i think i had a ph spike

[krap101]

if thats possible.

i havent checked my ph in like 2 weeks. my home ph downstairs is 7.2. now my ph is either 7.6-8.0

should i just do like a 40% water change?

for peat moss can you use the plant kind (helps trees grow) or only the kind at th store

 

[Keeper]

i'd do the water change. what kind of test kits are you using? how old are they? I think for the peatmoss you should go with the stuff from the store. Do you have any rocks in the tank that may have contributed to the PH hike. I know certain types of rocks can affect PH this way! What were the other parameters in the tanks?

 

[TankGirl]

I would definitely be suspicious of the substrate (some types of sand will do this as will crushed coral) or of some rock or other decoration, as Keeper mentioned. Another thing to try is to test your water right out of the tap then let the tap water sit 24 hours in a clean glass and test it again. Often CO2 is present in tap water and after it outgasses you will find that your tap has a slightly higher pH than you thought.

 

[krap101]

oh ic. i bought it frmo walmart. its like a small pea gravel dark barown i dont know of any rocks besides the substrate. (it was meant for tanks)

my test kit is like 4 months old
'
it the aquarium pharmisutical master kit or watever.

ammonia was at 0 and nitrates i forgot to check it but it was under 40.

 

[krap101]

i have driftwood in there 2 but i dont think it affected it visibly

and if it was the c02 thingy then wouldnt it of changed more when i did the water change?

 

[TankGirl]

Driftwood would only keep the pH low, rather than raise it. Try the before and after 24-hours pH test on your tap water and post back. If your tap is stable after 24 hours and you don't have any shells or other calciferous rock in there, and the substrate is typical epoxied aquarium gravel (inert) then I am at a loss! Tanks tend to get more acidic over time as material collects in the gravel and "waste happens." but there needs to be something leaching into the tank water to cause the pH to rise.

 

[Keeper]

Another thing to try is to test your water right out of the tap then let the tap water sit 24 hours in a clean glass and test it again. Often CO2 is present in tap water and after it outgasses you will find that your tap has a slightly higher pH than you thought.

I am at a loss for why you have the PH spike. I would try what TankGirl reccomends. Test the water out of the tap and then leave some water out for 24hrs and test again. Keep us updated

 

[Keeper]

TankGirl...you are too quick. LOL

 

[TankGirl]

Only by accident

 

[krap101]

i have shells in there but only for my snails. their shells i found by the shore but i thought that would only raise my kh. but theyve never affected my ph until now

 

[CiRXSi]

Too much aeration (I've heard) can raise PH. Did you add a new bubbler, or filter recently. I think that's what caused my ph spike in my former guppy tank.

 

[krap101]

i had a bubbler but it made the fish not be able to relax so i took it out like 3 days ago

 

[krap101]

i finally figured out why. i got crayfish so i put them in a icebox and took out water from my tank and didnt fill it up for about 3 days. i think (forgot) whoever said there was too much oxygen because it was about a couple inches below the waterline thingy. from here |-------------| to there. so i filled it up and im waiting for it to go down. if it doesnt go down in the next 48 hours ill resort to peat. do you just leave it in there? since i have a penguin 125 i cant put any media in there so i wa just going to put it in like a stocking or watever. when it gets to like 7 or watever do you do a waterchange so it doesnt go too low?

 

[TankGirl]

I am unfamiliar with too much oxygen (do you mean from splashing?) causing a rise in pH. I do know that splashing will cause CO2 to outgas in a planted tank, raising the pH back to the normal tap level would be, but I did not think it would raise the pH of tap water. If someone has some info on this I would be grateful.

I can't remember what fish you have in there, but is the higher pH a real problem for them?

 

[krap101]

i have 2 balloon mollys like 5 zebra danios and 5 corys. and a rubber lipped pleco. and 2 really small snails.

 

[krap101]

and its at 7.6 now so i think its going down. my tap is 7.2 (gonna check it tonight [someone said to) and i think its going down. the water in the bath is 7.2 and the sink is 7.0 the perfect tap. just i cant get the bucket into the sink without filling the sink and siphoning it into a bucket which willt ake a really long time