pH changes

dancexonxwater

I have a 10 gallon freshwater tank with a black molly, for now.

I have had stressed fish recently and am looking into the problem. Thinking it has to do with water quality. My ammonia is fine, but my pH seems to change. Two nights ago it was 7.6, and 7.4 in the morning. and now today again it is 7.6. are these fluctuations normal? or are they detrimental to the fish?

My KH has a reading of 3dh, but if i change this the ph will increase more, and that's the opposite of what i'm interested in doing, if anything.

Any advice? Thanks!

kitten_penang

try a ph blocker but still it's better to find out whats wrong

bearwithfish

sorry kitten i must argue here
your Ph will swing from morning to nioght as the lights are on and off etc. this is normal and perfectly fine
i would start by running all the tests you have and post your readings so we can better advise you.. as for chemicals USE THEM AS A LAST RESORT ONLY!!! most things can be fixed with water changes and change in feeding practices others require a little help but not always traditional chemicals... do you run carbon? how long has the tank been up? when was it cycled? all of these could be factors

sik80

edit

DisneyCoralReef

So what are things that you can do to correct the ph of a tank? What causes the fluctuations? I'm just starting to learn about Carbon so I'm not quite sure yet what it is you would do with it(going to try to find threads about it now). What are other things you can do to a tank to correct those levels?

Pasfur

NOTE FROM MODERATOR:

This thread was started in the wrong forum, so I will be moving it to the freshwater section today. Before I do, I am wondering if we need to start a new thread on this last question? (The methods of handling pH in a saltwater tank are far different than freshwater and are entirely related to the proper monitoring of alkalinity.)

DCR... will you please post this question in another thread, in the saltwater area. After you do, I will edit this thread and move it to its proper home. If you don't have a saltwater question, please let me know that as well.