# PH wants to stay at 6.0



## fluidnyc (Oct 15, 2003)

Sup All:

Did a water test today, after a water change.

ph = 6.0
nitrite = 0.50 to 1.0
nitrate = 5.0
ammo = 2.0 to 4.0

Was having a problem with ph being at 6.0, so i added crushed coral to the,
filter.. The ph went back up to 7.0, but now its back at 6.0 heh go figure.

Im thinking the black water extract is lowering the ph.
I dont know if it does for sure, but im thinking its the reason for the low ph.

Also I was reading wild piranhas come from waters with a ph of 5.0 +
and that 5.0 to 6.5 is an ideal ph for piranhas.

Also was wondering the behaviors of the P, it seems like there more aggressive when the ph is low,
and more Mellow when the ph is normal to high.

Why would that be? Anyone ever notice that?

L8tr- 
FLUID


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## Black-Phoenix (Oct 21, 2003)

If your KH is below 4.5 dH or so your tank is suseptable to PH change in a big way.
keeping up on water changes is a MUST in these conditions. As the nitrogen cycle can and will lower an established tank's pH over time. so if you skip a water change it's effection more than nitraites, nitrites and amonia.

CO2 (carbon dioxide) will also lower your PH, as will peat and black water extract, driftwood.

PH is a very important tank paramiter to keep constant....remember the scale my wich PH is raited isn't as simple as 1 pint higher........anincreas from a PH of7 to 7.1 it actually 10 times of a change, and a jump from 7 to 7.2 is 100 times differnt
*most* fish can handly an increase of 2-3 PH without any stress wile a drop of 3-4 is ok.

I strongly reccomend useing a buffer for your water if you plan on useing the black water extract ,and take carfule meshuments to keep the PH the same for water changes, other wise ditch it.


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## ralphinnj (Mar 2, 2003)

Just a minor correction: pH is a log base 10 scale, which means that a change from pH=6 to a pH=7 is 10x change in basicity. That is, every unit of pH is ten times more acidic as you drop down 1 unit.

Anyway, does any one know what the perfect range of pH is for red bellies?


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## Guest (Nov 23, 2003)

fluidnyc said:


> Also was wondering the behaviors of the P, it seems like there more aggressive when the ph is low,
> and more Mellow when the ph is normal to high.
> 
> Why would that be? Anyone ever notice that?


 Fascinating. As their river system dries up, the piranha become concentrated into small pools. The piranha kill the other fish and eventually turn on each other. 
It seems plausible that the lowering pH corresponds to a more concentrated solution of tannic acids and is a trigger for more aggresive behavior.

If you want a higher pH, why are you adding black water extract?

To increase your pH you could also try adding small amounts of Sodium Biphosphate (baking soda). I rarely use it myself because it increases the pH very rapidly.


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## fluidnyc (Oct 15, 2003)

My pH is good now..

I got my ph between 6.0 and 7.0 everything is running lovley right now.

There are still the Damm snails..









P's are looking real healthy!!


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## notoriouslyKEN (Jul 31, 2003)

> To increase your pH you could also try adding small amounts of Sodium Biphosphate (baking soda).


Sodium BiPhosphate actually lowers your PH.
Sodium BiCarbonate (Baking Soda) raises it.


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## DonH (Jan 25, 2003)

ralphinnj said:


> Just a minor correction: pH is a log base 10 scale, which means that a change from pH=6 to a pH=7 is 10x change in basicity. That is, every unit of pH is ten times more acidic as you drop down 1 unit.














> Sodium BiPhosphate actually lowers your PH.
> Sodium BiCarbonate (Baking Soda) raises it.


True... Generally speaking, phosphate buffers lower pH while carbonate buffers increase pH.


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