Question/advice

[Connor Elliott]

My tapwater has a GH a 5.6 dh

my tank water has a GH of 5.6 dh

my tap water has a KH of 2.4 dh

my tank water has a KH of 2.4 dh

my tap has a ph of 8.2 

my tank has a ph of 7.4 maybe a little lower why is this? I do have driftwood and catappa bark is that why? Also should I add a mineral supplement for my low KH?

Edited January 13, 2021 by Connor Elliott

[ScottieB]

What kind of fish are you keeping? Are they happy? Healthy and eating? I would avoid chasing numbers as long as everything is doing well. 

But if you want to investigate some more, consider aging the water from your tap for a day or so, test the pH again. I’m no chemist but depending on your tap water the pH will change after the gas escapes  (Oxygen in higher pH water, or CO2 in lower pH water). 

Your tank itself may still have lower pH from some of the sources you mention because  there’s less buffering capacity (with lower hardness). You could consider adding something to buffer the pH but only if your targeting specific parameters. 
 

[Steph’s Fish and Plants]

I would consider adding something to buffer Kh but if your tank pH doesn’t fluctuate much then I wouldn’t worry about it. As mentioned above, testing pH of tap water right after collecting it is going to give false readings because of dissolved gases which dissipate out over time. Try collecting some tap water and letting it age a day or so before testing it. The catappa and driftwood will lower it some, and having a low Kh will allow the pH to fluctuate more, which is why I suggest looking into raising that somehow, which could be crushed coral or alkaline buffer etc. the biggest thing with the hardnesses and pH however is stability. As long as there isn’t big changes or fluctuations then fish can adapt and will do just fine. My Kh out of the tap is around 2 like yours, but I’ve buffered it up to around 5 so that my pH doesn’t drop and cause ammonia issues (aka a tank crash). I have a little bit of crushed coral and I occasionally add alkaline buffer after water changes if my Kh tests low. If you do end up raising the Kh, do so slowly over the course of a few days, that way fish can adjust

[Connor Elliott]

12 hours ago, ScottieB said:

What kind of fish are you keeping? Are they happy? Healthy and eating? I would avoid chasing numbers as long as everything is doing well. 

But if you want to investigate some more, consider aging the water from your tap for a day or so, test the pH again. I’m no chemist but depending on your tap water the pH will change after the gas escapes  (Oxygen in higher pH water, or CO2 in lower pH water). 

Your tank itself may still have lower pH from some of the sources you mention because  there’s less buffering capacity (with lower hardness). You could consider adding something to buffer the pH but only if your targeting specific parameters. 
 

I am keeping three platies three Cory cats a beta fish and 2 nerite snails they seem to be healthy they are eating my betta does glass surf a lot and the platies will sometimes swim frantically and act strange but I think it is because recently I had to treat with irythromycin and it killed my cycle I am still pretty new so I don’t have a quarantine tank yet but besides that they seem healthy and the sick fish is acting well again. I will let my tapwater age for a day and then test it but I have tested my tank water pH for like three days now and I haven’t seen any big fluctuations. Also my cycle is pretty much established again. 

 

[Connor Elliott]

10 hours ago, Steph’s Fish and Plants said:

I would consider adding something to buffer Kh but if your tank pH doesn’t fluctuate much then I wouldn’t worry about it. As mentioned above, testing pH of tap water right after collecting it is going to give false readings because of dissolved gases which dissipate out over time. Try collecting some tap water and letting it age a day or so before testing it. The catappa and driftwood will lower it some, and having a low Kh will allow the pH to fluctuate more, which is why I suggest looking into raising that somehow, which could be crushed coral or alkaline buffer etc. the biggest thing with the hardnesses and pH however is stability. As long as there isn’t big changes or fluctuations then fish can adapt and will do just fine. My Kh out of the tap is around 2 like yours, but I’ve buffered it up to around 5 so that my pH doesn’t drop and cause ammonia issues (aka a tank crash). I have a little bit of crushed coral and I occasionally add alkaline buffer after water changes if my Kh tests low. If you do end up raising the Kh, do so slowly over the course of a few days, that way fish can adjust

So far I haven’t noticed that my pH in my tank fluctuates much do you think I should still add a buffer like SeaChem Equilibrium?

[ScottieB]

Sounds good, I think your on the right track. 
If the pH on the aged water is still off from the tank then yeah, it’s likely just normal downward drifting from dissolved organics in the tank without good buffering capacity.

 
I’m still not sure I would chase numbers with chemicals like equilibrium. Ideally you want to make things easy and consistent, if you can do that with Seachem Products that’s great. But an alternative might be what Stephs Fish and Plants mentioned above. Buffering by adding crushed coral somewhere in a filter chamber or I think something like Wonder shell would do the same. 
 

[Connor Elliott]

Could I use top fine marine crushed coral?

[Connor Elliott]

On 1/12/2021 at 11:32 PM, Steph’s Fish and Plants said:

I would consider adding something to buffer Kh but if your tank pH doesn’t fluctuate much then I wouldn’t worry about it. As mentioned above, testing pH of tap water right after collecting it is going to give false readings because of dissolved gases which dissipate out over time. Try collecting some tap water and letting it age a day or so before testing it. The catappa and driftwood will lower it some, and having a low Kh will allow the pH to fluctuate more, which is why I suggest looking into raising that somehow, which could be crushed coral or alkaline buffer etc. the biggest thing with the hardnesses and pH however is stability. As long as there isn’t big changes or fluctuations then fish can adapt and will do just fine. My Kh out of the tap is around 2 like yours, but I’ve buffered it up to around 5 so that my pH doesn’t drop and cause ammonia issues (aka a tank crash). I have a little bit of crushed coral and I occasionally add alkaline buffer after water changes if my Kh tests low. If you do end up raising the Kh, do so slowly over the course of a few days, that way fish can adjust

Can I use top fin marine crushed coral?

[Steph’s Fish and Plants]

Any crushed coral should work