Plants and pH - New to Planted Aquariums

LPan82 · 03-22-2004, 10:33 PM

Hi, I'm very very new at this. NEWBIE! Buying plants for my tank was kind of a spontaneous thing. Anyways, i did do my research, but I encountered a problem the first week.

Background info:
6 gallon tank with 1 gold fish, 1 lutea, and one moneywart with literite substrate.

Question: Are my plants affecting the pH? I know that CO2 is slightly acidic, so because of the small size of my tank, would my pH go UP (more basic) when the light is turned on? I'm figuring that the leaves would suck up the CO2 and increase the pH. And would the pH go DOWN at night, when the plant breaths in O2 and breaths out CO2?

Also, does the substrate affect the pH? my pH seemed to go out of whack after I added thses elements. Please advise, and thanks in advance!

Art_Giacosa · 03-23-2004, 03:45 AM

Hi,

Certainly plants will cause a pH swing. Plants actually respire (breath) 24 hours a day. However, during light hours photosynthesis causes a net uptake of CO2. As a result of complicated interactions, a decrease of CO2 will result in an increase in pH.

Substrates can also buffer pH or acidify the water (e.g., the use of peat). Again, with laterite I wouldn't worry too much about any impact on pH.

That being said, with the plants you have, I'm not sure there will be much of a pH swing. Any that does happen should not hurt your goldfish in the least. So, I wouldn't worry too much about it.

A few questions for you:

How much light are you using?
What substrate are you using?
What fertilizer are you using?

**IUnknown** · 03-23-2004, 07:56 AM

Welcome to the board. Even with this many plants, goldfish have no problems with the pH swing,

LPan82 · 03-23-2004, 08:24 AM

My light is approximately 1.5 Watts per gallon, the fertilizer that I'm using is "Leaf Zone" by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals. It contains potassium and chelated iron. My substrate is "First Layer- Pure Laterite", also by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals. Anyways, I added some pH adjusters into the tank. The ammonia buns on my fish are getting better. However, my moneywart seems to be affected by the high pH. The leaves are now dark green rather than the strong normal green color. Hopefully the pH adjustment will improve things. Thanks for the advice!