hanna h198129

[cichlidmac]

My solution always seems to evaporate from inside the cap after a couple of months of non-use; the probe dried out, and now, apparently, I have a pH of 9.0+ in my softwater tanks! Time to buy a new probe...because I would estimate the pH is somewhere around 5.0. Have tried calibrating several times in a row, even doing the two solution calibration, and no difference.

This reminds me, I have only been keeping apistos for a year and I'm curious of how you guys deal with bb issues. I've read that a ph under 6 causes the bb to go dormant and can cause massive fish loss. I know that under Ph 6 ammonia turns into ammonium. Can someone explain the science to this and the proper way to keep a low ph tank without issues. Maybe I should start a different thread sorry for the hijack.

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[Mike Wise]

I replenish the solution before it completely dries out (every week or 2). I guess that's why I'm not having troubles. My only problem is that I get a bit of a splash in the face when I put the cap on after replenishment.

 

[Mike Wise]

This reminds me, I have only been keeping apistos for a year and I'm curious of how you guys deal with bb issues. I've read that a ph under 6 causes the bb to go dormant and can cause massive fish loss. I know that under Ph 6 ammonia turns into ammonium. Can someone explain the science to this and the proper way to keep a low ph tank without issues. Maybe I should start a different thread sorry for the hijack.

The 'traditional' nitrifying bacteria are not the only species that break down NH3 & NO2. There are acid-loving species that do this, too. If the tank pH is below 6, a different group of bacteria species populate the filter material.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

I replenish the solution before it completely dries out (every week or 2). I guess that's why I'm not having troubles.

I think you are right, we wrap some parafilm (clingfilm) around the junction of the cap and probe after use, this means that the membranes should remain wet for longer. Once the membranes are dry it is likely that the probe needs replacing.

Can someone explain the science to this and the proper way to keep a low pH tank without issues.

Plants are the easiest answer. Plant - microbe systems are much more efficient and robust then microbe only systems.

The 'traditional' nitrifying bacteria are not the only species that break down NH3 & NO2. There are acid-loving species that do this, too. If the tank pH is below 6, a different group of bacteria species populate the filter material.

Nitrification (in fact most bacterial action) is slower at low pH, you can see this by how long it takes a leaf to decompose, but it still happens. It doesn't even have to be novel organisms, this is from:
Gieseke, A. Tarre, S. Green, M & de Beer, D. (2006)"Nitrification in a Biofilm at Low pH Values: Role of
In Situ Microenvironments and Acid Tolerance". APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
72 pp. 4283–4292

The sensitivity of nitrifying bacteria to acidic conditions is a well-known phenomenon and generally attributed to the lack and/or toxicity of substrates (NH3 and HNO2) with decreasing pHs. ....... Microelectrode measurements (in situ and under various experimental conditions) showed no evidence of a neutral microenvironment, either within the highly active biofilm colonizing the chalk surface or within a control biofilm grown on a nonbuffering (i.e., sintered glass) surface under acidic pH. ........ did not reveal uncommon nitrifying (potentially acid-tolerant) strains. Instead, we found a strongly acidic microenvironment, evidence for a clear adaptation to the low pH in situ, and the presence of nitrifying populations related to subgroups with low Kms for ammonia (Nitrosopira spp., Nitrosomonas oligotropha, and Nitrospira spp.).

cheers Darrel