STOP CHASING pH! Fish Tank pH Tips for Healthy Fish [This Calmed Both the Fish and Me Down!]
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- čas přidán 18. 10. 2017
- Stop Chasing pH! A stable pH is more important than being exactly at a specific pH number. But many fish keepers use additives, "Buffer Up", "Buffer Down", baking soda, etc and can bring about too sudden a shift that can shock their fish.
Here is some advice and simple tips to help stop chasing pH and risking a complete tank crash.
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This is my 1st aquarium ever. I jumped head first into it and did a planted tank. Finding channels like this is a God send. You've got a subscribe from me 💚🖖🏾
Update on your tank… pros and cons..please
I’ve come across a few of you videos lately looking for info on a new tank I’m setting up and the info you share has been a great help. Thank you for taking the time. I subbed so I can watch your older videos and I look forward any new videos that you make
Great advice. I have fish 🐟 who following an aquarium water change were 'flashing' or doing the 'shimmy' wiggle and now I understand why.
I've stopped chasing the pH and my freshwater planted aquarium is doing well; also saving money on aquarium maintenance products. Thank you Ben.
Best video I’ve seen explaining the pH levels! Straight forward, and informative! Thank you!
You never fail to amaze me with your knowledge brother 👌
Good video Ben. Thanks for the feeding advice. I'm going to try it out.
Love your videos! Very helpful and easy to watch! Thanks for your 2 cents😊
Another good topic Ben. I had that problem with Discus, trying to match or lower the Ph and it was a nightmare. Then I leave everything alone and they was happy and growing.
Fish can adapt and sometimes it's less stressful on them to be a little off but left in a stable condition instead of being messed with and the numbers shifting up and down.
Thanks for watching.
Hi Ben, I enjoyed this video! I really like the face to face format. I agree with not chasing a pH but keeping it steady by whatever reasonable means required by the fish keeper to keep it close to optimum range. Thanks very much for sharing your video
Excellent advice-straight forward. Thank you.
Thanks for the info on chasing ph. I just started with South African cichlids and was freaking out. I was like a new dad with a baby lol. Thank you for your help.
Amen. One of the best advice you can give Mr. Ben
Thank you Jackie!
Perfect intro music! Spot on man. So long and thanks for all the tips!
you prolly dont give a shit but if you guys are bored like me during the covid times then you can watch pretty much all the new series on Instaflixxer. I've been binge watching with my brother these days xD
@Adan Braylon Yup, have been watching on instaflixxer for months myself :)
Thanks for sharing your knowledge Ben.
Hey Paul, we're playing the same game. Keep getting the word out, help the hobby and have some fun.
First video I've seen. Very very good advice .
Thank you Martin. I'm glad that you liked it.
Great info Ben, thanks.
Great info Ben!
wow, thank you I did not know what the flashing or shimmying meant when I changed my water. I will re-add the water slowly. Thank you so much. U r a godsend
Thanks for the info, it helps me a lot.
Great video! I just added crushed coral to my two tanks because I believe the stratum is lowering my ph to a 5.5 from an 8.0 out of the tap. I feel like that’s too low so I’m just hoping this gently raises it but not too high. From what I have read, it shouldn’t raise it too high. I’m going to do ph testing everyday for the next while just to keep a close eye on it !
Good info Ben thank you. Have a good weekend!
Thanks Gator Boy and you have a good weekend too!
Ben Ochart so far so good. Gotta share some excitement with you. Just purchased a small colony of my first Tropheus Ikola! They arrived Thursday morning and are super! Am very happy boy.
just what I was searching for!
I'm glad that you found it!
I like this topic and would like to suggest Kama especially to newer people, that this can apply to all sorts of parameters in your tank, not just pH. What I mean is that you will find a lot of people, particularly at big box stores and really even at general pet stores, that want to sell you things. So they tell you that it is very important that everything be 100% perfect in your tank... and they are happy to sell you things that can affect your tank like a teeter totter. They will have you with low ph and then high pH, again being quite happy to sell you things to correct the problems. If your basic supply water has a relatively decent pH, if you find your pH is off then you typically need to do more frequent or more aggressive (higher volume) water changes. This is the same as when people find nitrates and nitrites off, and all of the sudden go crazy cleaning the tank and cutting way back on fish food in order to bring these values into line with what they want. Everything in moderation, except for your water changes, which need to be regular and of sufficient quantity. Good topic sir.
Excellent show
Great Video lots of good info thanks for sharing your knowledge and time
Hey Dan I appreciate you taking the time to watch and your support of the channel!
