Water is acidic- advice please?

M

mary

Guest
Hi there, i have tested my water over the past week and it is pale green- which indicates acidity i think. It is normally in the middle range. I haven't tested in a while however. I have checked there is no hidden poos and tried to "vacuum" floaty bits. Also have added extra clean water. My 2 axies are not looking very hungry either- usually they are ravenous ( they are about 8months old). I have never bought a nitrate/ nitrite testing kit coz of price but do you think i need to do this? Is there anything else i can do other than a larger water change?
 
I would take the sample to a pet shop and have them test it for you thoroughly. This will give you some numbers to start from. Then if the water remains acidic after a water change, you can add crushed coral or limestone to the tank. This will act as a buffer against acidity. It will also make your water harder, which usually isn't a problem.
 
i beleive in wellington the water is quite hard? but tanks often naturally become slightly more acidic as they age.

i dont think nitrite/nitrate are a problem, perhaps get the pet shop to test your carbonate hardness (kh) and show you while they do it. you want it to be at least 3dkh or 54ppm as apparently thats the lowest you can safely go without risking swings. if you do have soft water it is worth purchasing a kit (the aquarium pharm one does kh & gh and is approx $20) so you can moniter it as you slowly increase it, this will in turn up your ph slightly so would be a win-win situation if you are having slight problems with your kh.

probably best to get a tank water and tap water test done just so you know if its the tank or just the water causing it.
 
hi there, thanks for your suggestions-my husband said that baking soda can help ( no idea of quantities of course!)
have you heard of this?
Chemistry was never my strong point at school.
i mentioned in an old thread about the change in colour over a few hours from when the pH is tested in a sample- it seems to get lighter. I just wonder how effective a sample would be a few hours after removal from the tank- mind you animates is only 20 mins from here ( upper hutt)-wonder if they would do the testing straight away- will have to check.
 
Water samples won't change chemistry in the 20 minutes to the pet shop. The only thing that may change would be dissolved oxygen.

Baking soda will increase pH, but it is more of a temporary fix. I agree with Sharn, it's important to find exactly what's causing the low pH, and then work to correct that with whatever means are needed.

Good luck!
 
Hi, Im ot sure if it will be available to you guys, but the water we have here isnt right for the axies to live in as the ph is too high... so my petshop gave me a white substance called PH down... you can also get ph up... maybe it would be worth looking into =D it seemed to work for me and you only need a tiny amount at a time.
 
pH down and pH up are 'quick fixes' and are usually more stressful to the axolotl than pH's that are not within acceptable parameters. Wild swings in pH are harmful. You need to correct the problem long-term, not just for a few days.
 
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