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Just to check my sanity...

948 Views 5 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  plantbrain, 
I
Can this happen?

I said no, and want to make sure....

Take a tank, 75 gallons or so.

Normal PH, 7.6.

Add plants. Not a ton, not a full scape.

No CO2, no ferts, nothing changes but adding the plants.

PH drops to 6.4.

Can the plants be responsible for a plunge like that? I said no way.

If anything, I'd have thought that the first thing to go would be any trace of CO2, actually buffering PH readings...
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bigstick120
What else is in the tank? What substrate, driftwood, rocks? Is that PH reading right out of the tap?
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PRESTON4479
I haven't heard of plants lowering the ph only co2. Although I am still learning. Is there any wood in the tank? Wood can naturally lower the ph.

Brian
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I
Don't think there is wood in his tank.

Established, running tank, he said he went from 7.6 to 6.4, and the only thing that changed was adding plants...

I called BS. :) I can BARELY do half that to my tank and I am less than 5 degrees KH out of the tap and inject DIY CO2, heh.
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S
i asked the same question a little while back in regards to my 9gallon cube. i have inert 1-2mm sand and some rocks yet my 7.6 ph dropped to 6.6 and it's only one third filled with plants. low light, no co2, no ferts, no nothing, if anything i underfeed my fish. you say bs but i say totally possible :)
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plantbrain
Well, if the plants use all the Bicarbonate, the KH, the water will be significanntly softer, and at abmient conditions for CO2, say the CO2 is the same in both cases, and the starting KH was say 5 and now it's say 0.5, then certainly.

That's about the only real way, but rotting plant parts can acidify some waters.
But this needs to be maintained(added) fairly consistently.

Regards,
Tom Barr
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