Mattaquarium Posted November 13, 2017 Report Share Posted November 13, 2017 Hi so I have a dennerle 10g scapers tank with aquasolem substrate and when the tank first got set up the substrate naturally lowered the ph and the tank was low 6's. As time went on I did water changes with spring water (thinking it was RO water) which made my ph (kh and gh) go through the roof. I figured out that the spring water was causing this so I started using strictly RO water to get the levels back down. The thing is, Ive done multiple water changes (usually around 50% at a time because I wanted to get the levels back down asap as theres no shrimp in the tank) and the Ph wont go down. Its like stuck at 7.4. Ive even added oak leaves and peat the other day to help lower and still have seen no results. Any ideas? I almost feel like the substrate is now buffering and keeping my PH high. No sure what else do!! Any help would be great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrimporama Posted November 13, 2017 Report Share Posted November 13, 2017 any rocks in the tank? if so, you may want to test them with vinegar to make sure they are not the issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattaquarium Posted November 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2017 20 minutes ago, Shrimporama said: any rocks in the tank? if so, you may want to test them with vinegar to make sure they are not the issue. yes I have dragon stone but my LFS uses it in their shrimp tanks and was told it wont affect PH. Unsure now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chappy6107 Posted November 13, 2017 Report Share Posted November 13, 2017 if true dragon stone then it is inert. I believe when you used this "spring" water, you may have exhausted your substrate. Now it will no longer buffer like it is supposed to. Shrimporama 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattaquarium Posted November 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2017 1 hour ago, chappy6107 said: if true dragon stone then it is inert. I believe when you used this "spring" water, you may have exhausted your substrate. Now it will no longer buffer like it is supposed to. Ok thats what I thought. But I cant seem to bring the ph down still, so do I need new substrate? Because I feel like the substrate is now bringing the ph up lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aotf Posted November 14, 2017 Report Share Posted November 14, 2017 What are the pH, kH, and gH values of: - your spring water out of the tap/faucet/whatever - your spring water aged for 24h - your RO water tap/faucet/whatever - your RO water aged for 24h - your tank water Test your stone with vinegar. If you have extra, measure your RO water pH, kH, and gH, throw some stone in there with a bubbler or something for a week and measure again. I would guess that you exhausted your substrate's ability to buffer with the spring water and your stones are mineralizing your water. I also find this unlikely but I'll say it anyway: your substrate may have picked up a lot of the minerals and carbonates in your spring water (depending on how hard it is) and may indeed be buffering your water by leaching them out slowly. This will fix itself with more RO changes but your soil will never buffer down again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrimp lady Posted November 21, 2017 Report Share Posted November 21, 2017 I use Turface (T.M.) for my substrate which is "inert" {dead, old baked clay granuals used in baseball & Football parks} and will not effect water either side of the scale. As they said use R/O water either from a unit hooked up to your sink or Bottled jugs sold at Grocery stores by-the-gallon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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