Help .. PH keeps dropping / Good media for Fluval filters ?

[JZ1276]

I cannot keep the PH in my 75 GL at neutral. I've added 2 bottles of bullseye 7.0 which will keep it neutral for a few days but it always drops back down to acidic. I only have one large Oscar and a small Buttafieri (Sp?). They both seem fine in the water, but I'd still like it to be neutral. Anyone have any suggestions?

My second question is what would be good media to add to my Fluval 404 besides carbon and ceramic rings?

[Lady Hobbs]

Seldom does anyone have a neutral pH. Those are for the very lucky or those with RO systems. What is your pH naturally without messing with it?

If you are trying to raise it some, add a few coral stones, shells or even a bit of baking soda.

[KcEE]

Hmm...I don't think you need the carbon unless you're removing meds. You can replace with bioballs.

[JZ1276]

Seldom does anyone have a neutral pH. Those are for the very lucky or those with RO systems. What is your pH naturally without messing with it?

If you are trying to raise it some, add a few coral stones, shells or even a bit of baking soda.

naturally, the PH would be acidic if I didnt mess with it...

I always thought O's needed a neutral PH to be healthy. Am I wrong?

heres some pics

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[gm72]

You are actually wrong, and I am not being rude in saying this, just using your own words. Most fish are adaptable to a very wide range of pH levels. It is stability, not the actual pH level, that is important. Leave well enough alone. You are likely doing more harm than good.

[Fishguy2727]

What exact pH does your tap come out at? What pH does it hold at?
Stability is more important than the precision, they can actually thrive in water above 8.2.

Bioballs are for trickle or wet/dry filtration, not to be used as a submerged media.

For Fluvals the best media setup I have found is as follows. You have the four course mechanical pads in the slide in tray. The water goes through here first. Then the water goes up the four stackable trays. In the bottom one I cram as much polyester pillow stuffing as I can fit in there. This serves a fine mechanical or polishing pad. The rest of the trays I just fill with Biomax. You do not want to use carbon unless removing meds, especially with some fish, oscars included. It can remove trace elements and micornutrients. This can end up causing HLLE. The Biomax provides a lot of surface area for the nitrifying bacteria. The polyester pillow stuffing is very good at keeping the water clear. If it is crammed in enough only the bottom 1/2" will be dirty. The course mechanical pads can be re-used a number of times. The polyester pillow stuffing can be re-used a few times, but it is so cheap you don't even really need to. The Biomax never needs to be replaced. When you clean the filter just check the Biomax for visible debris. If there is any just lightly rinse it away with tank water.

What are you feeding? Whatever it is check out my post in the diet section on New Life Spectrum. In my opinion and experience it is vital. MUCH better than any other food.

[JZ1276]

What exact pH does your tap come out at? What pH does it hold at?
Stability is more important than the precision, they can actually thrive in water above 8.2.

Bioballs are for trickle or wet/dry filtration, not to be used as a submerged media.

For Fluvals the best media setup I have found is as follows. You have the four course mechanical pads in the slide in tray. The water goes through here first. Then the water goes up the four stackable trays. In the bottom one I cram as much polyester pillow stuffing as I can fit in there. This serves a fine mechanical or polishing pad. The rest of the trays I just fill with Biomax. You do not want to use carbon unless removing meds, especially with some fish, oscars included. It can remove trace elements and micornutrients. This can end up causing HLLE. The Biomax provides a lot of surface area for the nitrifying bacteria. The polyester pillow stuffing is very good at keeping the water clear. If it is crammed in enough only the bottom 1/2" will be dirty. The course mechanical pads can be re-used a number of times. The polyester pillow stuffing can be re-used a few times, but it is so cheap you don't even really need to. The Biomax never needs to be replaced. When you clean the filter just check the Biomax for visible debris. If there is any just lightly rinse it away with tank water.

What are you feeding? Whatever it is check out my post in the diet section on New Life Spectrum. In my opinion and experience it is vital. MUCH better than any other food.

I am feeding Tetra Cichlid Sticks and the PH reads around 7.4 out of the tap but i dont know what it holds at. I am going to remove the carbon thats in my Fluval and I just bought some polyester filter fiber which i'll cram in the bottom tray like you suggested. I already have 2 trays with Biomax in them and also just bought Fluval Pre Filter thinking it was Biomax (they look alike). Should i bother adding that or just return it? BTW, what is HLLE ?

