Hi Guys,
Quick Q about my Ph.
Cycle is progressing nicely (woo), but my Ph is very low and want to get it sorted.
Ph straight out of the tap is 7.6, left for 24hours is 7.4. Tank is currently reading 6.
I don't have money for a gh kh testing kit until next month so the only information I can give you is what is in the tank, I will see if I can get the water tested at the shop this week.
Gravel, sand, beach stones (boiled before hand), java moss and fern, some snails and a good bit of bogwood.
Readings this morning were Ph 6, Am 3.0ppm, Nitrite 0.25ppm, Nitrate 30ppm.
I know bogwood can lower Ph but I didn't think by this much? I'm quite happy with the way the tank is set up right now so would rather adjust water (with bicarb/epsom salts?) than remove some wood as it is now nicely established with moss - can you think of what else could be causing the drop?
I don't add anything to the tank apart from ammonia when it dips below 3ppm and a tiny bit of ground fish food every few days to keep the snails off the plants.

Hi aimee,

If pH has dropped to 6 your kH is almost certainly exhausted and the cycle is in danger of stalling. As the tank isn't stocked it's safe to raise the kH and pH rapidly using bicarbonate of soda to prevent a filter crash.

For a 25 litre tank you'll probably find half a teaspoon is enough. Dissolve it in some tank water and pour in. Wait 20 minutes then check pH. If it's over 7 that's enough, if not add a little more. As long as it's well above 6 and below about 8.5 the tank should continue to cycle without interruption.

If you haven't any bicarb in the house it should be available in the baking aisle of any supermarket or at a local chemists's shop and is very cheap.

Thanks Fishlady, I will nip down to the shop now to grab some, it's actually a 60l, I did have a 15l but I turned that into a herb garden (until I knocked it over yesterday and it cracked so herbs are now back in pots, oops).

Just to add - it won't be due to the bogwood. The biological process of converting ammonia through nitrite to nitrate uses up kH and causes pH to fall. During a cycle this can be a problem as it's a prolonged process with no water changes. Once the tank is stocked a regular 25% water change will almost certainly be sufficient to replenish kH and keep pH stable.

Thanks again, added bicarb and now Ph is 7.6 :)

Missed this earlier, but if it happens again a large (80-90%) waterchange is also fairly effective. You'll need to redose your ammonia afterwards, but it usually sorts out these sort of problems.

Im turning over the ammonia now in 12hrs, nitrites and nitrates are very high, nitrites off the chart for the past couple of days. How much longer do you think it will take for nitrites to go to 0?

No away to be certain with that; the nitrite stage can be very variable. I'm at roughly the same stage as you cycling another tank at the moment and eagerly awaiting the nitrite drop too. When it comes. It's usually pretty dramatic an as soon as it's low enough to measure again it'll drop to 0 within a couple of days after that. My nitrItes have been off the scale for 9 days now; in fact so far off the scale that they're interfering with the nitrAte test rendering it useless at the moment

Ok so nitrites have dropped right down and readings for amm and nitrites are 0 after 20-24 hours and have been doing this for past four days with no change, ph stable, can I expect the cycle to get quicker? I can't get fish for another couple of weeks so I'm in no rush just checking what to expect :)

Yes, you will find the ammonia and nitrite being processed faster as time goes on. If you can get to the stage of finding the dosed ammonia has been processed right through to nitrate in around 12 hours that's pretty much perfect.