Ph Increasing

[mom2cct]

My last tested Ph was at 7.6 and it appears to be climbing since it was 7.4 the day before and 7.2 the day before that. At what point is it too high and what is the best way to help out with this (if necessary) without using a decreaser? PWC?

This is a new tank (20g) that hasn’t gone through its first cycle, with three fish in it (before I knew I should wait to cycle FIRST). All other levels are good.

 

[Elle2]

Since I am having the opposite problem I have been doing considerable reading on this... what kind of substrate do you have? Some contain pacific coral (but mostly only sands not gravel) that can raise pH. Do you have any light coloured rocks, shells or corals- they can raise the pH.

As for lowering... I am still a newbie so I will let the experts that have been patiently guiding me through all of this jump in here.

hopefully our pH's will meet somewhere in the middle!

 

[mom2cct]

I'm using neutral (fairly light colored) gravel... mixed with a very small amount of green gravel. No corals, no shells...

 

[rich311k]

Test your tap water after letting it sit out overnight. Let us know what the KH and PH are. Do you have any rock work in the tank?

 

[mom2cct]

I have a fake rock structure.

I don't think I have a test for KH... Is that the same as GH?

 

[rich311k]

It is not the samething. It is a seperate test.

 

[mom2cct]

I went to THREE stores and none of them had a KH test. :?

 

[Elle2]

If you google the water quality for your municipality you may be able to find this out... I was able to find data on the pH and hardness, as well as other properties of my city's water this way. It may not be as accurate as a test but will hopefully lead you in the right direction.

 

[zephyr]

personally, i'd just wait, keep testing the water, and see when it levels out and the increase stops. then i think you have a measure of ph as to which you can work with.

there are the ('decreaser') kits you can buy to alter the ph, but i agree with you, its annoying to use them. i dont.
maybe if your ph stays at around 8.0ish, you could consider the option of just working with that ph and discover the fish of lakes tanganyika, victoria and malawi !! some are fantasic, although they dont always lend themselves to the new aquarist.

 

[mom2cct]

Ok, so I finally found a KH test... I forgot to test tap water altogether but here are the results from the last test.

pH = 7.6 (same as the day before)
Ammonia = .25 (0 the day before)
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = 0
KH = 4 degrees
GH = 4 degrees

I'm guessing the ammonia is a much bigger concern at this point. Time for a PWC?

 

[rich311k]

I would do a water change. Your fish will enjoy it. Let see what your tap water results are tomorrow. Those numbers look about the same as my tap water except for the ammonia.

 

[TomK2]

Mysterious pH rises in the past have been explained by carbonate substrates in the tank, and tap water that has required lots of time to equilibrate with atmospheric CO2. If your tap pH is not equilibrated by letting stand out overnight, an airstone will speed it up. Thus, if there are not carbonate substrates in the tank, I bet the tap ph just needs longer to outgas the CO2 and give its true, higher pH.

 

[mom2cct]

My ammonia levels are climbing. Before I do a PWC, I wanted to ask if I should use AmQuel to bring the level down instead?

 

[rich311k]

Water changes are the best way. Those cheap fixes will delay your cycle.

 

[mom2cct]

PWC completed... Ammonia level tested at 0. Fish ARE happy.

Thanks everyone for your help with this (and your quick responses). I wish the lfs would have told me about the fishless cycle and then I wouldn't have to worry about this...

I appreciate all the help that will help my fish make it to "the other side" with as little damage as possible!

 

[mom2cct]

I put tap water in the glass and tested it this morning for pH and KH

pH = 7.2
KH = 50 ppm (3 degrees)

Fish seemed to be doing well after PWC, which went pretty well considering this was the first one.

 

[jcarlilesiu]

7.2 isn't a bad PH. A stable PH is optimal to a perfect one. However, if your tank is sitting at 7.6-7.8 or continuing to rise, somethign in your tank is doing it. Keep that tap water out for longer than 24 hours and test again.

Carbonate hardness in the water will drop the PH. Many times, there is carbonate in tap water, so a PH reading right out of the tap doesn't show the true PH levels. Leaving the water out overnight allows the water to out gas the CO2 which then will give you a true reading of your PH. 24 hours might not have been enough

 

[mom2cct]

It was left overnight but not for 24 hours. I'll start again and post the results. The pH does appear to be stablizing at around 7.4-7.6.

Is this too high?

 

[TomK2]

Thats a fine pH. Many have a pH of 7.6 to 7.8 with very happy fish. Higher pH's tend to be more stable.

 

[Elle2]

Keep that tap water out for longer than 24 hours and test again.

Carbonate hardness in the water will drop the PH. Many times, there is carbonate in tap water, so a PH reading right out of the tap doesn't show the true PH levels. Leaving the water out overnight allows the water to out gas the CO2 which then will give you a true reading of your PH. 24 hours might not have been enough

Does the quantity of water that you let sit matter? I have a testing vial sitting out right now but was wondering if the small sample in a narrow tube will affect the ability of the water to out gas the CO2?