ph not dropping much

[taz_boy]

hi fellow hobbyist,

currently i'm using DIY co2 which produce like 1-2bps.
but i found my ph not dropping much.....
it's currently like 7.3-7.4, quite high man....
saw a lot of pple with 1-2bps yet their ph is like 6.8-7.0, my Kh is 4
wat's wrong with mine??

1. there are no leaks in my diy, that's confirm!
2. there're no elements in my tank that raise ph

i'm diffusing my co2 using power head and reactor....
just modified my reactor a bit,
intially it comes with an "atomiser" and "1x bioball",
i just removed the atomiser cos it clogs up often,
now i got 2x bioball in my reactor....

pls provided ur advices....

[bclee]

How big is your tank?

BC

[michael lai]

Hi Taz,
You might want to add those Co2 tablets as an additional supplement for the tank as a cut in period. I tried it on my 2footer( so far so good ). But PH is still around 6.8-7. My tank was new setup so I change water every week for 3-4 weeks until the tank start to stabilize. Before the PH was about 7.5.

[juggler]

taz: Do you use coral chips or similar in your tank setup? They could be the cause of the rise in pH. Can reduce those coral chips if you have.

See http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_co2chart.htm where Chuck explained:

"There is on case I've seen where the addition of CO2 resulted in an increase in KH. This can happen when you have something in the tank that dissolves carbonate into the water. Seashells, crushed coral, and many gravels and rocks will do this. With the addition of CO2, the water turns more acidic, which will increase the dissolving of the minerals. It appears that increasing CO2 raises the KH, which isn't really the case. The dissolving minerals raise the KH, and the increase in KH results in an increase in pH... "

[taz_boy]

my tank is 3ftx 1.5x1.5,

a......i got a reply from another forum that the high kh, my kh=4, will affect how low the ph goes, izzit true??

Juggler, i do not have any coral chips, just normal gravels with some DW around....don't think DW will cause any ph change rite...

hi michael, co2 tablets, izzit stable, as in since i change 15-20% water weekly, will i need to constantly add the tablets to acheive 6.8-7.0ph??
and how long will it last??

[bclee]

DIY CO2 is not going to the sufficient to drop the pH significantly for the size of tank you have.

I am skeptical about the CO2 tablet thingy in whether it is really as effective. In a long run it might be cheaper to run a pressurised CO2 cylinder than to depend on CO2 alternatives.

If you want to stick to DIY CO2, you might want to use multiple bottles (maybe 4-5 1.5L bottles ). Stagger the change of suger/yeast mixture of the bottles to maintain a consistant flow of CO2. However, I have yet to see anyone keeping up with DIY CO2 long term. You've got to be quite diligent in doing that ... otherwise.... BBA!!!

Another alternative... go non-CO2... like me .

BC

[michael lai]

Hi Taz,
I'm experimenting also on this front. Whether stable or not is not clear at this time. But I use the tablet to boost my C02 as I'm also using DIY C02 in my 2 feet tank. Reason is because I have nothing to lower the PH besides the Co2 aeration.
I think I read an article posted by Vinz regarding raising KH to buffer any major PH swings. As this is also my low tech tank I'm trying to use as little 'stuff' as possible to maintain it. I added some small pieces of driftwood recently, PH is still about 7.
Thing is the plants are happy and growing but the malayan shrimps are alittle uncomfortable. some deaths here and there.

P.S, Tank is only 1 month old.
Boiload, 5 Tetras and about 20 shrimps.

[michael lai]

Hi Taz,
Regarding the C02 tablets, There are a few brands with different dosage but I think its a daily thing. Its like $8-$10 bucks for a packet quite expensive which will last 1 month for a two feet tank. I bought 1 packet when I was starting this tank.
Everything is experimental now, will update you later.

[taz_boy]

wow,
that's ex....to put 1 tablet per day for 1 month.....think in long run it'll be more than using a pressurised cylinder...

maybe bclee mention is true to a certain extent, my tank 3 ft too big for 2xDIY bottles to have significant ph drop, so may intent to add another bottle next week....

meanwhile michael update me on ur tablets effect.....ty

[michael lai]

Roger,will do.

[Northface]

Hi Taz,
R u using Canisters Filter? If yes, u can try adding peat into your filter.
My PH is 7.5 earlier but after adding some peat into my filter, it's now 6.6 to 6.8

[imrog]

northface, where do you get the peat from?

[imrog]

reading through the forums, saw that ADA amazonia and african will affect the PH too? is that true?

[bclee]

Yes ADA aquasoil contains peat that reduce pH.

Using peat or aquasoil will only reduce pH but will not change CO2 level. It will also cause KH reading to be "artificially" higher. You, then, cannot use the standard CO2 charts for pH/KH/CO2 read outs.

BC

[imrog]

THanks BC, I'm assuming then that I have to rely more on my own estimates for co2 etc if I were to use ADA aquasoil.

BTW, anyone know where I can get the ADA aquasoil amazonia(the black stuff) in the East?
Cheers

[ah^siao]

get a good co2 set will solve the problem.