pH too low!!!

[mimin5zidane]

Hi guys!

I've got a problem here. Tank have been cycled for 2 weeks. I'm using Gex soil for shrimp and plants. I know it has pH buffering properties. But now, its already 2.5 weeks. My pH started to go down to 5.4! Its 5.37 to be exact.

What should i do now? There are a couple of crs and rilli shrimps inside. My hornworts are shedding its leaves. And LFS is closed during CNY. :'(

[marle]

You can add coral chips into the tank to raise the pH and act as a buffer.

Might want to try polyart, its a lfs located at the same HDB block as Clementi C328.

[Neondagger]

Not a very good idea to use coral chips for shrimps. Maybe want to tell us what is in your tank to find out what causing the Ph to be low instead of randomly adding stuff to buffer the Ph.

[marle]

why is it not a good idea to use coral chips for a shrimp tank?

[stormhawk]

5.4 is low, it should be stabilizing at around 6 instead of 5.4. The presence of driftwood if any, may case the pH to drop as well over time.

If that is the case the use of coral chips as a buffer material is good. Just use a filter bag, fill it with coral chips and hang it in the tank. I too, do not understand why Neon said it's not a good idea. Rather than add chemical buffers to increase the pH, the use of coral chips is good enough.

[Neondagger]

Hmm ps I did not ask what shrimps his keeping cause for my crs my ph with ada soil normally 3-4. then if I use coral chips the gh can increase over time to dangerous level.
For more hardy shrimps higher gh will not have problem molting but for high grade shrimps it's quite dangerous I guess.
The reason why I said is not a good idea is due to coral chips increases gh too. for the amount of coral chips to buffer the ph by 1.0. It would increase the gh by 3-4. Which might cause molting problem due to hardier water but I can be wrong. So for the misinfo.
Thanks for correcting me.

I would like to suggest finding the reason for low ph and tackle it instead of trying to use any method to buffer it. Due to the fact that it might be temporary problem and once you put coral chips you might over use the amount and cause the ph to go up to 7.0 level and from 5.4ph to 7.0ph. You might cause harmful ammonia to be released. Which can cause ammonia spike.

If you want to use coral chips. Try to drop it piece by piece instead of throwing the whole bag into the tank. Cause such a amount of coral chip would cause ph to spike.

[Neondagger]

I would suggest doing 10% water change every 3days with aged water. This way aged water ph will be about 7.2-7.8. Depending on your area.
This would buffer the ph to acceptable level safer than coral chips.
It's better than using coral chips because coral chips would cause gh to increase and then you have to do water change again to lower the gh. Do you all agree?
This will be enough to buffer the ph to acceptable level. Do note that CRS can be kept in low ph. I kept my in 5.8ph but for it to show it's best colour. 6.2ph will be good.

[felix_fx2]

lets assume we all are guessing whats there in the tank.
use of coral chips is ok IMHO, but not too large quantity...
no one mention to use chemical buffers so far.

Lets wait for TS to revert 1st, rather then jumping to conclusions and giving wrong advice.

[mimin5zidane]

Hi guys!

Currently in tank are just lava rocks. There is only a piece of driftwood about 7cm long. I don't think it affects much because it was from my previous tank.
Is Gex soil really buffering my pH so low? Now its dropping to 5.19.
I did 10% water change and it increased to 5.8 but then the next day, it will slowly drop again.

[Jimmy]

i used coral chips in my CRS tanks too for years. it's ok but just need to ensure the quantity used is correct to get the PH value you desire.

[Neondagger]

i used coral chips in my CRS tanks too for years. it's ok but just need to ensure the quantity used is correct to get the PH value you desire.

Nice. Maybe I ask what soil you using and what your gh level. It's hard to get a balance of Ph and gh with the use of coral chips.
It seems your a expert. I do not question your success. How about sharing your success?
Ok maybe I should rephrase my answer.

The use of coral chips is ok if your facing Ph low problem but you need to be experienced to get a balances of Ph and gh with the use of coral chips. Sometimes newbie just get into the hobby and do not fully understand the relationship of the water parameters.
You all just say use coral chips. The coralchips packaging will not state how many pieces to use to get wanted Ph level. As a newbie, usually they throw the whole bag inside without knowing what will happen and then? Ph jump from 5.1 to 7.0 it's as bad as digging the soil and putting in New soil...
Maybe those people who are more experienced in use of coral chips can help by explaining in detail. Best how many pieces to use is advisable and hoe many pieces is too much that will cause gh to be too high.
How many pieces to drop per min or something. So as to not cause a spike in water parameter.
If you can explain all those then coral chips would be advisable. But could anyone confirm by using coral chips to increase Ph from 5.1 to 6.1. How much would be the gh level by 1month? And any other problem would face because of that. Unless you can prove gh would not increase to dangerous level. Coral chips would be fine.

From my experiences of using coral chips to increase my Ph of crs tank also advised from this forum. My Ph from 5.6-6.1. My gh gone up to 7-10. Checked by sera Gh test kit. Then again is gh 7-10 good for crs?

It's easier to control the ph by doing wc then use of coral chips and safer. Agree?

