pH conundrum,and many splinters in fingers from scratching head

[anglerfishuk]

Hi All,
Trying to sort out my Tanks & fish stocks etc since moving earlier
this year and along with getting Married again in August,

I have had a 60lt tank running for just under a year as then fiancee
had aquired one for me as I was leaving most of my other stuff behind
when I moved as the major change in Water Parameters from Liquid
rock to Soft would not be good for the fish I had then. I have
fish in this tank currently , consisting of 2 albino ancistrus, 1
synodontis 2 Angels and 4 Blue Tetra, Filtration is provided by
Fluval U4 as well as air driven double sponge filter decor consists
of 2 plastic plants 2 polycarbonate ornaments 2 small rocks and 2
small bits of Bogwood.
Water Parameters: 0 ammonia 0 nitrite <20ppm Nitrate pH 6.0


I recently set my 220lt up from scratch only dechlor water and live
plants :) ( I can keep them now) and it has been running like this
for over 2 months and plants are actually surviving and even
putting out new growth.
Tank decor apart from plants consists of 2 medium bits of Bogwood,
and 3 polycarbonate ornaments.
Water Parameters 0 ammonia 0 nitrite <20ppm Nitrate pH 6.8

Now the head scratching bit , This morning I removed 14lt of
water from the 60 lt tank and added it to the 220lt no change in
pH noted ,
I topped up the 60 lt with dechlor treated water from the Tap
(faucet) Water Company states pH is 7.2 ( tests confirm it ) Now as
the Tank is 6.0pH and the Water from Tap is 7.2pH surely there
should be some slight change in pH in the tank , tested tank 4 hrs
after water change and it shows 6.0pH fish show no signs of
distress in fact they seem more boisterous,
I cannot fathom out how the Tap Water is changing so fast.

I want to transfer the fish from the 60 ltr tank to the 220 ltr
tank but understandably apprehensive given the difference between
them 6.0 & 6.8 .
I do have other fish waiting to be collected from a local
source ,these consist of Long finned Leopard Danios and some Black
Lace Angels , and I have a pre-order for some Discus that have
recently bred.

Any Suggestions gratefully accepted , ( and band -aids for
splinters :) )

Regards
Andy.

[denizen]

Hi,

I keep a mesh bag of marine substrate in each of my 2 much-neglected planted tanks. It is crushed Florida limestone from old reefs, I think. It is for peace of mind; the bags of limestone should help maintain steady pH and KH, but I haven't done chemical water tests in years.

 

I'd guess that if you used limestone like this, the pH of your tanks would be more similar. However the planted tank's pH probably rises during the day when plants are using up carbon. Cheers.

d