Thank you for explaining this in a simple way. So I have a 10 gallon community tank with 2 gold mystery snails , 3 red shrimp, 1 fire dwarf gourami, 2 black neon tetra, and 3 neon tetra. Ph was at 6. I did some research and I got confused. I went to Petco and the guy told me to buy ph up solution. I did, but was very hesitant to use it. I just didn't feel right about it. I went back out and bought crushed coral as and cuttlebone. I broke the cuttlebone up and wedged the pieces all over the tank under rocks so the snails can get to it. I put coral in a media bag and put it in the filter. I had no idea how much to put. I didn't want the ph to go up too fast and shock the fish. I didn't have any directions on how quantity. I put about 2 tablespoons and retested the ph 2 days later only to find it was still at 6. So I put in 3 more tablespoons , retested again 2 days later and it went up 2 colors at 6.6 I didn't add any more because I wasn't sure if it was done going up and I didn't want to take any chances. So I retested again 2 days later and it's still at 6.6. Should I put in more coral? How much? I also heard the baking soda method, but then I found out that it's only temporary and the ph will crash back down and the fluctuation of it spiking up ( which I know is bad) and then crashing will kill the fish. So I'm scared to use that. Can you please tell me if I should add more coral and how much or should I leave it at 6.6. As far as the fish go- they seem fine. They eat and seem to be enjoying life.
Great tips...I like thee natural way of adjusting water parameters.I like the look of driftwood and get the added benefit of a small reduction in the ph for my tanks.
Thanks for sharing.
I agree plus the natural way is usually gradual and less likely to shock the fish with sudden shifts.
Thanks for watching and commenting!
Ben Ochart But what about when you do water changes? The pH of your tap water will be different from the pH of your aquarium water which could result in a shock to the fish when you you change it because they are not the same.
Thanks for another great video Ben. I used to be concerned about pH when I first started but I've changed my train of thought on that. A lot of people say to keep your Africans in high pH water. I find it hard to believe that I should keep the pH level above 8 for African cichlids that were that raised at a neutral pH from day one. All of my tanks pH is around 7. I keep peacocks,mbunas, and severums. Everybody's doing great
I’m of the same mind. I always have kept things to help hold a high pH like aragonite and crushed coral but recently I had to new my South American tank for a batch of ACs. No aragonite, coral, nothing. Just sand, artificial plants and water. They are doing great.
Hi, I had Ich few months ago and ever since my water has been off. Also just realized I have city water full of chlorine which kills good bacteria.
Currently with some help my levels are good except ph. Lower than 5. I have mostly African cichlids. Ich killed my fave fish 6”
Red fin Gorali🙄 but rest are doing ok. Any suggestions would be much appreciated! Just moved and house came with 125 tank 2 yrs ago. I’m completely addicted but feel I’m always chasing the water. I have seasonal job and paid very little attention this summer and they were better than ever.?
Hi Ben, this is probably the hardest topic to explain clearly, accurately and without misunderstanding. Because, we all start from a different place, That is the first principle.
I have watched 4 videos on this chasing PH topic, all from CZcams fishkeepers with harder alkaline water (with inbuilt buffer) Advice must be specific to the source water you are starting with for this to work. I have 0 KH and 20 GH source water. This means my neutral PH aquarium drops like a stone in acidity. The rapidly falling PH guarantees that my tank will fail in 3 - 6 months. So the underlying subject of PH stability, buffers and KH is critical for ultra soft water aquarium keepers to learn in order to be successful.
EXCELLENT point Colin. It really is always a "balance" that has to be considered and as you state, the starting point is critical.
Here's an example, I'm in the middle of doing a collaboration with Eaven Alexander (#HAPNATION) and in it I talk about how ammonia gets more and more deadly as temp and pH increase because the ammonia becomes more water soluble and absorbs into the fish causing organ failure and cutting off O2.
So many balances to keep in mind for the fish keeper. Part of why I love the hobby is how it has forced me to learn about these kinds of things.
Thanks for watching and commenting. Much appreciated.
Starting out in the hobby and agreed with this statement. My tap water is pH 6.5 with Zero kH. So I HAVE to add some aquadur to get it to roughly six for most community tropical fish. GH is now 11.0 and hopefully we don't lose all our fish again. Not one shop asked or informed us about the kH being important when we live in the area of the country with the very softest water! pH none the less is 7.5-8.0 and will aim to keep it there rather than get it to some theoretical 'ideal' value
colinbarsby these keepers here on you tube are killing a ton of fish that come from areas where they have no buffering in there tap water with this new don't chase the PH barrage mentality.. they assume everyone in the world have good kh
Great video
Nice.....balance for the subject
Vivosun 800 gph made a great pump on Amazon it was cheap and it’s very sturdy I use it for filling up tanks on water changes. Just a thought for a pump for your future project on the sump build
Good video . Great video .
