pH Problems...

[Chaos553]

Wow, it's been yet another long stretch of time since I visited site. What can I say? I'm a very busy person ;D. Oh and before I get into topic, I couldn't log in last night to post this, it kept giving me an error to get here. Just thought a moderator might want to know. Anyway, on to the topic.

So one of Peppered cories yesterday was acting weird, so in a moment like this, I tested the pH and ammonia. The ammonia of the tank was fine, as usual, but the pH was at a range between 6.0 - 6.3 and I'm assuming that's the cause to his behavior. I added in some pH regulator to bring it back up to 7.0, but I need a faster way to regulate it since I'm trading in my Blue Jack either today or tomorrow to get $30 worth of fish (according to my friend).

What I think I'll probably do is vacuum while emptying about 35-40% of the water of the tank, and add in fresh tap water with water conditioner to see if there are any significant changes. It SHOULD be at 7.0, but even 6.7-6.9 would be fine with me since my fish really don't mind. Any ideas?

[trashion]

Honestly, a stable pH is wayyyy more important than a specific pH. Fish are quite adaptable, at least these ones that you're talking about. I'd stop using pH regulators, as they can cause stressful pH swings. Just do regular water changes, and your pH should remain fairly stable.

[Chaos553]

I plan on doing a water change in a bit actually, so I'll update the pH status in a couple of hours. Thanks for the help =P

[emc7]

most of your fish are S. American and like low pH. IMO, flipping pH back and forth across 7.0 is not good. Better to keep it 7.5 for African/Central American and 6.5 for S. American. Even 6.0 is fine, just make sure that the pH is not dropping because of high nitrate (nitric acid) levels. Keep up the water changes and you will be fine.

[Chaos553]

Thanks for the info ;D

I ended up changing about 35% of the water, replaced the filter, vacuumed the bottom of the tank, and replaced the rest of the water. I added in conditioner as well to reduce stress on the fish, obviously. I waited about 3 hours and the pH rose to about 6.6 so it should be fine. Thanks for all the help guys =P.