Water p.H problems

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sarah

Guest

• May 8, 2006

• #1

no matter how much acid-down powder i put in my tank, the test keeps showing high acid rate in my results. ive changed the water 4 times added acid-down and every test is the same.
my ammonia is 0.50 would this have anything to do with it? everything else is 0.

 

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anna

Guest

• May 8, 2006

• #2

Is your water hard or soft? I had heaps or trouble with the tank water going very very acid and it was due to the fact that the town water in coffs (NSW) is really soft. My first axie died of ammonia because the water got too acid and killed the bacteria. Check the KH/GH of the water and if its soft you can add things like bird grit to the filter to make it a bit harder. Its working for me so far. Prolly a good idea to keep an eye on the ammonia too in case that is what has happened. Hope this helps.

 

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sarah

Guest

• May 8, 2006

• #3

i checked it this morning after adding a large amount of acid down b4 i went to bed, and i got a reading of 7.0 my ammonia rate is still at 0.50, then i added eco-start, to kick-start the good bacteria in the filter.
i hope the large amount of acid down wont effect the axies

 

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anna

Guest

• May 9, 2006

• #4

Not sure if the powder affects them but pH fluctuations do. I would definately find out how hard your water just to make sure it isnt that.

 

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sharn

Guest

• May 9, 2006

• #5

mmm, your axies arent going to be liking all those ph swings much. often those type of products are a short term fix and dont rectify the problem. get your LFS to give you exact readings on kh and gh (make sure they give you exact numbers).

so your adding acid down which to me means bringing the ph down hence making more acidic (or does it mean increase alkalinity and make the water harder)? but then you say high acid rate which means its very acidic? its late here so i might not be thinking properly so sorry if its a stupid question hehe.

if you can get a base reading from your tap that will help so we can see what your working with. let a cup of water sit overnight and test the ph in the morning, if you can take in a sample of water for when you get your kh and gh of your tank water tested thatd be cool

 

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edward

Guest

• May 9, 2006

• #6

It is difficult to modify the pH with some of the pH products on the market as they do not buffer the pH to keep it within range. This means that depending on items like hardness and alkalinity, the change to the pH caused by these products can be at best temporary.

Ed

 

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teesha

Guest

• May 12, 2006

• #7

i use an "oxy shell" it is basically a neutraliser block. Its heaven. I occasionally check the pH and it is always within one pH from neutral. I highly recommend this. Its much less stressful if your axie has water at the same pH rather than its preferred pH one day and the other opposite another day.
changing water frequently (hard water) also helps. Adding bicarbonated soda at a particular interval can also help buffer and keep the pH more stable also- this goes hand in hand with harder water......im a little rusty at this stuff so dont take my word for it!

 

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sarah

Guest

• May 12, 2006

• #8

ok what about adding small plants into the tank?. i only have fake ones, and i got some small leafy ones from a pet store today, i was told that it could help.

 

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susan

Guest

• May 12, 2006

• #9

I was worried about my water so went to the Sydney Catchment Authority site for an analysis of the water quality - I imagine that Coffs does the same - either on the local area government web site or on whoever is the water authority up there. Sydney water is sitting on a pH of about 7.3 at the moment - I think that is axy friendly - you should also be able to find out about the chloramines etc in the water that way - try www.coffsharbour.nsw.gov.au - I haven't had a look there yet but there seem to be some references. That will give you a base line to work from.

 

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sharn

Guest

• May 12, 2006

• #10

plants probably wont do much in the way of hardening or softening your water.

baking soda added to the bucket at water changes before it goes into the tank works wonders for kh and ph (gh too? not sure), however it is a very touchy thing and there is a very specific ratio to add to adjust it 1 degree etc (which has escaped me).

i read the oxy shell things once, its just bicarbonate of soda or something like that in a fancy block but it will work.

if you have a filter in your tank with places for sponges etc buy yourself some bird grit (the stuff birds eat). stuff that into a stocking, wash it and pop it in your filter. it works wonders to get everything up but you do need a fair amount, ie for my 220L i used a whole pack (350g) in my external and it got the kh and gh up from 2 to 5, and the ph from 6.8 up to 7.4. alternatively you can pop a few nice clean shells around the tank (sand off sharp edges).

if you can get a base reading of your tap water it will help alot, there may be something in your tank adjusting your parameters that you havent found yet.

hope this helps

 

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sarah

Guest

• Jun 2, 2006

• #11

its hit 6.0!
Sharn..normal clean seashells from the beach do the trick?
im looking for oxy shells but no luck.

 

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sharn

Guest

• Jun 2, 2006

• #12

if you can get bird grit from the supermarket (its the stuff they eat) that would probably be best, at least you know its clean and all you have to do is rinse it and pop it in a clean stocking and into your filter/somewhere with good movement.

if you cant just get some shells with very little hidey holes and give them a good boil and scrub, sand sharp edges and pop em into the tank.

 

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jennifer

Guest

• Jun 2, 2006

• #13

In addition to what Sharn has mentioned, the following items/products will also work. All of them are basically just calcium carbonate, which will dissolve very slowly and equilibrate the pH.

crushed shells (sold in pet stores for saltwater aquariums)
Calci-sand (sold in pet stores for reptiles)
limestone

 

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sarah

Guest

• Jun 2, 2006

• #14

ok i found 6 oxy shells and baught them alll LOL
i did a 10% water change and poped it in.
ill re test the water tomorrow and see the results. i have plenty of shell grit as im a bird breeder and ill try that next, but im not running a fliter, so i might have to pop it in a bag of some sort or maybe stockings?

 

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sharn

Guest

• Jun 3, 2006

• #15

stockings are what i put my grit in.

does it say the oxy-shells are calcium bicarbonate? i read it on one packet once but am unsure if it applies to all brands

 

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sarah

Guest

• Jun 3, 2006

• #16

the ones i got are from VitaPet. it does not say anything about what its made from.

 

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sharn

Guest

• Jun 3, 2006

• #17

thats the one i read being calcium bicarbonate (i think lol). anyway, let us know if they do anything

 

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sarah

Guest

• Jun 3, 2006

• #18

ok is that still safe?

 

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sarah

Guest

• Jun 6, 2006

• #19

ok the oxi block aint workin the acidity is skyhigh. im going to take it out and use shell grit.

 

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alex

Guest

• Jun 6, 2006

• #20

i advise you to put your axies in a different container/tank because they will definintly not like the ph fluctuations and its dangerous if the ph gets any lower than it is. better to have it higher than lower i think. do you know what could be causing the ph to do this?