water paramiters and decor

[rookie]

i currently have a 10 gallon with a orange and white rock as a centerpeice. i dont know if it has to do with the rock or not but my ph has always be at 6, the only fish in the tank was an angel which didnt seem to mind. but whenever i tryed to put another fish in i didnt know weather it was the angel being teritorial of a small tank or the ph that killed them. now that i am moving to my 110g i want to try to have a little higher ph to accomadate the new fish i am putting in the tank, however i want to do it naturally so that i dont have drops and spikes in my paramiters. i wanted to do rocks and driftwood with live plants as decore. what decor can i use to raise my ph naturally and do you think that orange and white rock was causing the ph to be low. please help i get the tank tommorow and i am so excited to decorate it but i dont want my decore to kill my fish.

[sailor]

First of all you should figure out the type of fish you want to put into the tank as different species require different ph levels. If it is higher ph loving fish such as african cichlids you will want to stay away from drift wood as it will lower the ph. There is substrate that will help keep your ph up such as crushed coral or you can put it in bags and put it in your filter. If it is south american fish you want, then by all means put in the drift wood as the fish like the tannins released from the drift woold and it helps to keep the water softer. Which ever type of fish you pick and it doesn't matter what kind, consistancy is the key. You do not want a ph that is always fluctuating as that is very hard and stressful to the fish. Once you figure out the type you want then let us know and we can help you a lot better at that point.

[rich311k]

Most rocks would raise PH not lower it. What is the PH of your tap? What is your KH and GH readings?

[rookie]

im looking at mabe 1 boseameni rainbow, 1 koi angel, a school of congo's, some corys to start with. i am at work but will be home in like 45 mins or so. ill check the exact paramaters of my tank and tap water when i get there and post them to help you to help me lol. thanks for quick posts. ps i will probably boil the driftwood if i get any because i love a clear tank.

[Little Embers]

When you check to see what your tap water PH is, let the tap water stand for 24 hrs (to allow for gas exchange) in a container before testing, as this gives you a more accurate reading, it may possibly have nothing to do with the decor.

If you want to know whether decor/rocks will possibly increase Ph, a couple of ways to do it are: Add some white vinegar onto the rock and if it bubbles/fizzes it has the potential to increase PH, or add a few drops from "bottle 1" of your Nitrate test kit....this contains hydrochloric acid which will also give you an idea whether the rock contains calcium carbonate (which can increase PH), make sure you rinse/soak the rock very thoroughly before putting in the tank if you use the second option.

[rookie]

Ok my ph in my tank is 6 and my tap straight from the sink is 6.4~6.6 and what is kh and gh I don't know if my kit tests for that I got the API test tube kit