High pH woes

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snostorm
 
Posts: 84
Joined: Tue Aug 10, 2010 7:48 am

High pH woes

by snostorm

Hi there, so I have two tanks set up (you may remember I moved my Black Skirt Tetras to a new tank). My main tank always has a pH between 6.8 and 7.2 so all good.

Now my problem is my second tank that gets the same tap water and water conditioner. It has major issues with its pH, it likes to sit around 8 which is way to high for my poor tetras. I don't know what's causing it. It's got an under gravel filter with a filter pad, river rocks (that my main tank has too) and some mixed natural gravel/ small shells (not coral) as the substrate (it's second hand and may have been used in a Cichlid tank but I washed it). It's been cycled and set up for maybe 2 months? (ammonia etc 0). A few weeks back I added some drift wood and it's not changed much. It's heated to about 22*C (71F).

Any ideas to keep it a stable 7? It's a small tank around 10 gal (30l) so I can't pack to much driftwood into it. I can use a pH lowering powder but I don't like to use it to much as it jumps up quickly to around 8 again.

So any ideas?

Just one thing, it was used a gold fish tank with no issues no filter pad, then a fighter tank but with some white crushed rock with filter pad and it had issues, now different substrate and filter pad... do you think it could be the filter stuff?


natalie265
Site Admin
 
Posts: 746
Joined: Sat Nov 01, 2008 9:48 pm

by natalie265

Can you clarify what you mean by filter stuff? You refer to white, crushed rock--is that in your filter?

I'd recommend against using the ph down stuff. As you've already noticed, the ph jumps back up again, and that is worse for your fish than a stable ph that is a bit high.


snostorm
 
Posts: 84
Joined: Tue Aug 10, 2010 7:48 am

by snostorm

Sorry I'll clarity, the tank used to have white rock as the substrate, not any more... not really sure why I included that fact.

Filter stuff I meant like a filter sponge, one you would put inside or in this case under the under gravel filter.


stingraysrule
 
Posts: 271
Joined: Tue Mar 16, 2010 8:37 pm

by stingraysrule

The shells.
I would bet it is the leftover substrate with the shells in it.
Pull it out, and the old substrate too if you can, but at the very least pull the shells out of there.


snostorm
 
Posts: 84
Joined: Tue Aug 10, 2010 7:48 am

by snostorm

Hmm alrighty, thanks I'll see how it goes.

High pH woes

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