need some help with ph levels

[shiftybaws]

hi guys back again , i have now finished my cycle and everything is looking sweet , the only probs is trying to keep my ph levels between 6.8 and 7.5 , i can get there for a couple of days and then it seems to drop as low as 5.0 , i am useing tuffa rock and ph up and i'm still struggling please help , many thanks shiftybaws:22: :22:

[Lady Hobbs]

Rather than mess with chemicals, why not add some crushed coral stone to a bag and put it in your filter and add some to your substrate? I would use the bag so you can adjust it some....add more or less.....until you can stablize how much you need.

Are you using an aerator? Those will bring the pH up, as well.

[Sasquatch]

What is causing your pH do drop that low? To get your pH down to the 5.0 level, there has to be some major acidification going on. Find out what the cause is and remove it, it'll save you a lot of trouble and money compared to constantly buying buffers.

Possible causes are:
- Moss
- Driftwood
- Acidic tap water
- CO2 injection
- Certain rocks

The thing is, most of these are fairly slow and won't bring your pH down that low.

[shiftybaws]

thanks for your help guys , the problem is that i live in scotland where the water is very soft if i do a ph test from my tap it is 5.5 , but i,ve used new tuffarock and its riseing again , but again thanks for the help:19: :19: thumbs2:

[Sasquatch]

In that case, buffer the water before you put it in the tank. It'll save you a lot of pH stability problems, and will keep your fish healthier. Constantly fluctuating pH isn't good, so buffering it before it goes into the tank is the best thing to do.