Aquarium salt and PH PT2

Question
QUESTION: Hi Karen. I have now had two tanks for at least 4 months. Both have had a constant PH level of 7, bang on. However, recentely,ie yesterday, Both tanks were treated with Aquarium salt. Now both tanks have a PH of 6. The second tank has also lost 3 fish since its introduction. Any ideas? Many thanks.

ANSWER: Hi Dave,
Aquarium salt is not known to affect the pH level or Hardness. Or you sure you preformed the test correctly? I'm not blaming you or anything its just a possibility. Have you tried re-testing your water? And do you have any driftwood in the tanks that could lower the pH? How long has it been since you've done a water change? Sometimes if the tank has been going without water changes for a while, the pH naturally drops due to excess organics producing acidic compounds.

I'm not really sure why you lost those three fish. Did it happen when the salt was added? Maybe those fish were sensitive to salt. Some species cannot tolerate salt very well, including loaches and catfish.

I would also test your water for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates to make sure all these levels are where they should be. Make sure ammonia and nitrite is always ZERO and nitrate  is 20 or less.

A good water change would be good just as a precaution. Aquarium salt is not needed to keep freshwater fish healthy and its much better reserved for when your fish have developed a sickness. Salt is a great treatment for fungus infections, bacterial infections and parasites. But it's not needed all the time in the aquarium to keep fish healthy. Whats more important is clean water through lots of water changes.

I really hope this helps!
Happy fishkeeping!
Karen~

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QUESTION: Thans for original Q. The PH value has been constnt t 7 since tank setup. I do have some bogwood, but it has never affected the PH value. The only difference carried out was the salt added. The fish lost were Glowlight tetras, Zebra, Rosie barb. All after the salt was added.I did carry out regular water changes, and have just done another. However, the PH is still at 6. Many thans for your time. Dave
ANSWER: Hello again Dave!
That is very strange. Have you tested your tap water's pH? Is it the same as your tank? I have rarely experienced sudden pH drops in any one of my aquariums but when I have, a few small water changes usually brought the pH back up to its normal level.

Maybe your source water itself has changed. Can you test your KH (alkalinity) knowing this could help determine if you need to add a buffer to keep your pH from dropping.

How large of a water change do you make at a time? Have you changed water conditioners...or what kind of Water conditioner do you currently use. This may have nothing to do with your problem I've just heard that Amquel, when overdosed, has been known to cause a sudden pH drop in lightly buffered water. You wouldn't happen to be using Co2 on your tank either? Co2 naturally causes the pH to drop and lower the buffering capacity. .

But I myself would continue with the water changes for now and see how that goes... Small daily Water changes are the best way to balance tank chemistry and much safer than with chemicals. Additional aeration has also been known to help with sudden pH drops in aquariums. The bogwood may be contributing to the pH drop, but also make sure the gravel is severely clogged with organics as that will cause your pH to remain low also.
Hope we can figure this out!
Let me know if you have anymore questions,
Best wishes,
Karen~

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QUESTION: Thanks again Karen. I honestly don't think the bogwood is to blame. I do a partial water change of about 25percent every 3 days or so. The conditioer is King British Safe Guard. All the fish I am losing are only the ones added ince the Salt was added. All previous original fish are still ok. Maybe its damned Aliens...lol. Thanks again. Dave
ANSWER: Hi Dave,
So the fish you lost were just recently added to the tank? If so, then you may have just gotten a hold of some stressed or weak fish in the beginning that may have had nothing to do with your tank. Sometimes fish are just too stressed or weakened at the petstore and when you finally bring them home it can finish them off. The salt may been responsible also if it was added too soon, it could have shocked the fish a little too much.
It shouldn't be the water conditioner or Aliens..lol!

But maybe you just got ahold of some bad fish in the first place. This would certainly explain why your original fish are still doing well.

This whole pH problem is such a mystery! I'd be willing to experiment to see what other test kits read for your pH. One good thing to try is to have your fishstore test your water's pH.

I'll be doing a little research on this and if I come up with anything else, I'll be sure to let you know!

Best wishes as always,
Karen~

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QUESTION: Dear Karen
Thanks for your input and perceverense. I have tested my own water supply and its a PH of 7. Bang on. I have also virtually stripped down my tank, cleaned all wood and plants, and re-filled. Its still at PH6 though within 30mins. Its just too coincidental that the only thing I have done to both tanks is to add the salt which has then altered both tanks PH values and killed fish in both tanks that had just been added after the salt but non from before adding it. Anyway, I will love and leave you now and let you have a rest. If, by some chance I do get it back to normal I will let you know. Thanks and best wishes. Dave

Answer
Hi Dave,
There are some things that can affect pH such as the Carbon dioxide CO2 levels. Even simple things like not enough circulation in the tank may affect pH levels. Not enough oxygen exchange can result in carbon dioxide building and Co2 can push the pH level down considerably. If this is an overstocked tank or one with high-oxygen consumers then this is possible.

Due to some recent research, I've found out that-
If your water is generally 7.0 then it is probably very poorly buffered. I think the salt addition may have been coincidental, as aquarium salt (NaCl) is not acidic and I am aware of no chemical process by which it can precipitate calcium (which buffers the pH). Salt is associated with soft water in the sense that is used to recharge the resins in water-softening devices, or is used in ion-exchange purifiers (where Fe and Na are traded for Mg and Ca), but that will not occur in an aquarium, so aquarium salt should have no effect on the water's hardness or pH. This is evident in seawater which has a greatly higher NaCl content than hardness ions, and yet remains hard and alkaline.

There are a variety of acidifying effects that take place in an aquarium. CO2 is responsible for one of them (it naturally converts to carbonic acid in water), though this only comes in small amounts from fish and shouldn't be a problem unless you have a CO2 system in the tank for live plants. The nitrogen cycle also produces a lot of acid (roughly 2 H+ ions for each ammonia ion that is converted all the way to nitrate), and this is where the main acidifying effect in a normal aquarium comes from. Over time, even very hard water will become quite acidic as the acids become higher in concentration than the buffers. In water with a low buffering capacity this will happen quickly, and a water change does indeed help this as it removes the dissolved acids.

I wonder what your KH or buffering capacity is. Testing for that might give me a little idea on what to do about this potential problem. It certainly does sound like your water doesn't have enough buffering capacity and therefore the pH drops considerably after some time. Many aquarists used Crushed Coral in their filter or even in their substrate to keep the pH level stable. And this is about the only time I'd recommend chemicals to be used. In this case it will prevent dangerous pH drops that can be very harmful to your fish. You could try adding a buffer to keep the water stable but its entirely your choice of course.

Best wishes and if I come up with anything else I'll be sure to let you know.
Karen~