Thank you Joe, much appreciated!
Great info. I didn’t know that drift wood lowered ph. My ph is low for my new African Cichlid tank. I do have rocks in there. I won’t chase it the fish appear to be doing fine. I sea the rubbing occasionally but this is a very new tank so.... I’ll keep an eye on it. Thanx for your knowledge bro.
Thanks for watching. If you need to raise pH you can add limestone, coral or some aragonite substrate.
Hi Ben I fully agree with you. When I started with discus some years ago I initially tried to get all the parameters on point which ended up being a major pain from one water change to another having to age water in order to get the parameters matching with those of the tank etc. After some years I have now come to the conclusion that stability is key and it is better to get your fish used to your water then trying to adapt water to what you believe has the right parameters as the fish would find in the wild. As you rightly point out, most of the fish in our tanks do not come from the wild Having said that, there are a number of products out there which add 'minerals' to the water, one such product here in Europe being JBL's Aquadur. In principal I do not agree as I feel it messes with your water parameters. What is your take on this?
Nice Job. I love the element of intrigue involved in aquarium keeping. I've been looking after tanks for most of my adult life and I am a curious person..like all of you.
Great video! Thanks so much I learned a lot! My ph is steadily 8.2 in my guppy tank, I feel it's high but it's steady and they are fine with it until water changes then a couple will flash for a day, plus I didn't know coral will make ph rise, my daughter brought me back a few pieces from Mexico, I put them in the tank, maybe not a good idea for me Since it's already night! Thank you!
Hi Heather. It the slow steady release of minerals that neutralize nitric acid that raises the pH, and yes, coral will do that. You can add a piece of drift wood which might help to balance things out. Plants are also good since they consume nitrates, CO2 and release O2. I'd keep real ones if the cichlids wouldn't destroy them.
Thanks for watching!
Well said.
Thanks.
Good video 👍
Good advice
He told the good old fashioned truth. Even about most fish that we purchase is raised in hard tap water. My discus thrive in a ph of 7.3-8.2 depending on the time of year. The only thing that I do is add trace minerals to my African cichlid tank which also has a few central americans in it. They all do well.
Probably the best explained vid in PH levels in the tank! Well done sir x
Thank you Chloe!
Good stuff Ben ph is the only thing I don't chase in my tank i have 7.8 out of the tap and a price of coral in my tank lol thank for the info
Good tip ben!! With my new tank i bought all the buffers and lake salt getting ready to start the tank and after testing my well water at the tap the PH was 8.2 so i just went with straight well water without any additives and so far going on 4 months its working out! But the only problem i had which we talked about before was the high nitrates, other than that i guess I’m lucky with this tap water!
Lucky indeed. Keep an eye on those nitrates. Products like Seachem Prime will neutralize nitrates but will not remove them. I'm hoping the algae scrubber I have installed does the job and lowers nitrates. It might be the answer a lot of AC keepers have been hoping for.
Ben Ochart yeah ben we will be excited to hear the long term affects on nitrate with your new scrubber! My nitrites are around 20ppm but thats just with a mbuna and one 4” hap, I’m concerned when i start adding more fish, will just have to take it slow!
Update coming within two weeks
Good topic and could not agree more. I use tap water which I store in a storage container for 24hours and just run a small carbon filter. I also use no water conditioner any more. Seen the guys chasing PH then have a crash.
Thanks..it helps.
Thanks 🤩☯️
Great advice,the lower the P.H. the more difficult it is to stabilise,like trying to keep a marble in the center of a tray whilst walking.I read about scientists examining native tropical fish in the Amazon,and they found some species living in water with a P.H. of 5,that's the same as grapefruit juice!!,I've had R.O. water that's had a P.H. of 6,before adding any minerals to it whatsoever.
pH 5, wow! I remember seeing a deep ocean documentary. There were some vents blowing boiling hot water, heated by a volcano at the bottom of the ocean. Sulpher mostly was blowing out of those vents, but the outlets were covered with sea life, like soft corals. It's amazing how adaptable life will be and can be.
