The tank right now has a number of small fish. They are doing okay, so I don't want to change the pH too fast.
The water from the faucet is about 6.5 after being conditioned and I have 2 other tanks that are fine at 7, one is fully established and one is in the beginning of the nitrogen cycle.
The ammonia level is now low, the nitrites are nearly gone, but still the pH stays acid.
I have asked several aquarium store owners and they had no clue.
Any help would be appreciated!How can I raise the pH of an aquarium?
Ammonia and nitrite will have no affect on your pH. You would need ridiculous amounts of them to even make a dent, and even then, it would be negligible. Do you have any driftwood in the tank? This would lower the ph, though I doubt it would drop it down to 5.0... Are you sure your tests are accurate? Two whole scales is a massive drop... If you are concerned (you shouldn't be since your fish are fine, meaning the pH probably isn't 5.0 in the first place), you could add small amounts of crushed coral, limestone, marble, or sea shells to the tank. These are all calcium carbonate based. As they slowly dissolve, the calcium carbonate will be released, gently buffering the water upwards. Again, it sounds as though this is unnecessary. If you do try this, be sure to start out with a very small amount of limestone/coral/marble/shell and work your way up over the period of a few weeks.How can I raise the pH of an aquarium?
need to get rd of all nitrites as this will raise ph. do 1/4 to 1/3 water change everyday. also buy a product called amonia lock. helps out the amonia and nitrite levels. you need these gone before you deal with ph. then worry about the ph. the store bought ph up powder should work then.
i use bi carb soda to raise my ph when i do water changes, it saves me spending alot of money for the chemicals at the local fish shop and its completely safe.
You have fish in the tank, and they are looking OK, but the pH is 5?
What do you have in the tank for decor?
That is pretty acidic. 6 is 10 times as acidic as 7, and 5 is 10 times as acidic as 6. I would suspect the test kit, but you are testing other water with it and getting normal results?
I would take samples from this tank and one other to a store, or a different store and have them tested to verify the results.
The SoupNazi has a very valid point here. Your water probably isn't really that low, something can be skewing the test results. But just in case......
Try letting a sample of tap water sit out for a few hours at least, overnight is better, covered but not airtight, and re-test it, see if you are getting a drop in pH in your source water. Most tap water reads differently straight from the tap because of a higher amount of dissolved gases while the water was under pressure. This won't necessarily solve the problem, but it will possibly eliminate the tap water as a source of the issue.
Another thing that is worth knowing in a situation like this the KH or Carbonate Hardness of the source water. It's basically what keeps the pH stable.
While we are looking at the source water, is it well water or municipal? Try filling a large glass container like a 2 or 3 quart glass pitcher with water. Let it stand for a bit to settle, then in good light look through it at a pure white background. A sheet of printer/typing.copy paper will be fine. Do you see any hint of yellowish tint to it? If so, it could likely be tannins. Not uncommon in many areas in the springtime.
This is a lousy format in which to try to troubleshoot a problem like this. There are so many things it could be. But one thing I can tell you for sure - there is a reason for it. It may not be easy to find, but it's there. Our job is to eliminate as many possibilities as we can to narrow the search.
I would be more than happy to help out. I think email would be the most efficient way to sort this out.
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