# Finally Cycled Now Ph Dropping



## zeefs (Jul 26, 2010)

I finally have a cycled tank now for awhile with the number always being the same 
Ph 7.6 {same as my tap}
amm-0ppm
nitrites-0ppm
nitrates-10ppm

About 2 weeks ago i noticed my ph was starting to drop from 7.6 to 7.2 then 6.8 now i got it at 6.4 all of my other numbers are the same 0ppm.


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## Guest (Mar 6, 2011)

dont know the cause... wish I had that problem tho... add anything new to the tank???? i heard rocks and some woods can lower PH.... dont know someone smarter will chime in.


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## zeefs (Jul 26, 2010)

havent added anything new to the tank, I have 2 pieces of wood in the tank but not bogwood or anything with tannis in it and a couple of pond rocks


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## Piranha Guru (Nov 24, 2005)

Test your kH (buffering capability). My guess is that it is low and will need to be raised.


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## zeefs (Jul 26, 2010)

Ok ive heard people talk about kh and gh but never know whats goin on. im gonna do some reading on it and have my lfs check kh


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## zeefs (Jul 26, 2010)

what would i want my kH to be at always


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## Piranha_man (Jan 29, 2005)

Congratulations!

Glad to hear your pH is dropping to such a desirable level. 
You're very fortunate.


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## zeefs (Jul 26, 2010)

i went to lfs and he said my kh is moderate soft i dont know what thAT means i asked if there is a number like ppm or degree but he just said moderate soft


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## Piranha Guru (Nov 24, 2005)

zeefs said:


> i went to lfs and he said my kh is moderate soft i dont know what thAT means i asked if there is a number like ppm or degree but he just said moderate soft


That sounds like GH or general hardness. KH is carbonate hardness and refers to the ability to buffer acids in the water. KH should be between 50-100ppm if you are keeping soft water-community fish.


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## zeefs (Jul 26, 2010)

ok cool thanks man i thought he was lying to me, ill have to go to diff lfs or get a kh test kit


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## zeefs (Jul 26, 2010)

ok went to same lfs store again and seen his test strip and where i was on my own. I know now before he was saying both gh and Kh together i looked at where it they are now and gh was 75ppm and kH was 80ppm


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## Piranha Guru (Nov 24, 2005)

That is about right for your current pH. I wouldn't worry too much unless it keeps dropping. Have you cleaned your mechanical filter media in a while? Filter media loaded with a lot of waste (canisters have been known to do this), can cause pH crashes in lower kH setups. You aren't injecting CO2 are you?


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## zeefs (Jul 26, 2010)

I cleaned my cannister jan/31, cleaned my ac110 feb/10. No im not using co2 either

i did go from feb/12 to the 26th without any water changes and on feb/26 i only did a small 15%

could it be possible for the ph to drop naturally like that if i dont keep up on water changes


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## Piranha Guru (Nov 24, 2005)

Yes...your kH can only buffer so much and the more acids added by biological waste, the lower it will go. Your kH is fine for your tank's current pH, which is fine for p's. Just keep up with your water changes and filter maintenance and it shouldn't drop much more.


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## zeefs (Jul 26, 2010)

Ok cool man thanks so much


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