@@BenOchart absolutely my friend,to me at least and many others,definitive proof that life exists on other planets,maybe even within our own solar system,as you say they have found life in some of the most extreme environments imaginable,there are some incredibly tough life forms here,I just hope they never find any like 'Calvin' in the 'Life' movie!!😨😀😉✌👍
Great video Ben. I’ve had recent heartbreak from my first fishtank which I’ve only had for two months. The aquarium told me I could do a 20% water change which I did. So I took out 120 litres from my 650 litre 6 ft fishtank. Added the correct amount of ph 7 crystals, de chlorinator etc. in 24 hours the tank turned a nasty white cloudiness. When I came home the fish within several hours died in front of me 😢😢😔. I had no emergency tank (something which I already have).
I checked my ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels which were extremely low to 0. I found out later that my ph hit the roof to about 14 😐😔.
Later on my aqua friend turned up to help me. We did a water test of my tap water BEFORE I ADDED THE PH CRYSTALS. My tap water was already at ph7.2 before I did anything.
He also says seasonally the quality of tap water changes from winter to summer. So I’ve learnt all this the hard way and most people in aquarium shops and you tubers don’t know shit and people follow their advice blindly. I should have left my fishtank the way it was for a few more months but I lived and learned. I hope beginners can learn from this.
14! Something most have entered the tank during the water change. Some cleaning chemical or agent of some kind. I've had several aquariums for several years and occasionally a large water change can cause a cycling event with increased amounts of amonia , or a pH shift of a few points. But a shift that large had to involve something other than water. Sorry to hear that happened. Make sure any buckets and hoses that you use are strictly used for the aquariums.
I had a die off once when I did several large water changes over a few days. It's sad but I learned that less is more.
Never dose anything that you're not testing for. Test before and after every time. Otherwise it's a roll of the dice.
Thanks for this video what's your veiws of using seachem cichlid lake salts ?
I use them. Fish always seem colorful so I guess I’ll continue using.
Hey Ben, how long until the Aragonite sand buffers the new tap water when it enters the tank during water change? Thanks :) and also I don’t need any solutions for PH since I have a thick layer of aragonite?
Thanx👍
Oh man, tell me about it! With the record snow/rainfall we have had here this year, the ph has been yo-yoing almost constantly. Fitting, as after decades of fish husbandry, this is the first year I have kept cichlids. Keeping me challenged, and interested.
Your experience is coming in handy. I've heard about cities messing with the water supply, adding this or that. People forget to test their tap.
Good luck and thanks for watching and commenting.
This video is great! I did so many mistakes for overdoing things when I begun... Poor fishes. The internet is full of advices, and sometimes maybe too much advices. I'm thinking of writing a list of this to do or not to do with maybe raking its importance and different approaches to fix problems. For example, the best thing I learnt recently: take care of your plants to have healthy fishes: if they thrive, they'll filter the water in a great way, and they will take care of any algae issue you may have, and you don't go the CO2 route: just give them liquid and solid fertilizers. After some years combating black beard algae without success, feeding my plants is what solved the issue and my tanks looks better than ever!
Thank you and great points on the plants.
Thanks for the info I bought my very first aquarium, just now the nitrogen cycle completed was very unsure what to do about the ph as it was coming very high(7.6), its a 10 gallon tank could you please suggest me how many fish I can add at a time and max how many I can keep in this tank. I want to keep only small fishes.
Thanks Ben
Will up date after I use aragonite substrate
I just ordered 80 pounds of aragonite for my 150 project. Great stuff.
Hey great video. I’m having an issue with my ph it is at 6.4 but I don’t have driftwood in there. It’s comes out of the tap at 7.6. What would make the ph drop if there’s no driftwood. I do regular water changes. I wanna add crushed coral. If I put too much will the ph climb above 8??? Or will it stay at a certain ph?
Our PH out here runs around 8. Setups gonna be 1 parrot (new) , 1 bala shark (4 years old, 10" OAL) + some bottom feeders. Should we adjust the fish to the 8 PH or do what?
If you try to lower PH with driftwood, should you ever have to replace it for it to keep working?
