Ph shifting

[Clem Fandango]

Hi all,

I have one established planted tank already and have started the cycle of another. The cycling is taking a bit longer than previous tanks and is set up very similar to my other planted one and particularly low Ph readings have stood out.

My tap water is about hard and my established planted tank sits at 7.8. The tank I am trying to cycle is much lower. The test kit spits out 6.0 readings so if it is lower I cant tell. Persistent water changes haven't had any impact (so far at least).

Cycle status; ammonia and nitrite is still present but low, never higher than .5 and .25 respectively. Nitrate reading still reads 5.0. So still a little bit to go.

So I have a few things I am unsure about and cant find much guidance on.

- Is my aqua soil leaching ammonia? (Tropica aqua soil (9kg in a 90L tank - capped with at least an inch of sand/fine gravel)
- Assuming the soil and other organics are lowering my Ph, is that generally considered temporary which would maybe explain why my other planted tank has much higher Ph?
- Is the lower Ph slowing down my cycle, and if so would a chemical Ph buffer or even salts give a helping hand?

Thanks in advance for any insight

[Martinspuddle]

- Is my aqua soil leaching ammonia? (Tropica aqua soil (9kg in a 90L tank - capped with at least an inch of sand/fine gravel)
- Assuming the soil and other organics are lowering my Ph, is that generally considered temporary which would maybe explain why my other planted tank has much higher Ph?
- Is the lower Ph slowing down my cycle, and if so would a chemical Ph buffer or even salts give a helping hand?

Answers:

Yes.

Yes.

No.

Question: How many plants/species do you have or pictures of your aquarium you can post?

[Clem Fandango]

Answers:

Yes.

Yes.

No.

Question: How many plants/species do you have or pictures of your aquarium you can post?

Ah okay. Is there a general rule of thump re Ph balancing itself out?

I'm on the move right now so no pics but there are a few crypts (2 pots split), rotala (lots, some from clippings and 2 new pots), ferns (3 small bunches), anubias (smaller varieties dotted all over), hairgrass (2 pots split). There is one large piece of bogwood and some lava rock. The plants and hardscape cover about 50% of the tank. They are quite dense from one back corner which becomes sand only in the opposite corner.

[black ghost]

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

To cycle a tank you need to grow a lot of bacteria quickly. This will take forever at low pHs. Increase the pH for the duration of the cycle.

[Clem Fandango]

Thanks for the advice. Happy to try raising the Ph manually but I might be more effective if I have some understanding of why a new system temporarily has lowered Ph. It seems difficult to research that specifically. Is there any specific links anyone would suggest having a read through?

[John Linklater]

Not trying to confuse the issue but you said you were from Edinburgh in another thread. A ph of 7.8 in your established tank seems really high for the area. Could something in that tank be raising it?

[black ghost]

What test kit are you using?
What the tap pH after you’ve let it stand for a day?

[Clem Fandango]

It could well be me confusing things to be fair.

The fishkeepers lad had advised me that I'm likely on the save supply as him as he is in Leith and it is hard water. However, from a quick search my post code appears to be on the Glencorse B supply. The water hardness data from 2022 notes it as Soft. [Image below if useful]

There isnt actually much difference between my tap water and the established tanks. If they differ at all they are still closest to the 7.8 reading.

Using the API test kit. I've not actually tried leading tap water test tube for a day before testing it. I can try that and report back tomorrow evening if that will give some insight?

[black ghost]

The pH straight out of the tap is a false, buffered pH. Leave it overnight and the buffering will wear off.

[Stephen]

In many parts of Scotland the water is soft but the pH is quite high.
Edinburgh is very soft at about 1.7dGH but the pH is about pH7.8.