A few questions

I was wondering if the worms I'm feeding my girls and boy could be affecting the PH of the tank. The worms I buy come in a little tub, with some dirt which I presume is a mixture of peat and compost. I know peat can lower ph but my question is, would the small amount of dirt the worms have digested be affecting the ph?
I ask because I've been having trouble keeping the ph down in my 3 tanks, always below 6.0. All three tanks have different situations. And the only common factor is the location of them, (in my living room) and the worms I feed to the girls and boy.
I read somewhere about airation and carbon dioxide being able to lower the ph of a tank, but I am still to test out this theory.
In the mean time I'm forced to do frequent water changes to keep the ph at a reasonable level.
Has anyone had any similar problems? Or can anyone recommend a product to raise the ph and keep it there? (although I'd rather solve the problem causing it in the first place.)

Did you say you are trying to keep the pH down or up?

What is the pH of your water right out of the tap?

To raise the pH you can put crushed coral in your filter, you can add some limestone decor, you can add some salts see:

http://www.axolotl.org/requirements.htm

for salt mixture info.

Sorry, I contradicted myself in that last post... the Ph of the water out of the tap is at about 6.8 - 7.0
the ph in my tanks is at 6.0 - and I want to raise it to a more comfortable level.
I have been testing the effects of bi-carb soda but I find this only works for a short period of time.

(Message edited by lisapie on April 12, 2005)

raise the kH a bit, that will raise the pH in turn

There wouldn't happen to be any driftwood in your tank would there? Driftwood can lower the pH.

In one tank.... but not the other 2. Will raising the general hardness have the same effect?

From this site:
http://www.drhelm.com/aquarium/chemistry.html


Ways to increase kH:

· Adding sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). One teaspoon of baking soda added to 50 liters of water can raise the kH of the water by approx 4 OdH without a major affect on pH.
· Adding an air stone to increase surface turbulence driving off carbon dioxide (CO2)
· Adding commercially available products to increase buffering capacity

Ways to raise the pH

· Aerate the water, driving off the carbon dioxide (CO2)
· Filter over coral or limestone
· Add rocks containing limestone to the tank or use a coral sand substrate
· Use a commercial alkaline buffer



There are lots of pages out there on aquarium chemistry. I have never had to raise the pH mine is very very high. I tried to lower it a few times for some fish I was trying to breed and I was never successful at getting it to stay down more than a few days.