Crushed Coral Dosing On Low Ph Tank

So one of our cories passed yesterday, so I did a full test on the tank to see what the issue could be. I was dealing with about .25ppm of ammonia last week and have been doing a 20% water change every day/couple days for the last week and a half. Todays tanks measurements:

Ammonia: Less than 0.25, but more than 0. (my guess around 15)
Nitrites: 0 ppm
Nitrates: 10 ppm
pH: 5.5
Temp at about 79 degrees.

So to me it obviously looks like the pH is the problem (too low for my species!) and I'd love to know:

- How high I should aI'm to raise it (Our tap water comes out at a solid 7, which is what the tank started at)
- How it got so low (too many plants?)
- How much crushed coral to use over how long to raise it.

I've never had any issues really with the tank before this.

Stocking list:
3 Dwarf Gouramis
10 Ember tetras
5 Emperor Tetras
5 adult albino corydoras and 1 baby
Tons of cherry shrimp (breeding like crazy)
1 Bristlenose pleco

It's a 30 gallon that's heavily planted with caves and a large driftwood piece.

Thank you for any help!

 

Get crushed coral. Driftwood lowers your pH. You have way too many dwarfs esp in a 30 gallon.

 

That's the plan, I'm wondering how much crushed coral and over how much time to raise it to about 6.5/7. I'm only at about 85% stocking according the aqadvisor, and the 3 gouramis have never fought/ bothered each other.

 

That's the plan, I'm wondering how much crushed coral and over how much time to raise it to about 6.5/7. I'm only at about 85% stocking according the aqadvisor, and the 3 gouramis have never fought/ bothered each other.

Aqadvisor isn't accurate at all. Don't use it. Second, they are likely young so they won't fight until they hit their mature age. Once that hits, disaster.

 

Aqadvisor isn't accurate at all. Don't use it. Second, they are likely young so they won't fight until they hit their mature age. Once that hits, disaster.

They are full size and over a year old now. If I ever see any type of problem I’ll remove them immediately.

I’d really just like to know ballpark how much crushed coral to put in a 30 gallon.

 

They are full size and over a year old now. If I ever see any type of problem I’ll remove them immediately.

I’d really just like to know ballpark how much crushed coral to put in a 30 gallon.

I really don't know. Haven't had that small of a tank.

 

HI Violetsasha! I had the same issue with my Ph dropping.....and am now using crushed coral...and it's maintaing beautifully. I have a 75 gal so I started out with a 1/4 of a cup at a time until I saw my Ph stabilize. If I had a 30 gal tank I would start with Tablespoons at a time.....add 1 Tablespoon and test frequently...if it's still is not maintaining add another T....and so on. Also, I discovered Moss balls....they're AWESOME....you can purchase them on Amazon if your local store doesn't carry them....they are a live plant....easy to maintain and help with Ph stability.

 

If you use crush coral it should be 1 cup to 40g. That would bring it close to neutral. So in your case you can do 1/2-3/4 cup of crush coral to bring it up.

 

You don’t happen to use Kordon NovaAqua Plus and Amquel Plus, are you? I found using them crashed my ph, so I did some research and found a lot of other people have the same experiences when using those products, especially when they have low to no kh (carbonate hardness) reading. I have since switched to Seachem Prime as my go-to conditioner. I’m not entirely convinced driftwood has that drastic of an effect on ph.

 

I DO us Kordon NovAqua Plus.....it's always done great by me...and I believe it's a great product for the fishes..but I will tell you crushed coral is the trick!! I tried live plants and was so frustrated by them....plus my silver dollars eat them! Crushed coral is magic for Ph stability I'm here to tell ya....lol