pH In Water Keeps Dropping.

[StriGoi]

I love your plecos!!! I collect a few myself:





I have lots more too! I keep a blue-spotted pleco I have never seen since adding it. Most $$$ one too.

I am wondering, why your pH continues to drop? What is the pH of your tap water? There is really no reason the pH of your tank should keep dropping that far.

Hmmm... i see that you have L27 royal, L333 and an adonis if iam not mistaken.
Watch for the adnois fellow, it's not at its adult length yet judging by the pic.
The royals are "wood chippers" too, much waste is produced if u have DW in ur tank.

I think you are talking about the "blue eye sactoni" I think that's how it's spelled.
Yup, its kindda hard to come by. Take car of that one too.

My pH is no more dropping after introducing the corals in it.

[StriGoi]

I love your plecos!!! I collect a few myself:

I didn't know you had plecos!

I have lots more too! I keep a blue-spotted pleco I have never seen since adding it. Most $$$ one too.

Do you know the scientific name (or number) of this one?

If iam not mistaken its does not have a L number ....

And its VERY expensive.

One of my friend who owns paid like for a bomb to get it.

[StriGoi]

Checking the pH of the tap is OK, but if you want to really know what is going on with the pH of the tank, monitor the KH of the tap water and the tank. The KH (carbonate/bicarbonate hardness) controls the pH of water.

HTH

Edit: I cannot imagine NOT having plecos. I have always been a bit of a catfish/pleco nut, but cannot keep any big ones at the moment, as i have only mid-sized tanks operating now.

You can always keep the smaller ones where adult size hits to like 4".......

[StriGoi]

Back to the question..... LOL


ONE MORE OTHER ISSUE...............
I notice that my tank is more "brownish" in color after putting in the bag of corals.
My 2 piece of DW had been in this tank since day one but it has not tarnish the water as bad as now.
Both the DW had been boiled for many hours before.
But only recently is has tarnish the water much more.
Weird it sound but i think it has something to do with the new bag of corals.
Thanks for reading and taking the time out to reply once again!

[Nick]

Perhaps more tannins are leeching due to the changes in the water chemistry from adding the coral rubble? That would be my only guess.

[Troender]

If iam not mistaken its does not have a L number ....

I wonder if it can be this one. If it is, it has the number L-128, and I've got 3 of them.

Sorry for hijacking the thread.

[StriGoi]

Perhaps more tannins are leeching due to the changes in the water chemistry from adding the coral rubble? That would be my only guess.

A good guess, cause i think that is the only reason that it could be happening but than again, i boiled the DW for many many hours before.

Even after boiling a DW for hours end, it will still tarnish i guess.

BTW, tarnish is the correct term to use here right?

Thanks,

[StriGoi]

If iam not mistaken its does not have a L number ....

I wonder if it can be this one. If it is, it has the number L-128, and I've got 3 of them.

Sorry for hijacking the thread.

Nah, it's alright for me.

If yours is a L-128, it's kind of hard to come by too but not as hard as this which initially i thought you had .
---> http://www.planetcatfish.com/shanesworl ... cle_id=376

L200 is the green spotted ones so ur are the L128.

Nice.....

[Nick]

Tannins is the correct term, tarnish is generally used to describe the oxidized coating many metals develop if they are exposed to air and water.

In my experience, 6 months of 50% weekly water changes will generally drain most of the tannins. Boiling first avoids the problem of massive tannin leaks during the first couple months of the process.

[StriGoi]

Tannins is the correct term, tarnish is generally used to describe the oxidized coating many metals develop if they are exposed to air and water.

In my experience, 6 months of 50% weekly water changes will generally drain most of the tannins. Boiling first avoids the problem of massive tannin leaks during the first couple months of the process.

Thanks for the clarification, greatly appreciated.!!

I once assumed that boiling would rid of the tannin leaks.

I always fear of doing more that 30% WC at one go.

It just seem to me that too much chemistry change.

I will seek you advise and maybe say do a weekly 30% WC?....

[Myaj]

Clean, stable water is your friend

I just skimmed the posts, but can't see where anyone has asked what your actual nitrate readings are? As in the number, not just "safe". If your tanks are overstocked with too much organics in the water, that can lower your pH as well.

Have you tested your KH yet?

And yes, some driftwood will keep leeching tannins for years. It all depends on the type of wood. One piece might not leech any brown color at all, another might be horrible.

[StriGoi]

Clean, stable water is your friend

I just skimmed the posts, but can't see where anyone has asked what your actual nitrate readings are? As in the number, not just "safe". If your tanks are overstocked with too much organics in the water, that can lower your pH as well.

Have you tested your KH yet?

And yes, some driftwood will keep leeching tannins for years. It all depends on the type of wood. One piece might not leech any brown color at all, another might be horrible.

Thanks for the reply.

I do not have too much organics in my tank (if ur referring about plants).

I really did not check my KH. Will do so soon.


BTW, i remembered someone here mention that it's not good or something for corries to live in sand /gravel bed.
Why is that so?
Thanks.

[Troender]

BTW, i remembered someone here mention that it's not good or something for corries to live in sand /gravel bed.
Why is that so?

There is the danger of a special kind of bacteria growing on the gravel (the same happens in BB tanks). You don't get the same problem in sand, as the cories (and other fish) dig around in the sand. Other fishes aren't bothered by it, as they don't live with their nose into the substrate, like cories do. What it can do to the cories, is that their barbels get etched off. And cories without barbels have lost their most important sens. In the long run, the cories can die because of wrong substrate. When you see a cory with short/no barbels, is almost always due to wrong substrate.

Besides, it's their natural way to look for food in substrate that is soft. If you've ever seen a cory on sand, you will never go back to gravel. They just love it. The long nosed cories put their whole face into the sand, and then moves around with the nose still into the sand. Cories also filtrate sand through their gills to find food.

I never sell cories to people that can't give them sand to live on.

[J-P]

My pH is no more dropping after introducing the corals in it.

Congrats Just keep watching the KH & PH for a while... make sure everything is stable

[Myaj]

No, by organics I mean fish waste (feces, urine) and decaying food, etc. Your nitrate reading will tell you how these are.