PH between 5.2 and 6.2

[VincentM]

Okay so my PH finally stopped dropping and now is somewhere between the marked colors on my kit for 5.2 and 6.2.... Gimpy shows no signs of being annoyed or bothered by this... but... Should I BE BOTHERED? that seems drastically low to me.....

I don't have enough money to afford Bottled water... at least I don't think I do.... I'd have to check how much the gallon jugs from albertsons are. Anyways.... Some tips?

[emc7]

how are the nitrates? High nitrate are the #1 reason of low pH. I doubt very much if you tap water is that low. Change water. Repeat.

[VincentM]

Will do. I ran out of my testing ear so I don't currently know my levels... I will be waiting for my supplies

[lohachata]

if your fish are not complaining about it bothering them;why should you be bothered...are you going to live in the tank with him...lol
if you understand the environment that your fish need to be happy;and you create that environment the best that you can;then nothing should bother you..

[VincentM]

I'm just paranoid is all....

[emc7]

Its a goldfish in a small tank with a shredded tail. High nitrate and a falling pH go hand in hand. If the tap water isn't low pH, then its time for a water change before its gets so far off a water change will shock the poor fish.

[VincentM]

it's not a small tank... It's a 30g which was recommended by the people on this site. His tail is BROKEN not shredded, it's his pectoral that is shredded..... Water change was done a little over 25% and already PH is up to 6.2

[emc7]

I wasn't being critical, just pointing out to Loh, that you have reason to be concerned. A 29 is small enough that pH can get away from you if you don't keep up the water changes and acid water can be erode fins.

[VincentM]

Oh... lol I thought you basically said "YOU ARE A HORRIBLE KEEPER" which I kinda feel I am, but I am doing everything I know I can..... BTW he was bought in that condition

[emc7]

I have those "i am a horrible keeper" feelings myself sometimes. I know I should be spending less time on the boards and more in the fish room. Loh is right in that you worrying doesn't do a thing for the fish. Do the best you can and let it be.

From exp. I have learned, that when you have soft water, pH can be a quick indicator that you are overdue for a water change. As nitrates go up, pH goes down. It might be better to test for nitrate, but pH is quicker (esp. with a pH pen). Down around 4 you can see the fins start to suffer (don't ask how I know this). And the wider the gap better the tap and tank, the more risky larger water changes are and the more that tank needs one. So, say your tap water is 7, and if you leave it in a bucket for a week it goes to say 6.5, you really do need to change water at 5.5 or soon your tank will be down to 4.
Of course, if you keep to a schedule, you shouldn't get overdue. But fish grow and gradually need more water changed than they did before.

Nitrates aren't the only thing that can lower pH, CO2 can also. But Goldfish are rightly considered "high bio-load" . They make a lot of waste that ends up as nitrate, so it seemed like a reasonable guess that "organic acids" (aka nitrate) were lowering your pH.

[emc7]

By they way, I don't think bottled water would help any. Only mineral water is hard and alkaline. Most bottle waters are filtered until they are soft (low dissolved solids). People who buy RO or DI water are trying to lower their pH.

[VincentM]

So mineral water will raise PH?

[VincentM]

OK!!!! I'M PISSED NOW!!!! PH is down AGAIN down to where I feel is TO DAMN LOW.... I'm gonna do something drastic and I can only hope it works... I'm doing a 75% water change....I did a water change yesterday and now it's down to 5.2!!! THAT IS NOT OKAY!!!

I really don't want to wait for you guys to say no... I've done it before and my guy has been okay.... I'm gonna pull him over to a 2.5 nursing tank with the airstone on fullblast and a filter in it meant for a 10G.... The PH WILL GO UP IF ITS THE LAST THING I DO!!!

[VincentM]

UPDATE::

My Gimpy is in the 2.5 nurse tank, small I know, but it has a large airstone bar and a filter in there with him... The tank was exchanged with an 75% water change and the ONLY thing I've put in there is Stress Coat.... I will wait until tomorrow to see the progress before putting AmQuel+ in

Amquel+:

Add 5ml to every 10gal..

Each standard dose will remove more than 1.2ppm of ammonia, 2ppm Nitrite and 13ppm Nitrate, as well as detoxifying all chlorine and chloramines added by public water suppliers.

THAT IS RIGHT OFF THE BOTTLE

[emc7]

The thing is nitrate from fish waste can easily get to 200 ppm. So a conditioner isn't going to do it alone. I'm actually for large water changes when you suspect real issues with the water. I would tell you to add baking soda, but I never recommend any buffers without knowing the hardness of the tap water and the tank. pH alone won't kill you fish, but sudden changes can, so be careful moving the fish between containers. And be really careful with the water quality in the little tank. Change water every day or twice a day.

[emc7]

One more thing, how old is that meter? Those things are only accurate for a few months. Verify the results with another test.

[VincentM]

it's only about 3-4 weeks old..

Currently reads::

[emc7]

So it came up with the water change. Good.

[VincentM]

It's ALMOST up to 6.2



Here is poor Gimpy in the nurse tank, which is also the bucket I fill my tank with... It's actually a cool set up... The filter us a Whisper10 that came with my 10g tank, I removed the lower part of the intake tube. Now.. With the tube wide open, it causes for concern with telescope breeds like my Moor and the Demekins I had... so I devised a makeshift 'keep away'... Underneath the intake is an old flake food container... now... the container floats... I grabbed a 'chip clip' off the fridge and attached it to the intake tube, slide it down to connect with the food container, and there ya have it.... The tube gets water without the food container getting sucked up, and keeps the fish from getting its eyeballs suctioned off....

Now... There is a piece of plastic that I have positioned below the spout of the filter, so that it doesn't cause a disruptive current in the small tank, Gimpy needs to be able to rest...

You can also see the airstone.

... I know he has enough air because I watch his mouth as he breaths and it's just like how he breaths in the 30gal... he hardly tries at all, which is a good sign..... but he still likes to play with the bubbles.... weird fish

[emc7]

Its look adequate, but I do think the fish would be better off in the big tank. Little tanks are so unstable. With him out, you could do a 100% change in the big tank and even play with buffer before you put him back, but you'd need to acclimate him when he goes back.