I'm having a hard time keeping stable PH. Our tap water is 6.8 to 7.0 where I live. My tank is a 32 gal. planted tank with Co2 pressurized. I just re-set this tank up 2 months ago after tearing it down after a good 7 year run and starting over. This time instead of gravel I have Fluval Stratum. My bubble count is just over 1 bubble per second. LED Lighting is a Fluval 7500K full spectrum 24", 32 Watts runs 6 hours per day, but not at the brightest setting; it's dialed down a little. The CO2 is on a timer which starts just before the lights come on and shuts down 30 minutes before the lights shut down. My PH goes down to 6.0- 6.2 every day and then back up to 6.8 by the morning. I know the CO2 will lower the PH but my Fluval CO2 indicator at day end is barely in the green zone. (optimal CO2 PPM). My local fish shop guy told me to put some coral chips in the filter to stabilize the PH but it seems to make no difference. Any suggestions or tips? thanks! PS, all the fish seem happy and I have not lost any since setting it up and adding a few at a time. 4 Ruby Barbs, 5 Neons, 4 Buenos Aires Tetras, 4 Black Skirt Tetras, 2 Dwarf Gouramis.
Good vid Ben. I don't chase PH at all ...ever.
You're a smart lady 😀
This is how I know you don't do saltwater :)
I need some advice. Just started to use seachem prime, stability, matrix and pristine in my 10L tank for betta fish. pH has always been around 6.5-7. However, noticed that pH is 5.6 today, do not understand what could have caused this. 50% water change done every 5days but filter sponge not changed. I opened up my filter and it has a very strong chemical smell of matrix and filter sponge is dirty.However, I understand from the seachem website that these products do not alter pH. Appreciate some pointers.
My only question is that I chase the "planted aquarium" and that creates new issues. I have very hard water and use peat to soften it...we will see.
I have a 54g that has stayed at 7.5-8ph but with my 125g it’s like 8.5 maybe even 9.... I use the same water and I don’t have anything In the tank that would alter that... my fish all seem fine. I have a redtail shark, 2balas, 5 Odessa barbs, 2 blue gourami and they all seem fine.... I was thinking of adding some drift wood to lower the ph. I hear it lowers it slowly so it shouldn’t shock the fish. How big of a piece would I need? I don’t really want a large piece of it, just something to make a slight impact back into the 7.5-8 range would make me feel a little better about it lol
Or should I just leave it? My fish are all young, 2 inches or less I believe
On every water change I add half tap and half distilled mixed before adding. That gives a PH about 7.6, and I roll with that.
If it works, definately roll with it. Thanks for watching
wildbill9919 i did that too!
I didn't even think about that! We have really high ph here. Driftwood has barely been keeping it in check. I was debating trying peat pellets in the filter.... hmmm.
Ben. I am having a problem with my Teal Cichlid finding himself to the left side glass continuously going up and down, been a few days.. Seems stressed. 60 gal, pelco, 2 red dot severums and the cichlid (all babies) is all I have. N03- 10, N02- 0, GH- 25-75, no clorine (well water), KH- 180ish, PH- 7.8ish
I can relate here.
When I first got my German Blue Rams, I chased a pH under 7.0 and could never achieve it.
Closest I could get with RO was 7.8.
Finally I said screw it and they're fine. I have been using RO and mineral suppliments.
I'm currently acclimatizing them to our city water around pH 8.4, so I can introduce them to my community. I'll then have a quarantine and hospital tank available for when needed
How did your rams get along in your hard water?
@@hassansyed7959
They did fine, but too mean to breed
@@kinglyzard how many years did they live for or do you think hard water had an impact on lifespan
@@hassansyed7959
They lived a good life until my heater malfunctioned and cooked them 😞
I used distilled water with additives.
I wish I had seen your video first.
Hey how's it going?
I recently used API general cure in my tank, and now I have a very very low pH level. I asked at my LFS if there was a connection, and they did not think so. But I never had a problem with my pH balance before! Could there be a relation here? And will a PWC resolve the issue? I guess I'll find out shortly! Thanks
Can I ask you if the water is burning my hands is that because the pH is too high?
I have two fish but they're in the tanks where the water is just a little acidic
The third tank despite the fact that it has cycled media that one tends to be the worst
I'm just wondering if it's because I'm not using secam prime
I've never used it before I wonder if it would prevent my fish from dying
guppies and betas are kept in glass flower vases so the water's changed like every other day so I think that's why they can live but I like having a larger tank so I can watch my fish swim
My bettas is or my guppies or whatever I have I just feel really disappointed.
I like aquascaping and I like taking care of fish. I've been in the hobby for 3 years I don't know what to do
you need to buy an API kit but even if I know what the pH is I don't know how to solve the problem
How do you add the water back very slowly? Do you use a pump?
Great information as always. My PH comes out at 7.8 straight out of the tap and I dont touch it for my African cichlids 👍
Pretty much perfect. Some would say go to 8 or 8.2, I say if the fish look healthy, active with good color, don't mess with a good thing!
