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#1
12/16/2004, 05:01 PM
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ph problem!!
Hi,
I am having problems stabalizing my ph. I have a 33 gallon with a powerhead and a canister filter. I have three zoomed fluoresent bulbs. I cleaned my aquarium about five days ago and the next day I saw my four fish breathing really fast. So I checked my water and noticed the only thing wrong was the ph was down around 7.2. So I began to add sodium carbonate (this stuff called buffex) and it got back up around 8.3 a few days later. So I stopped adding it and the next morning, before my lights went on, I checked and it was back at 7.2. So, I did the same thing again and this morning it was back down to 7.2. I also lost my purple dottyback=(. Now when I added water, after the water change. My water was strangely already at 8.1 without buffer added. This is usually the case and I have never had problems before. Any ideas how I can fix this and avoid it in the future? Should I let my tap water sit over night before use to get a better reading. I use an eletronic pen ph detector and the liquid test quit stuff to test the ph. Thanks Jay |
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#2
12/16/2004, 05:13 PM
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Have you checked your alk levels and your carbonate levels. These are the buffers that keep the pH stable. It may be that these are getting low so there is no buffer in the tank to prevent the pH from swinging that much.
It is normal for the pH to change between day and night. It will drop at night becasue the algae in the tank is respiring and letting off CO2 and then in the water this reacts to form carbonic acid which will lower the pH. Then during the day the alage will stop doing this and perform photosynthesis which will cause the pH to rise. Most peoples tank will do this but the pH should only drop to around 7.8 or so at the max. Give the alk a check. |
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#3
12/16/2004, 05:33 PM
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You need to post the rest of the tank parameters, Nitrate, calcium, alk, etc... All these things are tied together, Without knowing them little can be to help.
__________________
Hear me now and believe me later.. |
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#4
12/18/2004, 12:08 PM
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The alkalinity level is pretty high (i tested the KH). I was reading up a little and correct me if I am wrong, but if there is not enough calcium in the water the alkalinity drops?
I had scratched off a lot of coraline algae from the glass when i did the water change. That would make sense in being the cause. Any idea how to fix this? Thanks Jay |
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