PH Stability Products

[Sailor]

I am setting up my 55 gal tank for GBR and after a water change and using a water softening pillow I put in a ph product by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals called Proper PH 7.0. I used the correct dosage of 1 scoop(included with product) for every 10 gallons. After 4 hrs the ph is bang on at 7.0. I tested with 2 different ph testers. Is it normal for the aquarium to be cloudy after use of this product, and if it is for how long. It has cleared somewhat. I have checked ammonia -0, nitrite-0, nitrate-10 ppm levels are where they were before the water change as the only thing that changed is the use of the softening pillow and the Proper PH 7.0 product. And do you think it would be OK to add a few fish to the tank so they keep the bacteria alive in the filters. The tank is fully cycled, I have kept troheus in there for a year. I moved the tropheus to a 120 gal tank. I kept the same substrate,filters on it(xp3 and a AC 110)and most of the decorations. I did a water change and wanted to get my ph to 7 so I had a place to start. I have boiled some african driftwood to leach out some of the colour and plan to attach some live plants to it. My ph out of the tap is 8.2 perfect for Africans but not so much for GBR's. I don't plan on using this product all the time, as I said I just wanted a place to start at. Any water that I add from during my water changes will be set at 7.0 before it is added to the tank. I was just wondering how long does the tank stay cloudy, and is it safe to put fish in while it is clearing up so I don't loose my cycle.

Thanks in advance

[Melody]

I don't know about the cloudy part, but I do try to stay away from the chemical adjusters whenever possible - they tend to fluctuate without warning. I can understand your purpose though.

The ability to adjust your water supply pH depends primarily on the KH. If its high it will be very difficult to lower your pH. It sounds like you know all of the natural tricks - driftwood, peat, almond leaves, etc. so hopefully they work for you. Its much harder to lower pH than it is to increase it - as someone put it, its easier to put something in than it is to take it out.

Good luck!

[Sailor]

I have the tank at 7.2 and has been since last night. it has cleared up all the way. Our water is perfect for Rift Valley Cichlids but not so much for any thing else, way too hard and high PH. I have ordered an RO unit and that will be the water source for water changes for the German Blue Ram tank. A lot less head aches in the long run.

Thanks for your reply, greatly appreciated,

Sailor

[Melody]

The things we do for our fish hmm? A lot of Livebearers would love your water, and a lot of Tetras can adapt to the higher pH ranges.

As long as they're not too sensitive to pH fluctuations they should adapt to something in the 7 - 7.5 range, generally speaking (I don't know much about that particular group). Some soft water species will thrive at higher pH ranges, but will be difficult to breed. Depends on the fish. Mr. DaFishMan tells me that if the fish are locally bred they adjust better to harder water conditions, which makes sense.

Good to see you around - don't be such a stranger :smile: .

[DaFishMan]

Congrats on getting GBR's :)

Your water is liquid rock ! I had that in Aurora about 4 yrs ago :(

With liquid rock the problem is gh not ph. Ph lowering chems & water softener pillows lead to ph swings your fish won't like, and should only be a short term bandaid. Pillows are hardly effective and raises your gh and salt levels. If your RO units coming soon I'd continue to use what you're using for now, or skip to last paragraph....

Peat, almond leaves etc will lower the ph some, but do nothing for gh. It will help some but also not a solution in liquid rock. If you had 7.5 - 7.8h and wanted to lower ph for egg hatching or add more 'amazon enviroment' it'd be more of a help. Oak leaves do a similar purpose.

Best solution in the meantime is buying some bottled RO water and mixing maybe 25% with tapwater to start. Peat won't hurt either. Don't drop it too rapidly so as not to induce osmotic shock caused by ph poisoning. Good luck :)

[Sailor]

Thank you for the information and replies. I have purchased more malawian drift wood to help as well. I have been putting bottled water in the tank for 3 days now, 1 bottle a day. We are getting a water softener installed as well as th RO unit. I am getting a valve put in under the kitchen sink so I can switch back and forth from softer water to our liquid rock as you call it lol. My Africans are thriving, breeding and doing great with our water and I don't want to change that for them.

[Melody]

I've used Fluval Peat Pellets before - I like those because once I know how many pellets it takes, I just have to use that many everytime.

I haven't tried the Ketapeat (http://www.marcweissco.com/freshwater/keta_peat/keta_peat.html) pellets but they look good. "...replicates black water as found in the wild. Its special ingredients include Ketapang leaf and extract plus oak and black peat." Sounds like it would more effectively replicate the natural environment. I'd like to hear from anyone who has tried it actually :smile: .