Crisis - pH crashes

Dear discus fam, I had to re-cycle my tank with my dear fish in it due to an illness that destroyed everything and the pH keeps dropping super fast.

Ph out of tap is 7.6. Within hours the tank will be at 7.0. and the lowest reading I got before a water change was 5.8. This just keeps happening I guess because my water has no buffering capacity. I recently discovered that my tap water has dropped from 4 to 1 in carbonate cardness (kH). Any other insights? Has anyone had this problem and what should I try to fix it to keep my Ph stable?

I even tried aging my water for 24 hrs. No difference in the 7.6. reading in the sterile aging barrel.

I would so greatly appreciate any help!!!

Hi Tanja .
Very low tap water KH of less than 4 degree could very well leed to this fast ph drop in your tank due to decomposing organics creating acids, and not in your barrel where the water is clean .
You should start raising your KH with commercial KH buffers or crushed coral in the filters , as many members here use to keep their KH and PH from crushing.
The safest way for KH buffer is to experiment and measure in your aging barrel rather that directly in your tank.
And with crushed coral , you can put it straight in to the main tank filter , because its impact on KH raising is not sudden but rather gradual.
Please share some photos and info about your tank too , because here at " Simply " we "The discus geeks " love to look photos of discus and different discus tanks :)

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Originally Posted by Filip

Hi Tanja .
Very low tap water KH of less than 4 degree could very well leed to this fast ph drop in your tank due to decomposing organics creating acids, and not in your barrel where the water is clean .
You should start raising your KH with commercial KH buffers or crushed coral in the filters , as many members here use to keep their KH and PH from crushing.
The safest way for KH buffer is to experiment and measure in your aging barrel rather that directly in your tank.
And with crushed coral , you can put it straight in to the main tank filter , because its impact on KH raising is not sudden but rather gradual.
Please share some photos and info about your tank too , because here at " Simply " we "The discus geeks " love to look photos of discus and different discus tanks :)

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You learn something new every day. Thanks, Filip.

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Originally Posted by Mando

You learn something new every day. Thanks, Filip.

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We all do Tanja , and you are welcome :)

With everything you've been through I'm surprised this hasn't been noticed before.

A little baking soda will also do the trick, but it's best to experiment with your own water. 1 tsp baking soda per 25g should raise kh by 1 point. Do you have access to a KH/GH test kit?

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Originally Posted by jeep

Do you have access to a KH/GH test kit?

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Yes I've been testing it while I've had the tank the past year. I stopped testing a few months ago because I thought it was a waste of time when the kh was always at 4-5. Then when I started testing it again it's now reading at barely even 1. Off the tap. So this is a problem I didn't have before.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Filip

You should start raising your KH with commercial KH buffers or crushed coral in the filters , as many members here use to keep their KH and PH from crushing.
The safest way for KH buffer is to experiment and measure in your aging barrel rather that directly in your tank.
And with crushed coral , you can put it straight in to the main tank filter , because its impact on KH raising is not sudden but rather gradual.
Please share some photos and info about your tank too , because here at " Simply " we "The discus geeks " love to look photos of discus and different discus tanks :)

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Yes Philip thank you! Have you ever had to use crushed coral? I will surely post some pics after I get these guys out of the quarantine tank where I'm holding them because of the pH issue. And a cycling issue. I had a beautiful planted tank...I had to tear it all down. But I'm sure my fish will be healthier going forward.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tanja

Yes Philip thank you! Have you ever had to use crushed coral? I will surely post some pics after I get these guys out of the quarantine tank where I'm holding them because of the pH issue. And a cycling issue. I had a beautiful planted tank...I had to tear it all down. But I'm sure my fish will be healthier going forward.

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Having a rock hard water coming out of my tap with KH almost undetectable above 16 Dkh I never had the need to use buffers Tanja . But being a long time here at Simply and reading different stories Ive learned something new every day , just as you said .
If your fish are still in the growth phase or they've experienced some problems , you've made a wise decision , tearing down your planted tank .
Looking forward seeing your new setup and discus when they are all set and ready .