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Help me, low ph can I still dose co2?

5K views 12 replies 6 participants last post by  Hoppy 
#1 ·
First let me start off by saying I asked alot of questions and got alot of helpful answers so thank you! Im not new to aquariums and live plants but new to co2. I got a 60 gallon aquarium with alot of live plants and recently got a GLA pressurized co2 system. The last time I checked my ph with the API master test kit which was about a month or 2 ago it was 7.4. I dosed co2 for the first time for about 2 hours yesterday. I set up my Milwaukee ph controller today and calibrated it and its saying my ph is 6.5.

What would be my next step? Try to get my ph back up? I read if the ph gets below 6 it could kill the beneficial bacteria. Is co2 out for me now?
 
#2 ·
I wouldnt worry too much. You should be fine with a ph of 6.5 due to the co2. I think I get slightly lower PH than you out of the tap (typically 7.0-7.2) and I run pressurized co2 in a few tanks that get down to the low 6 range on the ph scale.

Wait, I think I misunderstood what you said. So you dosed co2 for only 2 hours yesterday and now today you see a ph reading of 6.5? You double check that with your API kit to see what it says? If the co2 has been off for 24 hours you wont still be seeing its effect on the ph.
 
#6 ·
Yes the driftwood could have caused the ph to drop like that.


Definitely don't mess with the ph. It is what it is and you shouldn't worry. The CO2 will lower it, but it's not the same as running acidic 6ph water in your tank. Your bacteria will be fine!

My previous tank would swing down to 5.5ph while the CO2 was running.
yes

my pH is allegedly at 6.3 according to my likely-not-accurate-anymore pH probe at the peak of my CO2

+1 to santucci - don't screw with your pH. Just accept it - it is just a number.
As suggested.....dont try to alter your ph as its a risky proposition to do it consistently. Stick with what you've got and you should be fine. Your numbers are within a range that lots of others typically see and dont suffer any serious problems from.
 
#8 ·
Hard to say because you don't know what the ph of your tank water is. Take out some water and let it sit overnight, or if your CO2 has been off since yesterday your tank water has de-gassed. Measure the ph and then go for about a 1 point drop from there.
 
#10 ·
If you limit your lighting to low-medium intensity you can avoid the need for a high concentration of CO2. CO2 is very effective at that light level with less than 30 ppm of CO2, which is unlikely to bother any of the fish in the tank. Then you can set the pH controller for a .8 pH drop from the degassed pH. With that you will have around 20 ppm of CO2, and that is plenty for low-medium light. If you do this, you will also have to monitor the tank water KH, to be sure it remains constant. If the KH goes up, and you don't adjust the pH setting, you can get too much CO2 for the fish.
 
#11 ·
take a cup of water from your tank and let it sit for 3 days undisturbed. The pH of that water will be your base pH. Generally people aim to control pH to be 1 point lower than that control for an estimated good amount of CO2.

things can change over time though and this is not the most stable way to regulate things. you may eventually be putting in far more CO2 than you think if things like your kH / gH are swinging... this is to say that eventually it could take far more or less CO2 to swing your pH that 1 degree and you wouldn't realize it.
 
#13 ·
A pH controller relies on the accuracy of the pH probe to keep the pH within limits. The accuracy of a pH probe relies on regular calibration of the probe, and they do not have an unlimited life. It has to be true that one of the least expensive pH controllers will be less accurate than one of the most expensive ones. I think you should be satisfied if your controller can maintain the pH within that .2 range, unless you have a top line controller.
 
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