Ph Won't Come Up.

[Keith Leazer]

I have a 75 gal. tank. Been setup for about 9 months. My ph stays around 6.4. or less. My tap water is about 7.0. Should I be concerned .

 

[Jenoli42]

I have a 75 gal. tank. Been setup for about 9 months. My ph stays around 6.4. or less. My tap water is about 7.0. Should I be concerned .

I highly recommend getting an API kH/gH testing kit. test both your tap and your tank. if your kH is low, then that can cause your pH to swing in your tank. which isn't healthy for your fish ... and if your pH drops below 6, your bacteria can die/cycle crash.

if your kH is fine, then you don't need to worry... but you said "or less" so i figured it changes a bit?

also, do you have plants, driftwood, peatmoss in your tank? all of those can affect pH

 

[75g Discus Tank]

If your kH is low or you have something like peat, wood, or leaf litter, the pH should drop a bit.

To buff the water, you could add some crushed coral.

Also, are you using CO2?

 

[Jenoli42]

PS: once you test your kH, we can give you recommendations to raise your kH (and therefore pH) gradually... i just don't wanna jump to that before we know

 

[Keith Leazer]

I think the test kit is a good ideal.
My kit does not test for Kh.
I have 3 pieces of drift wood with 3 live plants and and about 6 Marino balls

 

[Jenoli42]

I think the test kit is a good ideal.
My kit does not test for Kh.
I have 3 pieces of drift wood with 3 live plants and and about 6 Marino balls

fair enough. if you want to test, that helps us nail down what's going on.... but i suspect your drift wood and live plants are what's bringing your pH down. that's not bad at all as long as it's stable.

 

[Keith Leazer]

I'll get back to you after I get the test kit.
I've notice my ph has slowly went down since I put the driftwood and plants in.
They were not added all at one time. Maybe 1 ever 3 weeks. I was just testing the water.no pun intend . To ser how live plants would do.

 

[Mazeus]

Which fish are you keeping? Depending on the species it may be beneficial to have a PH below 7, not great if you are keeping african cichlids though.

 

[Keith Leazer]

2 angels,2 blood parrots,7 glow fish,2 clowns,2 sharks,1cat fish,1 pleco