Should I Try And Raise My Ph? It’s At 6.

So my tank has finished cycling. 0 0 40.

I never saw any nitrites but I will add in around 4ppm ammonia and in 24 hours it’s gone so assuming it’s finished cycling.

During this time my PH has dropped. My tap water is 7.2. I do have a large piece of driftwood so this may be causing it to drop.

I did a 50% water change today however it’s still reading as 6 after a couple hours.

Should I try and raise it or just leave it at 6 for now and hope it slowly goes up with water changes?

I did try raising it with bicarbonate soda but this only held it for a couple days then it went right back down.

Hoping to stock it with red belly piranha.

Thanks for your help.

 

I'd remove the driftwood, and do a few large water changes again. They prefer 6.5-7.5 so your tap water is almost perfect for them.
Just curious how big is the tank? I'm seeing 40 gallon for one, or 100g+ for a group of four

 

I'd remove the driftwood, and do a few large water changes again. They prefer 6.5-7.5 so your tap water is almost perfect for them.
Just curious how big is the tank? I'm seeing 40 gallon for one, or 100g+ for a group of four

Thanks for your reply. Sadly I can’t remove the driftwood. I guess I could but not easily. Was pretty tough getting it in when dry would be a nightmare when wet.

It’s a around 160 us gal. I’m in the uk but everyone seems to use us gallons.

I cut a smaller piece of the driftwood off and put it in my 20 gal and that’s not changed the ph at all so not 100% sure it is that. It is a smaller piece but is the exact same wood so if it is doing that I would expect it to have altered the smaller tank slightly.

Picture for reference. (No rbps yet).

 

I did a 50% water change today however it’s still reading as 6 after a couple hours.

This seems extremely fast for driftwood. After the 50% water change the pH should have read ~6.6 meaning it dropped .6 in a couple hours
How large is it in comparison to your water volume? Also how much is it staining the water with tannins (ie how new is it/was it boiled)? EDIT: Just saw the update. I would not be so quick to remove the driftwood if it is that difficult and doesn't affect other tanks.
What was the timing on your tests of the tap (during the waterchange or earlier)? Was the tap water tested aged or let rest before it was tested?

This could be what happened when you tested the tap.

 

Thanks for your reply. Sadly I can’t remove the driftwood. I guess I could but not easily. Was pretty tough getting it in when dry would be a nightmare when wet.

It’s a around 160 us gal. I’m in the uk but everyone seems to use us gallons.

I cut a smaller piece of the driftwood off and put it in my 20 gal and that’s not changed the ph at all so not 100% sure it is that. It is a smaller piece but is the exact same wood so if it is doing that I would expect it to have altered the smaller tank slightly.

Picture for reference. (No rbps yet).


View attachment 523887

According to my trusty google conversions calculator, that'd be ~605L. That's a great tank size though, probably a lot of work to change that much water.
I'd take a look at what the above poster said, maybe let the tap water sit for a day the test again

 

This seems extremely fast for driftwood. After the 50% water change the pH should have read ~6.6 meaning it dropped .6 in a couple hours
How large is it in comparison to your water volume? Also how much is it staining the water with tannins (ie how new is it/was it boiled)? EDIT: Just saw the update. I would not be so quick to remove the driftwood if it is that difficult and doesn't affect other tanks.
What was the timing on your tests of the tap (during the waterchange or earlier)? Was the tap water tested aged or let rest before it was tested?

This could be what happened when you tested the tap.

Thanks for your reply. The driftwood was actually second hand and had been in a tank. I had some tannins at first though because it had dried a bit I guess but can’t see much now.

Good idea on leaving the water out I do test right from the tap. Only other thing is my small tank is constantly at 7.2 the same as the tap so I figured it didn’t change much as it aged.

I’m thinking maybe I’m reading the liquid test wrong and it’s actually below 6. My lowest reading is 6 so perhaps it’s lower but just shows as 6? So while the water change might have increased it by .6 it is still below 6? Would that be possible?

 

According to my trusty google conversions calculator, that'd be ~605L. That's a great tank size though, probably a lot of work to change that much water.
I'd take a look at what the above poster said, maybe let the tap water sit for a day the test again

Thanks again I’ve got a hose straight to the tap so while it is a hassle changing with a hose running through the house it is better than back and forth with buckets haha

I will leave some water out then give it a test tomorrow

 

What test kit do you have? You could post pics for us if you need help reading it

 

I've never had a problem with a ph of 6. In the wild, a lot of fish species that some from waters filled with botanicals tend to have a pH less than 7, sometimes up (or down haha) to 5.5. The good thing is at a lower pH, it takes more ammonia to be deemed toxic, since the acidity of the water leads to the formation of ammonium! So that's always a nice thing to have IMO.


(You already may of stated it, but I missed it. Whats the gH and kH? If kH is low, it can lead to pH swings.)

 

HI guys sorry for the late reply I’ve left my water out and tested it and while it does drop a bit not near to what the tank is. I have included some pics below. I’m not sure on gH and KH. I’ve only got a strip test for those but it’s coming out as 0 on gH and 3 on KH if that makes any sense.

 

I'm seeing 6.5-6.8

 

I'm seeing 6.5-6.8

Sorry I should have clarified. The one that is 6.8ish is my tap water left out overnight. The other one the more yellow one is the tank Water.

That one is pretty much 6 isn’t it?

I did a 80% ish change today and right after my tank water was 6.5ish going to test it a bit later but hoping it doesn’t drop too much.

 

Yellow one is 6, blue is 6.8 I think
An 80% change should have brought it to around 6.5 I think

 

Yellow one is 6, blue is 6.8 I think
An 80% change should have brought it to around 6.5 I think

Thanks it did get it to around that. I just tested again and this is 4 hours since the change. It’s looking at around 6.4 so it is dropping. I’m guessing it’s the driftwood or the sand. Should I look to get some sort of stabaliser?

 

If you have tannins in the tank water, the colored test are not great to read because your water is not colorless to begin with. That might explain the difference.

Besides, there is absolutely nothing wrong with low pH
Pygocentrus nattererI summary page

 

If you have tannins in the tank water, the colored test are not great to read because your water is not colorless to begin with. That might explain the difference.

Besides, there is absolutely nothing wrong with low pH
Pygocentrus nattererI summary page
Show off your fish tank!

Thanks for your reply. That’s a good point it could be some tannins making it look off. I think I was mainly worried about it being less than 6 but showing up as 6. However I’m glad that after the water change it did increase to roughly what was expected. Would this fluctuation in ph during water changes be a problem though? In theory I would be doing around 25% week so shouldn’t cause as much of a shift.

 

Well after doing a google search it looks like the piranhas can live in pH between 5.5 and 8.

 

Well after doing a google search it looks like the piranhas can live in pH between 5.5 and 8.

Ah thanks I did do a google too but still wasn’t sure if 6 wasn’t really ideal. I think I will just have to go for it. Pick some up then monitor closely and hope for the best.

Thanks for everyone’s help .

 

If this were my tank I would add some crushed coral, oyster shell or sea shells to help stabilize the PH in the tank. It should keep it from dropping so low between water changes. I have very soft water and keep crushed coral and seashells in all of my tank. For me it holds the tank at a steady PH.

 

If this were my tank I would add some crushed coral, oyster shell or sea shells to help stabilize the PH in the tank. It should keep it from dropping so low between water changes. I have very soft water and keep crushed coral and seashells in all of my tank. For me it holds the tank at a steady PH.

That’s a good idea I could always put some in the sump.
Cheers