PH & canister question

[-gb-]

1st) The PH in my holding tank is 7.6 & the PH in my show tank between 7.0. Is this enough variance to cause PH shock? My CO2 system seems to counter the difference in PH almost as fast as the new water is pumped in. Could this also be a bad thing by pumping to much CO2 into the tank?

2nd) I shut off my canister filter while I'm doing a water change. It usually takes me 30 min to empty and refill the tank. Could the water in the canister go toxic inside of 30min??

thanks,

[-gb-]

???

[sophie68]

Hi,
Don't quote me on this, but I doubt it. Firstly, I am not sure what you are asking. Are you wondering about losing the bio filter in your canister while it's off or am I mistaken? Half an hour is nothing so long as your media remains wet (from my humble experience).
Can't help you with the CO2 question. Sorry!

Sophie

[-gb-]

thanks Sophie,

What I'm wondering is... I've heard that if you leave your canister filter off for an extended period of time that the water in the canister will go bad. Not sure how long it takes. I'm thinking it would be more that 30min but I was looking for some feedback.

As for the PH...

[sophie68]

Hi again,

No, the water in your canister will not become toxic in 30 minutes. I have first had experience with this. It usually takes me a good 30 minutes to clean my Eheim and I have never had a problem. Hope this helps!

Sophie

[Harriett]

thanks Sophie,

What I'm wondering is... I've heard that if you leave your canister filter off for an extended period of time that the water in the canister will go bad. Not sure how long it takes. I'm thinking it would be more that 30min but I was looking for some feedback.

As for the PH...

You have way more time than that. I turn my canister off when I do the weekly cleaning/pruning/etc on my big planted tank and the filter is off for at least a couple hours; never had a problem. I was worried about this also when I first started and got some reassuring feedback. It's a good question.
Harriett

[aquagal]

If you're ever in doubt, just pop off the top to let in some oxygen. I did this last time I lost power and everything was fine for several hours.

[pcsb23]

....As for the PH...

the ph will be fine, a 0.6 difference will not cause undue shock ime, I suspect it takes an hour or two to get down to 7 anyways.