# ph drop



## maxx83 (Jul 21, 2008)

Hi...

I need advices....

My ph dropped way below 6.0 yesterday.......
i reajust it to 6.8 ....
The day after, it have dropped again below 6.........

I have a lot of peat in my filter and another bag laying around in the aquarium..... I love the coulour and it keep my ph to 6.6 - 6.8....

I dont know if peat can cause a so drastic drop??
I checked the KH, its almost 0... I'm suspecting this could be the problem for the drop..... 
And it seem the ph drop killed my good nitrite eating bacteria,it have gone out of control,can it be??)

Can the peat drop the kh so much?? Any idea? how i can i up my kh a bit without changing my ph??what can i do for my nitrite outbreak??

Any advices would be apreciated....

thank you

Maxx


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## Dr. Giggles (Oct 18, 2003)

Add limestone or crushed coral. As a temporary fix 1 tablespoon of Arm & Hammer baking soda for every 50 gallons of water once a day until desired pH and kH is reached. When you perform water changes you will need to replace the amount of baking soda. What is you kH of the water you use for water changes ??? And yes a pH drop such as yours will begin a bacteria die off. Usually around 5.5. To protect the fish from the nitrites add predissolved salt to the tank. Depending on your tank size a couple tablespoons should be plenty. Moved topic to Water Chemistry.


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## Guest (Aug 22, 2008)

maxx83 said:


> Hi...
> 
> I need advices....
> 
> ...


If you want to stabilize your pH, take out the peat.

Peat is highly acidic. Not only does Peat add tannic acid to your water (the source of the brown color), but Peat lowers the KH and pH by Cation Exchange. The Calcium in the Calcium Bicarbonate is replaced by Hydrogen Ions. The Hydrocarbonates eventually dissapate from your aquarium as Carbon Dioxide.


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## maxx83 (Jul 21, 2008)

Thanks for the reply.......

As for the peat.... i love the coulour and would like to keep it in...... 
There is certainly a way to have a reasonable kh level and keep the ph to 6.6 - 6.8 ??? while keeping the peat???

I have ph stabilizer, that raise the kh, while supposedly keeping the ph stable... It does not work... it raise the kh AND the ph.....

I have some acid buffer, that lower the ph, but convert kh into co2(so the kh goes down)

i tried baking soda....damn, my ph goes trough the roof......

I'd like to have a great dark water colour with a little acidic ph and normal Kh........

Any advice is apreciated......

Thank you

Maxx

(tank info: 90 gal higly planted with 7 3'' inch rbp
my ph is now stable, but at 7.6 with kh at 30 mg/liter ....my amonia and nitrite are now at 0.....)


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## Guest (Aug 27, 2008)

The fluctuating pH isn't good for the fish. Fish do best in stable water parameters.

If you must retain the peat, I guess you could just monitor the pH closely. Adding Baking Soda (Sodium Bicarbonate) is more of a stop-gap measure when the pH is out of control. I personally wouldn't use it for general maintenance. When I have a tank with a pH problem, I dissolve a little baking soda in water and pour it into the tank. Then I come back the next day, measure the pH, and determine if I need to add more.

Adding some crushed coral to your filter will increase your KH and not cause any rapid pH fluctuations.


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## maxx83 (Jul 21, 2008)

ok...thanks for the advice.....

i'll let you know what works...

Maxx


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## Piranha_man (Jan 29, 2005)

My only question is...

Why do you want your pH so high?
What's wrong with it being in the "Fives?"


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## Bawb2u (May 27, 2004)

Piranha_man said:


> My only question is...
> 
> Why do you want your pH so high?
> What's wrong with it being in the "Fives?"


Nitrosomonas growth is inhibited at a pH of 6.5. If it drops to 6.0 or less, nitrification stops which leads to ammonia buildup.


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## Uncle Jesse (Feb 18, 2007)

Not to "Derail" this this ,but i put crushed coral in mine . my PH is back stable at 7.5 but now my ammonia is reading alittle higher is this normal?

And if anyone is gonna do this for the love of god take your time and wash it REALLY good! lol unless you want cloudy water for the next month


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## Guest (Sep 3, 2008)

febsalien said:


> Not to "Derail" this this ,but i put crushed coral in mine . my PH is back stable at 7.5 but now my ammonia is reading alittle higher is this normal?
> 
> And if anyone is gonna do this for the love of god take your time and wash it REALLY good! lol unless you want cloudy water for the next month


I don't know what the connection between the higher pH and the increase in ammonia could be, if there is one.









Perhaps you have uneaten food in the aquarium and the icrease in the pH made the bacteria more efficient at digesting it, -but that's only a guess.


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## Piranha_man (Jan 29, 2005)

Yeah, and I have no idea what Bawb2u is talking about either.
A cycled tank is a cycled tank.


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## D.D.Denham (Aug 13, 2007)

Piranha_man said:


> Yeah, and I have no idea what Bawb2u is talking about either.
> A cycled tank is a cycled tank.


He is commenting on the fact that a low, acidic pH will start to inhibit your beneficial bacteria and if it drops low enough (below 5) the bacteria reproduction rate slows to the point where they seem to have "died" (although they do continue to reproduce, just at such a slow rate that cannot keep up with your bio load)...which is not good any way you look at it!


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## Bawb2u (May 27, 2004)

Piranha_man said:


> Yeah, and I have no idea what Bawb2u is talking about either.
> A cycled tank is a cycled tank.


He is commenting on the fact that a low, acidic pH will start to inhibit your beneficial bacteria and if it drops low enough (below 5) the bacteria reproduction rate slows to the point where they seem to have "died" (although they do continue to reproduce, just at such a slow rate that cannot keep up with your bio load)...which is not good any way you look at it!








[/quote]

Here's a quote and the link it's from to get more into specifics. http://www.bioconlabs.com/nitribactfacts.html

"There are several species of Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter bacteria and many strains among those species. Most of this information can be applied to species of Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter in general.

Temperature

The temperature for optimum growth of nitrifying bacteria is between 77-86° F (25-30° C).

Growth rate is decreased by 50% at 64° F (18° C).

Growth rate is decreased by 75% at 46-50° F.

No activity will occur at 39° F (4° C)

Nitrifying bacteria will die at 32° F (0° C).

Nitrifying bacteria will die at 120° F (49° C)

Nitrobacter is less tolerant of low temperatures than Nitrosomonas. In cold water systems, care must be taken to monitor the accumulation of nitrites.

pH

The optimum pH range for Nitrosomonas is between 7.8-8.0.

The optimum pH range for Nitrobacter is between 7.3-7.5

Nitrobacter will grow more slowly at the high pH levels typical of marine aquaria and preferred by African Rift Lake Cichlids. Initial high nitrite concentrations may exist. At pH levels below 7.0, Nitrosomonas will grow more slowly and increases in ammonia may become evident. Nitrosomonas growth is inhibited at a pH of 6.5. All nitrification is inhibited if the pH drops to 6.0 or less. Care must be taken to monitor ammonia if the pH begins to drop close to 6.5. At this pH almost all of the ammonia present in the water will be in the mildly toxic, ionized NH3+ state.


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