At first i started out with my ammonia around .75-1 ppm. Its the 10% ammonia from ACE Hardware. Slowly, my pH has been dropping which i thought was normal. the pH started at 8.0 and today is the 5th morning after i have started and I am reading a 6.0 pH Which is way too low for the bacteria. My ammonia hasnt dropped, yet my nitrites have been at .25ppm for two days now. Also, my nitrates are starting to show up, and are actualy increasing slowly. HOW DO I keep the pH around the mid 7's? The water temp. is set to the mid 80's and i am experiencing a lot of evaporation, i have to add water daily( the pH of the water i add is 7.2 so it should help but doesnt seem to raise it). I do not have an air stone yet, maybe thats theproblem, or i should just add in some plants which in turn may balance out my pH? someone please shoot me suggestions! my cycling seems to have been working, but i am scared i may stall it with this pH drop. I have heard crushed eggshells help, and the synthetic pH Up or Down isnt healthy for the system in general. Oh, and my tank is about 10 gallons, but since it is an aquaponics system the fish tank has 10 gallons and the sump has about 10 gallons, so overall my system is running with about 20ish gallons.
