pH plumiting question

[marioman72]

So i woke up to my pH in my 10g down to 6.0 or lower and half of my shrimp dead and fish a little drifty. the point being i did nothing the day before other then change my Diy co2 mixture and a dosing of the Pferts product line regimen. i think i might have over dosed the phosphorous by accident. i have 4 dif tanks that i mange and i think i added my usual dosing twice to the 10g. Would this make the pH drop as bad as it did? this is the only explanation that i can think of. :/

[aznartist34]

Don't think ferts lower pH. My guess would be your co2 built up overnight for some reason, hence the pH drop.

[Seattle_Aquarist]

Originally Posted by marioman72

the point being i did nothing the day before other then change my Diy co2 mixture

Hi marioman72,

I suspect that your fresh new DIY mix is bubbling really well; the additional CO2 is what has lowered your PH.

[danielt]

And the lack of buffering. Put some baking soda in there to raise the kH. Or cuttle fish bone for a slow addition of buffers.

[marioman72]

Originally Posted by aznartist34

Don't think ferts lower pH. My guess would be your co2 built up overnight for some reason, hence the pH drop.

yea im thinking thats the issue also.

Originally Posted by Seattle_Aquarist

Hi marioman72,

I suspect that your fresh new DIY mix is bubbling really well; the additional CO2 is what has lowered your PH.

im thinking that im going to have to make a smaller batch, or just invest in a paintball C02 set up in the near future.

Originally Posted by danielt

And the lack of buffering. Put some baking soda in there to raise the kH. Or cuttle fish bone for a slow addition of buffers.

i put baking soda in the Diy co2 mixture. is that what you meen?

[Darkblade48]

Originally Posted by marioman72

i put baking soda in the Diy co2 mixture. is that what you meen?

No, you can add baking soda directly to the aquarium to raise the kH, thus raising the buffering capacity of the water and preventing such large pH swings.

[marioman72]

Originally Posted by Darkblade48

No, you can add baking soda directly to the aquarium to raise the kH, thus raising the buffering capacity of the water and preventing such large pH swings.

oh alright didnt know that, thanks! my Kh is usually really low in all my tanks.

[Diana]

my Kh is usually really low in all my tanks

I would add enough baking soda to keep the KH not lower than about 3 German degrees of hardness.

1 teaspoon added to 30 gallons will raise the KH by 2 degrees.
It is straight line math:
to get the same effect in a tank 1/3 the size, add 1/3 as much.

[marioman72]

i did a water test today and my GH is really really low my Kh is up there now that i added the baking soda, were do i go about getting calcium chlorate?

[Diana]

Do you know it is just the calcium? Or do you need both calcium and magnesium?
Plants use calcium and magnesium in a ratio of about 4 parts calcium to 1 part magnesium.

Most GH boosters, Seachem Equilibrium and similar materials have a balance of Ca and Mg. They often also have potassium.

If you just want the Ca, then I would start with the same suppliers of dry fertilizers.
Here is an example.
http://www.aquariumfertilizer.com/in...ShowItemStart=

[Darkblade48]

Originally Posted by marioman72

i did a water test today and my GH is really really low my Kh is up there now that i added the baking soda, were do i go about getting calcium chlorate?

Just to let yo know, you want calcium carbonate or calcium chloride.

Calcium sulfate can work too.

Each has their own solubility as well, so it depends on how you plan to use it.

[marioman72]

Originally Posted by Darkblade48

Just to let yo know, you want calcium carbonate or calcium chloride.

Calcium sulfate can work too.

Each has their own solubility as well, so it depends on how you plan to use it.

oh alright cool