

It's only been in the past few years that people have been calling bristlenoses "plecos". Before, that was reserved for the big, non bristly, non useful Loracariids. So I always assume when you say pleco, you are talking about common plecos, the worst mistake every new hobbyist seems to make.
A bristlenose Ancistrus is a great decision, and most get to the size KaderTheAnt said.
A bristlenose is a pet goat. A pleco is a pet moose.

 

Add some crushed limestone to your filter in a media bag. You'll raise your hardness and alkalinity safely, and will keep it more stable than chemical means.

 

Thank you fan for that suggestion I will look into that as a good alternative! And I am glad my bristlenose will be only 4-5 that's a good size! And great facts I have been researching my fish and learning about them and their origin has been interesting!