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Post by momo on Jan 6, 2006 9:54:39 GMT 10
The Ph of water straight out of the tap (I do use water ager!) is apparently perfect for my guppies...I just did a ph test on my tank water and the level has dropped to 6.6
I think this is bizarre, but apparently it's normal for sydney water...
I don't want to use salt as suggested as I have an Indian Sucking Loach in my tank and have heard that salt is bad for them. I saw another post on this forum advising to use shell grit...does this also contain salt?
Also, what are the recommendations on the Ph Up and Ph Down chemicals available from the Pet Stores? Can this be added directly to the fish tank without harming the fish? Is it better just to do a water change instead?
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Post by Cyberguppy on Jan 7, 2006 13:48:29 GMT 10
although guppies 'prefer' a harder water with high ph (around 7.4-7.6) they breed and live quite well at almost any ph. My planted tank is at 6.9 and they are still breeding like rabbits.
imho ph up and down will usually be more trouble than its worth as by the time you have adjusted the water it will be time for another waterchange. if you are concerned though, shellgrit is very good as it slowly dissolves and causes a very gradual ph change. shells are made up of calcium (raises hardness when dissolved) and lime (raises PH when dissolved). I use around 11/2 handfulls per foot of tank to start, test after 2 weeks then add more to gradually increase ph/hardness.
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Post by sammigold on Jan 7, 2006 22:50:39 GMT 10
Shell grit does work it will raise the KH and your ph it wont harm your loach.... I have shellgrit in with my discus and I have clown loaches... Not long ago we bought this stuff called KHpowder7 because we were having trouble with a low low kh and a higher ph so we couldnt use anymore shell grit for fear of raising the ph too high (keeping discus) anyway it is amazing... it does exactly what it says...raises the kh by 4dkh and brings the ph to neutral (7) .... it is great!! No more Ph fluctuations for last 3 or 4 months. It is made by a company called Hydrofish ent. P/L in Melbourne... HTH
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Post by Bumblebee on Jan 8, 2006 12:56:55 GMT 10
co2 (carbon dioxide) and plant matter from living plants have been known to cause a drop in PH as carbon dioxide acidifys water. This could possibly be due to an overstocked tank although I have never herd of it happening, might be worth researching.
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Post by momo on Jan 9, 2006 12:12:08 GMT 10
hrmm, i don't think it would be CO2 as I've got a six inch air bubbler in the tank pumping air bubbles out all day long...no plants in the tank but I do have a piece of driftwood, actual real wood not the resin fake wood ones. The tank quite possibly could be over stocked (1 loach, 2 grown up boy guppies and 12x 2 month old baby guppies, that's why I don't want to turn off the air bubbler). Hoping to get another tank in the next couple of weeks so I can separate the boys and the girls...
Thanks for all the suggestions though. I think I'll try and find some of that shellgrit stuff and see how it goes. It's a pity the water test kit I've got doesn't test for water hardness, that might help take some of the guess work out of things. Another thing to save up for!
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Post by Bumblebee on Jan 9, 2006 17:01:30 GMT 10
the bogwood could be the culprit. it you are really worried, take it out and leave it in a bucket of your tap water for a week or two then test the ph again. if it has dropped then it may be the bogwood to blame, although I wouldnt worry to much.
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