Reply With QuoteAdd a small amount of coral chips
The ph level of my tank keeps dropping to below 6. Any idea i can maintain it at about 6.4?
Substrate: Amazonia soil
Filtration: Undergravel filter
Fauna: Tiger shrimp & golden tetras
Plants: Various Nanas
Tank is fully cycled.
Currently using sodium bicarbonate to maintain ph at 6.2 but dont think this is a long term solution.
Add a small amount of coral chips
Sorry to hijack this thread. My tank PH is around 7.2~7.6. Which product can safetly really bring down and maintain at PH 6.0~6.5?
My setup is Sudo sand and ADA soil. But my PH always at 7.2~7.6 range. I had bad experience with mosura PH down.
To lower ph add peat moss
I'm using ADA Malaya, PH 5.3-5.5 for my 2ft tank.Originally Posted by Dscheng
To bring your PH up naturally, you can use coral chips or seashells. Chemical 'PH Up' products also work, but like all chemicals, may also have side-effects.
To bring your PH down naturally, using Indian Almond leaves, peat filtration will work, though both will stain your water. Chemical method is 'PH Down' products, though as mentioned above, may have side-effects.
It better to just let the active soil buffer the pH on its own... stable pH is more important than fluctuating pH. While you can use additives to increase the pH, that is actually "fighting" against the active soil buffering capability which exhausts it faster. The danger is if the active soil buffer exhausts and you didn't check and continue using the additives, the pH could suddenly swing up higher into alkaline levels and the livestock get affected (especially when traces of previously non-toxic ammonia suddenly become toxic at higher pH).
Most likely the amount of ADA aquasoil you are using is not as much (compared to the water volume, since you are also using sand) and your tap water pH is alkaline (which is usually the case), hence the soil can't buffer enough due to its low ratio.
One method is to simply use more ADA aquasoil to increase its buffering capability. The other is to use other natural sources like ketapang leaves, alder cones etc to lower the pH (though they can also tint the water yellowish due to the increase in tannins). Chemical additives are the other option, but have to be careful when using them and constantly monitor to avoid sudden pH swings.
I guess at the end of the day, if you really need lower pH conditions for specific livestock or plants, then just have to setup your tank to cater to their specific requirements (which will also mean you may need to make compromises in your aquascape design, ie. using more soil and less sand or rocks).
UA, yes you are right, i mix the ADA soil a bit only. That is my office tank, when i setup that tank, i never thought of setting up shrimp. Hehe, yes i try ketapang leave, my water also become yellowish. But my PH reading still showing 7.2~7.6. Oh yeah, i not using tap water, i using my office distilled water. Dont know why the PH wont go down.
I recall enjoying reading your old thread updates on your office tank with azoo 4 in 1 media. Is that the office tank you referring to?? Probably due to the azoo media releasing minerals into the tank??
Yes ! Thanks for reading my thread. I lost a few PRL on my office tank. Probably due to high PH, thought of plan to rescape my office tank. Hmm...
Most office distilled water dispensers supply water that have additives in it to make the water alkaline/pH stable and drinkable (it is not as "empty" as RO/DI distilled water, which are not recommended for human consumption unless re-mineralized), so the maintenance of higher pH should be expected.
My office distilled water show 0 TDS and 6.0 ph.
I see, my office uses the mineral water version so that its more suitable for daily consumptuon... i guess if your place uses the totally distilled water version then have to look at the other causes.
Btw, try not to drink too much of TDS 0 distilled water on its own, its mineral-deficient and acidic, so not as good for health over the long term.
Just remembered, did you use any media or shrimp mineral additives in the tank which may help to increase GH and pH? Hence even if you use lower pH distilled water, it could pull out the minerals so the pH is rebalanced back to alkaline conditions.
I am using Seachem Martix as bio media. I suspect is the sudo sand that buffer the PH? Anyway i plan to rescape my office. Intend to do mini UGF, maybe one first layer of martix bio media, follow by ada soil mix with up aqua sand. I got good experience with this kind of setup, it really maintain my PH 6.0
I remember someone did a test with Sudo Reef Sand and he used 0 TDS RO water in a cup and mentioned seeing the pH jumped up to alkaline levels (but when he used tap water to test, the pH never changed), then we realized its because the RO water has zero buffer capability so any residual minerals in the sand (even tiny traces of it) will instantly get leached out and shift the water pH up very easily. I think with the tank mostly filled with sand and much less soil, that was probably the case for your setup too.
I have kept tanks with 70% ADA aquasoil + 30% Sudo sand and using treated tap water (source tap water was pH 7.2-7.4 with TDS 70), and the tank pH could maintain at 6.4-6.6, so i guess that type of soil to sand ratio was probably enough buffer the water conditions. Its all a matter of ratios.
That is a very good analysis ! Finally I get the meaning. Yes I brought the Sudo reef sand is 1L package. I only mix a fine layer of ADA soil only.
=D I should thank ya instead, for the valuable info & experience that you shared. ^_^ Looking forward for your new tank update if you are rescaping.
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