My own Rodi water is way too acidic. When I do a water change and prepare my saltwater I noticed the ph went to 7.8 in the newly prepared water which I know is slightly low.
As I have been topping off the evaporation with straight rodi water (no salt) my ph in the tank is slowly dropping. I’m thinking some crushed coral in the sump or treating the top off water with sodium bicarbonate so not to add the low acid water to the tank. By the we have a water softener, which maybe why the water is this way?
Thanks, Dave
Hello!
The water from my tap tends to be around 8.0, and I'm keeping fish that tend to like it less Basic, such as tetra, coryfish, and potentially fish in the future. What should I do? I don't want my fish dying due to high PH levels, nor let ick thrive.
Rumia acclimate the fish to your ph from tap ... I know people that keep all types of soft water fish in 8.0 & their fish are happy . It’s more about stability than chasing ph . Fish are very adaptable if you do changes slowly .
Get ph up on Amazon
Or ph down or there 7.5 ph on Amazon
im thinking about getting a 2 ramirezi cichlids but my ph is around 8... would it be suitable if the ph is stable? like the whole tank is stable its a cycled tank for half a year now.
What would i need to do to keep these cichlids happy?
My tap water is very acidic, but my GH is way too high. My KH is fine. I add baking soda with every water change and my PH is now neutral in my tanks. I have goldfish, live bearers, and African clawed frogs. I'm trying to get my GH down a bit, but I want to keep the KH where it is.
We have a high pH I our tap. 7.6 -7.8 and goes up to 8 fairly easy. But we have fish that like a lower pH. Low 7's any ideas on how to help bring and keep it down to there happy pace so to speak? We have had it go to 8 ad kill 2 fish
And how long after adding crushed coral will the ph go to 7.6?
What if you use Ro Di water? what do you do then Just a curiosity ? Because, when you use ro di water you have to add in additives just saying we have horrible water in my area. So I use small amounts of them. Hope I'm not doing it wrong
RO removes all the minerals, right? You would need to add something like baking soda. Check this out:
www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/water_chemistry.php
Hi Ben. I have a koi pond that is 800 gallons and it has been running it for about 2 months. I have 23 fishes ranging between 3 to 14 inched. My problem is that I have been having issues with high ammonia. I have been adding beneficial bacteria to my filter(Matala Biostep 10). It improved briefly but it crashed again. Furthermore, my ph had been terrible as well. It has been acidic with a ph reading of 5 ppm. What can I do to maintain a neutral number. Thanks ahead of time. Lynn
Buy a hundred pounds of crushed coral or aragonite and line the bottom of the pond with it. It will add minerals, help to neutralize nitrates (nitric acid) and help stabilize pH. Add plants, lots of them. Encourage some algae growth since it will consume nitrates. For some reason it doesn't sound cycled. Your bio-load might be exceeding your benefical bacteria. The added substrate will provide a home for the BB as a side benefit. Add bubblers since the O2 will promote BB growth. If things fail to stabilize after taking these steps you're going to have to cut back your stock, like 30% ... but in an 800 gallon system that shouldn't have to occur.
Ben,
My tap water is ~7 Ph, Kh 2-3, Gh 3-4 and TDS around 150 ppm.
Seems pretty good for most fish, right? But I see my KH and Ph lowering pretty quickly and my TDS rising. What would be causing that?
You might want to add dolomite, crushed coral and or limestone and see if it stabilizes.
Hi Ben. I’m thinking about moving my Frontosa colony into a bigger tank that has clown loaches. The tank the Frontosa is coming from has a ph of 8.4-8.5. The tank the clown loaches are in has a ph of 7.4-7.5. I think clown loaches can tolerate an upper range of 8ph. I also think that’s the bare minimum for the Frontosa. I can use buffers to raise the ph to 8 but is this a good idea? My fronts need a bigger tank and the only thing I can do without buying another tank at the moment is put these Frontosa in with the loaches. If I don’t raise the ph the fronts won’t thrive and probably won’t survive. Your thoughts?
Over the course of 2 or 3 weeks I’d swap a couple buckets of water back and forth between the two tanks to bring the pH closer together. I think the fish will acclimate to the different pH. It’s the shock of the initial sudden change that would concern me the most. By swapping water you’ll bring the tanks pH closer to each other which will be easier on the fish.
@@BenOchart thank you. I have a quick question about something totally separate. I have adult South Americans in my 125 that I plan on moving to a 75. They get along for the most part. Would they also thrive together in a 75 or can things change.
