Em Posted August 31, 2005 Report Share Posted August 31, 2005 Has anyone else had really odd pH readings lately? Usually it's around 7.4 here (like a 3-4 weeks ago) and I just tested the 55L bin of aged water and it's down to 6.8. The only thing that has been added to this is my water ager. Anyone else suffering odd pH readings with the dry weather?? I'll be adding a few more drops of IAL extract than usual now to see if this makes a difference. My axie is quite happy with this but I'm not sure if my bettas will be. If this is out of topic, oh great moderators, feel free to delete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbies Betta Posted August 31, 2005 Report Share Posted August 31, 2005 did u test the water PH before it was added to the tub? It could be additives in the main water system, as a lot of sydney ppl found out earlier in the yr :blush: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callatya Posted August 31, 2005 Report Share Posted August 31, 2005 Right on topic pH of water sometimes drops about 0.2-0.4 once it leaves the tap and stands for a day. IAL will drop your pH even more, as it is acidic. Your bettas should be fine at 6.8, actually, i'd be more worried about the axie, but if he is doing fine, no need to worry Tank-bred critters are pretty tolerant of pH (not swings, just different pH to their ideal range) you could add some natural pH uppers to your tank and barrel if you wanted, some shellgrit or slate or something, but be sure you add some in your tanks too. It takes a while to work (it has to break down a bit) so don't add too much if you go that way The ph out of the tap here used to be 8.2... now its 7.4ish, so its definately changed since i was living here last (about 12 months ago) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Em Posted August 31, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2005 It's odd. Water that has stood since the weekend is 6.8 and water straight from the tap is 7.2. Looks like I'll just have to take out some water from the tanks I just filled up with the remainer of the 6.8 and add some 7.2 water to balance it out some. That or leave the rest of the tanks until Friday to allow the pH to work itself out Quinn, my axie seems fine. Is peeling his slime coat or something but is still eatting so I won't worry too much. He was in an 18inch tank with 3 others before coming here so I bet that tank had a low pH. I changed his water last night and I'll do a 75% change on Saturday to keep him healthy in his underbed storage container. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckie Posted August 31, 2005 Report Share Posted August 31, 2005 if you are experiencing a drop in pH I would agree with Abbey that adding some shell grit to the water is a good idea, it is dissolved by the carbolic (I think) acid produced by the acidifying substances like poo (in the tank) and IAL (in the pre-aging tub) so that the pH is more stable, so it won't crash down to 3 like mine once did (sob). 3 is the pH of lemon juice. My fry were obviously not lemons ( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Em Posted August 31, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2005 I'm going to buy a bag of shell grit today and add a cup or more to the bottom of the tub. And I'm not having much luck on the spawning front but that's anoter story. I'll keep you all updated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzy_dragonfly Posted September 1, 2005 Report Share Posted September 1, 2005 Hey since we're on the topic of pH. Has anyone tried a neutraliser block? I bought one today and thought I'd give it a shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callatya Posted September 5, 2005 Report Share Posted September 5, 2005 I think Lilli was using them for a while, I have a vague memory of light blocks. They do up the pH a fair bit though, be careful how much you add. :thumbs: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Em Posted September 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2005 Update Fish are going okay. Ville is a bit under the weather since I took him out of the spawning tank (nothing was happening there). Other than that the pH seems to be okay, my poor Axie has fungus but is in the fridge and getting twice daily salt baths. I think the low pH caused that to happen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halszka Posted September 5, 2005 Report Share Posted September 5, 2005 Pimafex will clear the fungus up in no time. Just don't use Melafix, some of the chemicals in it are toxic to axies. Try adding a few drops of Pimadex to your axie's salt baths - I did that with one of mine who had an injured foot which swelled and got infected. After 2 days of Pimafex and salt baths the fungus is almost non existant. My tap water pH has fallen as well, it used to be 7.2 and now read 6.0 I have a neutraliser block in my axie tank and it's raised the pH to about 6.5. I'll be off to buy some shell grit too I guess. I have no way of storing more than a bucketful for water changes - which makes it a bit hard when I need to do a water change for my 150L. Is there anything anyone recommends that raises pH faster than neutraliser blocks? Are those pH UP/DOWN additives reliable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callatya Posted September 5, 2005 Report Share Posted September 5, 2005 they are short term, but I'd think if you had adequate materials in your tank to keep the pH up, that by the time they stopped working, the water should be getting close anyway. Water chemistry isn't my strong point, anyone else got any ideas? you might want to look around for a horsefeed drum for water storage they sell big plastic ones, and they would hold about 38 gallons or so, plenty enough for a weekly WC on a 150L If you have a place to store it, it might be worth getting :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbies Betta Posted September 6, 2005 Report Share Posted September 6, 2005 and then there's the added bonus if u get any mozzie larvae in there but If I got a horsefeed drum, i'd want the horse to :cheer: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckie Posted September 6, 2005 Report Share Posted September 6, 2005 just a tip I find helpful - cover drums with something with big enough holes for mozzies to get in, but not dragonflies .. their larva has ended up in SO many of my spawn tanks and wiped out hundreds of fry. I have to assume they got in because I used water that was aged outside :cheer: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Figure_8 Posted September 6, 2005 Report Share Posted September 6, 2005 dragonfly larvae are evil! I've accidently brought a few in when harvesting java moss from GB's pond when we were at the old place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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