Ok I seen his tank and there seem to be nothing will cause the ph to be so low. But I did not ask about his filter media yet. If all item does not cause ph to be so low. Instead of adding coral chips. Would it be better to tackle the problem instead? Might be defect Gex soil?
Then again how many pro breeder for crs use coral chips to buffer the ph? Maybe they can share how to use coral chips safely Instead of saying. Use coral chips.... Cause (use coral chips) do open to many question. Like how to use it and how Much to use.

End of the day. The last question I have. Dun you all find it weird that ph can go as low as to 5.1? If it's the soil being over acidic then by using coral to buffer the ph by 1.0. Would cause the soil to expired faster? Gex soil. How long can it last? 6months? Then after maybe getting the right parameters after f1 berried f2 come over then soil expired coral chips take over the buffer ph to above 7. All shrimp die after 6months? Then what you all will say.

[Jimmy]

wow! what a reply! please ignore my posting. help for thread starter already found.

[felix_fx2]

wow! what a reply! please ignore my posting. help for thread starter already found.

He's quoting as he don't think it is a good long term solution unless there is a general guideline
Or
The cause of the ph drop is found.

[stormhawk]

@TS,

The use of regular water changes to control the pH swing is even more dangerous than not using a small amount of coral chips as a buffer material. Simple fact, a sudden swing in pH or GH as you mentioned, may kill the shrimps.

GEX soil should not have lowered your pH until 5.19 however. I believe in this case, either your tap water is too soft to begin with (should not be the case), or there is nothing in the tank to prevent the pH from dropping further. I do not think the soil is defective since in most cases, they contain some peat moss in the soil, which causes the pH to drop. The effect of the soil lasts for quite some time until which the pH will rise by itself slowly.

In that case, the use of coral chips, in lieu of other methods is advisable. Understandably, the GH will rise, so a small amount of chips in a bag should be used initially, with daily monitoring of the pH and GH.

One more question, are you using CO2 injection in this tank?

@Neon,

I understand your apprehension but the use of coral chips in countering the drop in pH is normal practice. As Jimmy said, getting the right amount is the tricky part.

------------

Simple fix to the issue, don't use soil, use inert gravel like lapis or quartz gravel. Then you can tweak your pH with peat moss etc. Tanks done by others have featured a mix of substrates and not just 100% soil. Some have gone soil-less with good results, so it's not necessary to use GEX unless required.

I use Sudo sand in my tanks along with Minerocks and some pieces of coral to control the pH swings. The slow release of minerals by the Minerocks and the presence of some bits of coral in the sand helps to buffer against the effect of the GEX soil. This however, may not be applicable to certain shrimps, but it works at least with Cherry Shrimp, so I believe your Rili should not be too affected by the presence of the coral chips. The CRS may react differently.

[Neondagger]

@TS,

The use of regular water changes to control the pH swing is even more dangerous than not using a small amount of coral chips as a buffer material.
@Neon,

I understand your apprehension but the use of coral chips in countering the drop in pH is normal practice. As Jimmy said, getting the right amount is the tricky part.

Ya. Agree. That's why you should use dripping method to introduce the aged water. So ph increase slowly.

Ya I know coral chips is a easy method. Lfs all use it too. Sorry for a long post not to scare anyone.
Short and sweet would be. Newbie fun know how much to use. And a answer like use coral chip might cause them to throw the whole bag inside.

So must be more specific so newbie do the right thing. Haha. I learn from my mistake. I throw the whole bag in to the tank. Gg.com

[stormhawk]

Bad idea to use the whole bag unless it's a huge tank with a sump running. Some people stuff the whole bag in the canister filter... with disastrous results. I've seen people use a whole chunk of coral fragments, which also works since it will dissolve slowly in acidic water.

[mimin5zidane]

Hey guys. I have communicated with bro neon. He was kind enough to waste time on me. Haha. Thanks bro.
Back to situation, i am doing 10% water change daily. Ph lingers around 5.5 to 5.8 after water change.
Some things that i am sure of is that my ph meter is accurate. Nothing in the tank to make it drop ph except for gex soil. Filter media is mr aqua m size.
Currently after doing 10%, the pH will rise but will slowly crawl back down. The lowest I've seen was 5.13!!!
So I am looking for other alternatives other than coral chips. Coral chips sound too tricky especially when bro neon faced death.
Another alternative for me is to reset my tank which means need to go shop again for soil or sand. And need to sell my shrimps..

[stormhawk]

Start a new sponge filter in the current tank, let it run for about 2-3 weeks until which you can move the shrimp and the filter into a separate container, while you reset your tank, so you don't have to sell your fish. Make sure this container or spare tank is free of any contaminants, especially plastic tubs. Always give it a good rinse because there might be a little bit of lubricants left from the molding process at the factory.

If you switch to lapis gravel or some other inert substrate, let it cycle the normal way and once all parameters are stable and safe, you can move the shrimps to the tank with the proper acclimatisation process.

[mimin5zidane]

I see. Maybe i should do that.
By the way, there isn't any deaths at all. Does it mean my tank is safe even at a very low ph? Or it just means that its only a matter of time before it dies?

[stormhawk]

If the shrimps are feeding, breeding and molting fine, there is nothing to worry about. I would only start to worry if the shrimps suddenly start to die, or fail to molt successfully.