Ok so I am becoming a disciple of Trevor O'Shea. I am going to begin testing and working on gh/kh. It involves careful testing and gradual adjustment . Idea is once you get a baseline on tap and tank kh you can have a known dose and just verify at water change time? What say you?
You can go two ways, 1) let fish climate to what you can provide them (perhaps risks the fish never reaching full potential) or, 2) really take the time to measure and dose carefully understanding that if you mess up a crash might occur that stressed out or kills the fish. I’ve gone the first route.
@@BenOchart yes I understand. Tempting to see the benefits from optimizing kh though.
Hey, Ben, hope all is well, great advice but my fish guy wants my water at about 7.0 and I’m about 6.2-6.4 ph I was told. In my expertise a smidge low shouldn’t hurt the fish but other than crushed coral what’s the best natural way to get it up .7-9 in the safest way cause the common sense if you get it from 6.2-.4-7 right away can cause harm. It’s like if we take medication gotta wean off little by little so we don’t get sick, So I’m looking for somebody like yourself that can help me get it the PH up I think .2 every 24 hours or so to get to 7. Would be safe, Would appreciate your help, thank you I set the tank up last Friday put a dish in on Sunday. Tested today no ammonia thank god so I didn’t do age for nitrite since there’s no ammonia nitrate was low so that’s canceled out PH was 6.2-6.4 I want it at 7 Sorry for the king message but my fish eat better and live better than me lmaoo
Try to get a hold of some limestone and use it as decor (or break it up, rinse it, and put it in a filter). It should help.
My 6.0 Ph is just horrible. I’ve noticed my Red Fin eyes turn grey when the PH is low. I use to think it was caused from ammonia. But my parameters were and is checked often when I see his eyes this way. 💥 Boom! I raise the Ph his eyes clear up. He’s not even from lake Malawi 🇲🇼 but it’s odd. Ph does matter. Also the longer you go without doing water changes your ph will drop no matter what substrate you use. Keep up the good work and keep a bottle water 😊
Deon 0026 How are know my pH is low my Victorian will get cloudy EyeSo I just raise the pH up a little and then it goes away
Greetings. I’d like to ask for advice in regards to my tank. I’ve owned it for about 1 year now.
5gal Fluval Tank with inorganic decor (76-78 degrees), 1” fine black gravel, 4 zebra danios, 1 otto (algae eater), 2 ghost shrimp (debris cleaners).
My ph comes out the tap at neutral (7) and in my tank goes low to acidic (yellow). The [exact] cause to me is unknown; even after research.
The ghost shrimp usually die after 1-2 weeks of tank introduction and the danios were thriving until after 3-4 weeks and then they slow down and will start dying.
I do water changes (10-20%) weekly. I use a hand pump water siphon and try to clean the gravel too.
What could be the ongoing cause for the low ph and the subsequent death of my aqua life? I want to get expensive betta, but won’t until I figure out what is the cause of this low ph issue.
After multiple water testing (petsmart/Petco/home-test), the other tank water attributes are fine. The ammonia, hardness, nitrites and nitrates all check-out as acceptable.
It’s just the PH is low.
Should I be concerned about low ph and how does it negatively impact my fish?
The one time my ph balanced out to neutral was when I only had 2 fish left (others died) and then I added extra doses of Fluval Safe-Start to jumpstart bacteria load. I was adding a full cap a day for 4-5 days.
Should I be adding more Safe-Start and is the issue a lack of bacteria? Ive heard that you cannot overdose on bacteria with Fluval bio-enhancer products, but does that also apply to a Fluval Safe-Start product as well?
I thought I read somewhere that one of the signs of an overgrowth in bacteria are the fish “gasping for air”. My fish are currently displaying this symptom.
What should I do?
I think you may have too many fish for that 5 gal try getting a 15-20 and with shrimps I would get a couple snails
@@arianaawer8413 - Thank you! I got a 10gal tank and things are a bit better.
How can the tank be safe on Ammonia and Nitrates but the PH still be very low🤔
I am trying to cycle my two 55 gallon tanks with a couple cheap 50 cent gold fish in each. Its been up and running coming up on 3 weeksish. I have two 350 HOB marinelands on each. I know I don't want to disturb the filters at all during this time. But what if I ran a test and it came back .3ppm on ammonia 0 on everything else? I know when the tank is close to being cycled I will have some nitrates correct? Ty
It's cycled once it registers nitrates and ZERO ammonia and nitrite.
my tap water is 8-8,4 ph out of tap and full of minerals. Im trying to keep Betta fish, i keep roots and katapa leaves in the tank. i started using water from the filter we use for drinking water, i also run it through a charcoal water filter to remove chalk ( use the same before i put anything in my water boiler or for cooking)
i dont get any significant drop in PH, is it better not to filter the water and use what i have out of tap?
