[U2Kent]

I've got another thread going right now but haven't had an answer for this question yet.

My water from the tap is ~8, my water in my new tank a week after setting it up with Ammazonia is ~5.

Can I expect this to edge back up at all at some point or should I be trying to correct for it?

I've only done two 25% water changes so far, would more frequent water changes help bring this into balance? I guess I was hoping my PH would land somewhere around 6 or 6.5.

My ammonia is still really high too, not sure how that would effect PH but it's sitting around 5.0mg/l at the moment.

 

[jedimasterben]

Does the ammazonia buffer the water, adding calcium carbonate? If not, then the pH will fluctuate. You will want to make sure your pH stays as stable as possible throughout water changes, so you need to see if you can get your WC water to match the tank water in pH and buffering capacity.

Also, if you're still cycling, don't do any water changes, leave it be, and an ammonia spike is normal and the first of three that you'll see.

EDIT: Also, with a pH in the 5 range, beneficial nitrifying bacteria will have a hard time staying alive and functioning. Any guesses on why it is so low? Will this tank have anything other than plants?

 

[JasonG75]

From their site.

A high pH level (alkaline) of the substrate causes difficulties for aquatic plants in consuming nutrients. The Aqua Soil Series decreases the hardness of the water and lowers the PH level to the degree at which most aquatic plants can consume nutrients and comfortably grow. Aqua Soil granules maintain their shape and density for long periods underwater securing good circulation of water and oxygen through the substrate. With Aqua Soil, growing difficult plants such as Tonina sp. becomes easier, and it is ideal for fishes demanding soft water.

 

[Rockhoe14er]

at low pH you're ammonia (NH3) will be protinated into a NH4 state which is non toxic to fish so that's the good news. I wouldn't buffer you're water because that will cause much more trouble with changing your Total dissolved solids of the water and is much more difficult to keep consistent for you fish. pH changes due to co2 have little to no effect on you're fish. I too have my pH around 5.4 and i do think that i'm not able to get nitrofying bacteria but as long as i have plants they can use this and keep my tank nice and clean.

 

[U2Kent]

Also, with a pH in the 5 range, beneficial nitrifying bacteria will have a hard time staying alive and functioning. Any guesses on why it is so low? Will this tank have anything other than plants?

I knew that the ammazonia would lower the PH, I guess I just didn't expect it to be so dramatic. I knew I didn't want my water to be 8, but I assumed the aquasoil would drop it 1-2 points, not 3 points.

I've got 6 bunches of stem plants planted in the tank (60p, 17.5gallon) and I've seen plenty of growth in the first week. I'm planning on adding pygmy cory's, porkchop rasboras, a pair of rams, and some amano shrimp. I guess I'm just wondering if this low PH is going to bother any of them.

at low pH you're ammonia (NH3) will be protinated into a NH4 state which is non toxic to fish so that's the good news. I wouldn't buffer you're water because that will cause much more trouble with changing your Total dissolved solids of the water and is much more difficult to keep consistent for you fish. pH changes due to co2 have little to no effect on you're fish. I too have my pH around 5.4 and i do think that i'm not able to get nitrofying bacteria but as long as i have plants they can use this and keep my tank nice and clean.

ahh, good to know, I guess I didn't realize that NH4 was non-toxic. My test kit doesn't differentiate between NH3 and NH4 so maybe it's safe to assume that what I'm seeing is NH4 with all of the plants I have in the tank. I'm seeing very low nitrites at the moment so I think at the end of the week (2 weeks after setting up the tank) maybe I'll try adding some rasbora's or pygmy cory's to see how they do.

Thanks everyone for the advice.

This is a photo of the tank by the way:

 

[JasonG75]

You dont have 2 test Nitrates and Nitrites? Is this a Liq Test Kit?

Get a black background and look on Ebay for lilly pipes. Thats just my suggestion.

 

[U2Kent]

You dont have 2 test Nitrates and Nitrites? Is this a Liq Test Kit?

Get a black background and look on Ebay for lilly pipes. Thats just my suggestion.

it's liquid, it's the tetra master test kit... it has a Nitrites test but not Nitrates.

I'm definitely getting lilly pipes, not sure about adding a background just yet... I might get some foamcore to use for photographing it once I have the light hung.