# Low Ph level



## The Don (12 Jun 2016)

Hi guys,

My ph level has drastically dropped to 3 and I've just purchased BASIS WASSERPFLEGE. Has anyone else used this in three low tech tank? My filter has three bags of puregen too which have recently been recharged.


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## The Don (12 Jun 2016)




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## dw1305 (13 Jun 2016)

Hi all, 
You probably can use it, my suspicion would be that it is a very expensive way of purchasing "plaster of paris" and limestone.





The Don said:


> My ph level has drastically dropped to 3


Do you have hard tap water? If you do you can just use a small proportion of it with your RO water changes. If you don't do water changes I would definitely start.

Another cheap option to raise pH is "oyster shell chick grit".

cheers Darrel


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## The Don (13 Jun 2016)

My tap water is really soft. I do weekly water changes say like 3 buckets as part of my marco fertilising. The tank is 240lt. It confuses me why a sudden drastic drop in ph. Haha yeah it was £17.99 but it was a Sunday and the local aquarium recommend I used it before all the fish died.


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## Chris Jackson (13 Jun 2016)

How are using measuring this? Are you sure that the instrument you're using to check the ph is correctly claibrated?


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## xim (13 Jun 2016)

Although ph is logarithmic, it's not very far from white vinegar (pH 2.4). I don't quite believe the result is right.


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## ShawnMac (13 Jun 2016)

Assuming your test kits are accurate and being used correctly (which would be the first thing to check when you get strange readings). The rapid swing in pH probably means a lack of buffering. You should consider using a GH and KH booster to your water changes. You should adjust KH slowly as rapid shifts can cause problems for fish and invertebrates. 

You should generally know your KH and GH out of the tap. If you do not, take a measure and then using whatever buffering product you decide upon (DIY or commercial brand) add to get your desired KH and GH. You'll only really have to measure the first time and can assume that the same amount added to the same volume will have a similar effect. 

Sources of KH can be baking soda (Calcium carbonate) or commercial boosters like Seachem's Carbonate which is part of the aquavitro line. They also have a GH booster named mineralize. There should be some online calculators to help with dosing DIY boosters.


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## The Don (13 Jun 2016)

Water tested at local aquarium. I was shocked to be honest when she said 3, the last time I experienced a problem was a couple of months ago when I went away and asked my parents to feed the fish.  I came back to no shrimp must of lost 40+. I never considered the ph level, put it down to miss feeding them and did my water changes, recharged my purigen bags, took my water sample to the local aquarium and went back to fertilising. I tried introducing shrimp again a couple of weeks on but with no success. Friday I notice a dead simonise algae eater dead and my khuli loaches eating the body. Did two water changes and got the water tested to find out I've experienced this PH crash


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## Chris Jackson (13 Jun 2016)

Eeeek, 

I suggest you get yourself a good quality KH test kit and add either Sodium Bicarbonate (As in bakng soda, *not* baking powder which will make things more acidic) or Potasium Bicarbonate (which will also act as a fertiliser) to raise your kh to around 4-5 which will buffer your water from such crazy ph drops. I'm in a very soft water area also and used to have to add sodium bicarb at every water change. I've now got some beach sand in my tanks that achieves the same thing though I still have to keep an eye on it.


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## The Don (14 Jun 2016)

Thanks for all the advice, so far I've added half a tea spoon of this BASIS WASSERPFLEGE Sunday and Last night, hopefully at the end of the week I should have the ph back to a normal level over a gradual period so not to shock the tank. The fish haven't seemed to be suffering and plants are fine. I'm guessing in future I should add this product to my water changes and get myself a testing kit to keep an eye on rather than wait until something happens. Chris would you suggest I get some potassium bicarbonate off eBay also? I'd like to re introduce shrimp again so hopefully once everything is stable again I can.


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## Chris Jackson (14 Jun 2016)

potassium bicarbonate will be adding extra potassium which should not hurt in theory but in general gardening it has been suggested that excess potassium can reduce the uptake of other nutrients though what an excess might be is anybody's guess.

I prefer to use sodium bicarbonate to raise my kh and keep the potassium side of things added within my fertiliser additions. I really do not claim to be any kind of expert regarding the intricacies of all this however...


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## alto (15 Jun 2016)

I'm a fan of potassium carbonate to raise KH - Seachem uses this in their product line Aquavitro KH (link included for dosing information ... though must admit I have a bottle or 2 of the Aquavitro line )

High levels of sodium (Na+) can also have less than wonderful effects depending on plant/livestock species - as in most things associated with fish & plant keeping, balance is key

I've read a lot about pH crash over the years but have never experienced it despite tap water with GH 1-2 & KH 0-1, pH usually runs ~ 6.5
Commercial systems are more prone to this effect re (very) high stocking density etc.

There are various natural water habitats that run pH 3 - 4 so it's not surprising that fish can do very well ... where the issue arises, is with introduction of new stock which will likely be coming from a system maintained ~pH 7 & suddenly placed in pH 3
Also fish coming from neutral or alkaline waters do tend to prefer these sorts of habitats (effects may be seen in unusual biochemical modifications, behaviour, sex of offspring etc)
Additionally there will be pH effects on the microflora/fauna living in the filter, substrate etc ... it's just a lot easier if you keep your tanks in the (expected) pH 6.5 - 7.5 range    




The Don said:


> so far I've added half a tea spoon of this BASIS WASSERPFLEGE Sunday and Last night, hopefully at the end of the week I should have the ph back to a normal level over a gradual period so not to shock the tank. The


sounds a good plan

I don't know how 3 buckets translates in terms of water changes, you want to aim for ~25% - 50% weekly water change; this will usually ensure that your tank conditions don't drift too far off your tap water parameters.

From what you've posted, you're definitely experiencing some issue with the tank (commiserations on the losses) so changing things up seems a good idea.


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## The Don (18 Jun 2016)

Just an update: ph now up to 6.0 kn 0.6 ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 250. So I've done another small water change this afternoon and added another half a tea spoon of the German minerals. Hopefully another week and it should be at a good level.


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## alto (18 Jun 2016)

The Don said:


> nitrate 250.


that may provide some clue as to the pH crash ...
Try diluting your tank water sample with tap water
eg, Sample 1) 1 part tank : 1 part tap
Sample 2) tap water
Sample 3) tank water

Running the 3 samples will rule out any nitrate contribution from tap water (in sample 1)
Sample 1 should be half the value of sample 3

If your results are unexpected, then repeat samples to make sure it's not just measuring error

You can also run
Sample 4) 1 part tank : 3parts tap (this is a 4X dilution so expect 250/4 ~ 60 - 70)

Easiest way to do the dilutions is just use any measure for each _part_, mix the sample gently (don't want to mix a lot of air in), then remove the amount for your test kit sample


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