How about fluval peat granules?....my ph is 7.6. every time I water change....want 6.5. .have bettas, rasboras, Ottos and Cory catfish.....when ph is to high....I lose fish...mostly catfish. Is peat safe?
Let’s say you do add VPI’s PH up
/or/ PH down - how long should you wait until you test it again?
can I ask you a question my ph out of the tap is 8ph and I keep central America cichlids should I leave it at that or is that too high for central America cichlids
Mines 8.3 and am about to do the same thing. How did it go for you?
Should I buffer the tank water that has a PH of 5 while I'm cycling? Or is that gonna make the ammonia more toxic?
Yes and yes but you wouldn’t add fish until the ammonia (and nitrite) is zero
If my tank has been running for a while and drops to a lower PH than my tap water, should I bring the ph of my water change water down to what the tank is? Say my tank is 7.2-7.4 and my tap ph after conditioned is 8.8 should I maybe bring that down so it doesn't swing my tank to bad? I have notices it being my ph up to around 7.8 after water change.
My tanks too small for african cichlids (30 gallons) and my ph is 8.8+ outta the tap so not much else is compatible. So its either bin the tank or stick fish that aren't appropriate for it in it. Seeing as though I've already spent hundreds getting this far I figure I'm just gonna stick what I want in anyway haha. Only one species that I have my eye on even remotely comes close to my ph and thats still a long way off it at 8ph max
I have a 60g tank set up that i wanted to install a wall in but the tank is already established with fish.. i was told the wall will spike the ph in the tank for a while at first.. is there a safe way to do this without harming the fish? Or will it harm the fish at all?
I have never heard of a 3D background changing pH. I would suggest speaking with a Universal Rocks or Aquadecor rep and see what they say on the matter.
My ph is holding steady around 8. But I need to get my kh/gh up. I did a api test which revealed 6 drops for kh and 7 for gh which is well under the suggested 200/400 ppm for rift lake cichlids. I bought crushed coral and seachem equilibrium will either one of these help raise my kh and gh?? That’s the last parameter I have to get in spec. Your help would be greatly appreciated!!
see if this helps: www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/water_chemistry.php
Hi I've got a problem with the water that I have in Taiwan..
I'm an American I got into the hobby 3 years ago and I cannot get the water not to burn when I use my fish tanks.
I don't have aquarium soil I don't overdose on liquid fertilizer I use a water conditioner it's not seachem prime thinking of switching it.
the only plant I have in my tanks are any kind of any kind of anubius because that's the only thing that lives
I cannot get betas to live guppies and betas.
I don't know how people keep their fish alive here I've got all the proper equipment I do the regular water changes even I just filled up my tank with fresh water and I added to coordinator and it's been running for a few days I have filtered media but the water burns when my hands are in the tank rearranging the plants it burns now I don't have any fish
Strange I have two fish tanks and the water doesn't burn in one of them it's smaller it's a 2.5 gallon the other tank is a 7 gallon the water doesn't burn much but it's all the same water I don't know what the problem is it's all the same plants.
The only thing I can think of is I need to buy a bottle of sechem prime
Hello n hi, I'm having ph problems in my 55 gallon fish tank, with just 3 tiger Oscar's and medium size and just did a full water change about a month n a half and charged it about 2 weeks ago but just a few gallons, my ph is at 6.0 at times or just a little higher than what it the correct or close ph for Oscar's and I 2 females one male 2 of them and are Albinos orange n white, and the bigger one just a tag bigger Orange and Black I have Bubbles in etc. Thanks 👍🏾
If you use aragonite or an African cichlid sand mix (Caribsea), does it eventually become inert and you replace the substrate?
I've written to CaribSea and will share their response when I receive it. I had tanks running for 4 years with crushed coral and they always tested fine. Not sure about aragonite. Let's see what Caribsea has to say. Stay tuned.
@@BenOchart thanks! I'm hoping to start my first cichlid tank within a year or so (shell dwellers). But my pH and hardness are no where near recommended levels. Caribsea's products are always recommended but I just don't know about its longevity claims.
How often can I clean my DIY fish filter