# HOW? tap ph 7.6 tank ph 6.????



## mrbiged (Jun 3, 2008)

How does the ph in my tank get 6.0 when the tap ph is 7.6?? :-?


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## Joels fish (Nov 17, 2007)

There are lots of reasons this happens. Tap waters ph will tend to drop a bit under most circumstances but the amount of the drop depends mostly on your local water chemistry and the type of water purification system your municipality uses. Also things like driftwood , plant material decomposing in the tank, CO2 levels , and even time of day all contribute to changes in PH. You might want to consider using a buffer like Bullseye 7.0 to help stabilize the PH if you consider this a problem.


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## toddnbecka (Oct 23, 2004)

Something commonly called old tank syndrome. After a tank has been established for some time (months, and particularly if not cleaned thoroughly enough) biological activity lowers the pH. All those bacteria breaking down food, waste, etc. produce organic acids that nullify the carbonate content of the water. The kH drops, then the pH, and it becomes a real headache to try to raise the pH. You can add chemicals to raise it, but the pH will keep "rebounding" until the acidity has been overcome. 
Aside from cleaning the debris out of the gravel and filter/s more often, the easiest way to raise/buffer the pH is to add some crushed coral, seashells, or limestone rocks to the tank. A handful of crushed coral in a filter is probably the best method. It will dissolve very slowly, should be good for at least a year before you'll need to replace it.


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## mrbiged (Jun 3, 2008)

thanks for the help.. *** been adding a ph upper by API and *** seen very lil change..


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

Is the 7.6 pH right out of the tap? You might want to draw some into a clean bucket and throw in an airstone for a while, then test. Will give you the true tap pH, which is usually lower than what it is right out of the tap.


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

mrbiged said:


> thanks for the help.. I've been adding a ph upper by API and I've seen very lil change..


You need to check the hardness (Gh and Kh) of your tap water. If you do not have enough buffering capacity, your ph will always drop. Those Ph up and down chemicals will only fix it for a very short time. It is treating the symptom and not the cause. The swing in ph when you do water changes can be very harmful to the fish.

Rather than spending the money on commercial buffers, take a look at the "rift lake buffer recipe" in the library section. Based on what readings you get for the Gh and Kh you can buffer it just right for pennies. Baking soda and epsom salts are extremely cheap.


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## mrbiged (Jun 3, 2008)

thanks for the help, and ideas... i went today and bought a neutral ph balancer... maybe it shall work.. how do i check the hardness of my water??


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## peterl (Nov 27, 2006)

Same thing with my 20 gal. cory tank, plus the hardness was dKh 1! My tap is pH 8, but the tank was pH 5!!

I think (I know) I was overfeeding, which I stopped. I also had a fair amount of old plant material deteriorating. I reduced feeding and did a few big water changes. I ended up with a bacteria bloom after a really thorough cleaning. It lasted about a week.

I agree with adding some sort of buffering agent, but not a chemical. I opted for a handful of crushed oyster shells in the filter. You can get crushed oyster shells at any feed and seed store.

After a week my tank is crystal clear. I am going to check the water parameters tomorrow to see if the pH has stabilized.

It should be noted, though, that my sterbai corys were spawning in the super-soft, acidic water. They ate the eggs in an hour or so, but that is another story...


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