[Fishguy2727]

Return the Prefilter, it is a waste of money. Make sure you have as much Biomax as you can in there.

HLLE is head and lateral line erosion.

Tetra is not the worst but not that good. Definitely get some New Life Spectrum, they will do MUCH better on it.

[mitcore]

how about using a ph down powder, thats all i use and can normally keep it close to 7.0

[Fishguy2727]

That pH is fine. As long as it is stable then they should both do quite well in it, assuming you have a lot of filtration and do a lot of water changes, things all fish like. Messing with the pH is rarely needed and can end up doing more harm than good.

So the tap and tank are at 7.4?

[JZ1276]

That pH is fine. As long as it is stable then they should both do quite well in it, assuming you have a lot of filtration and do a lot of water changes, things all fish like. Messing with the pH is rarely needed and can end up doing more harm than good.

So the tap and tank are at 7.4?

NO no ... the tap comes out at 7.4 but the water in my tank is always way below, around acidic. thats the whole reason for this post. I cant keep the pH up.

[Fishguy2727]

What is the pH in the tank usually?

What is the water change scedule?

What is the nitrate concentration?

Set a sample of water out in a cup or small bucket, maybe with an air pump on it if you have an extra one. Let it sit for a few days and see what the pH is.

[madly99]

I used to have the same pH drop problem (NYC-LI - maybe we actually have the same water?) except mine comes out of the tap at 7.2. Then it would drop to 6.0 overnight. Then I'd do a water change and it would hop up to 6.8 or so before falling again. Very stressful for the fish. I'm amazed they all survived it, really.

The pet stores I consulted in the city suggested chemical buffers - Seachem Neutral Regulator in particular, which worked fine, but I was told here that it promotes algae in planted tanks. To me, the better solution was to add some calcareous rock to the tank - I got a mini tufa from Petco for my 20G. You could also get calcium carbonate substrate to put in your filter, but the tufa worked well for me, plus it's easier to manage. Since I got it 3 months ago, the tank pH stays at 7.2.

[JZ1276]

I used to have the same pH drop problem (NYC-LI - maybe we actually have the same water?) except mine comes out of the tap at 7.2. Then it would drop to 6.0 overnight. Then I'd do a water change and it would hop up to 6.8 or so before falling again. Very stressful for the fish. I'm amazed they all survived it, really.

The pet stores I consulted in the city suggested chemical buffers - Seachem Neutral Regulator in particular, which worked fine, but I was told here that it promotes algae in planted tanks. To me, the better solution was to add some calcareous rock to the tank - I got a mini tufa from Petco for my 20G. You could also get calcium carbonate substrate to put in your filter, but the tufa worked well for me, plus it's easier to manage. Since I got it 3 months ago, the tank pH stays at 7.2.

I'm going to try that. How big would you think I would need for a 75 Gl tank? BTW, im in elmont

[madly99]

My mini rock is about 4" x 4" x 2" with a big hole in the middle - Petco sells them by size. It keeps the pH right at 7.2 in my 20G. Your tank is almost 4x as big as mine, so you could try getting a large or a couple of small ones and then just monitoring the pH regularly (I checked it daily for a week or so; now I check it weekly). If it starts to raise the pH higher than you want, it's pretty soft - seems it could be broken into smaller pieces pretty easily. Just be sure you get the tufa (the white crumbly rock) and not the lava or marble rocks which won't affect the pH.

Long Island is a big blur to me. Lol. I was born in the city but grew up in Jersey. :)

[JZ1276]

My mini rock is about 4" x 4" x 2" with a big hole in the middle - Petco sells them by size. It keeps the pH right at 7.2 in my 20G. Your tank is almost 4x as big as mine, so you could try getting a large or a couple of small ones and then just monitoring the pH regularly (I checked it daily for a week or so; now I check it weekly). If it starts to raise the pH higher than you want, it's pretty soft - seems it could be broken into smaller pieces pretty easily. Just be sure you get the tufa (the white crumbly rock) and not the lava or marble rocks which won't affect the pH.

Long Island is a big blur to me. Lol. I was born in the city but grew up in Jersey. :)

well, this worked gvery good. I ve had 2 small Tufas in my tank for a couple of weeks now and for the first tme the PH has stayed at neutral w/out having to add bullseye or any of that stuff. Thanks again.