Testing PH with API freshwater master test kit

[GoldenPanda]

Hello everyone, I recently purchased the API freshwater master test kit however I am a bit confused as to which bottle I should be using to test the PH as this kit comes with two bottles. I have already tested with both bottles, the first bottle gives me a reading of about 6.4, but the high range bottle tells me its around 7.4. Needless to say I am very confused! so any help would be most welcome please. Thank you.

 

[Delapool]

Hello everyone, I recently purchased the API freshwater master test kit however I am a bit confused as to which bottle I should be using to test the PH as this kit comes with two bottles. I have already tested with both bottles, the first bottle gives me a reading of about 6.4, but the high range bottle tells me its around 7.4. Needless to say I am very confused! so any help would be most welcome please. Thank you.

Hi,
The high range ph test only tests a range of 7.4 to 8.8. A value of 7.4 means it is at or below this.

The normal ph test giving a value if 6.4 is the correct result.

Also worth testing tap water to see what that is. Are you cycling a tank at all? Curious on the 6.4 value.

 

[GreenLily]

Your pH is 6.4 . You kit comes with low range pH test and a high range pH test kit. pH can vary depending on your water source so they provide both for this reason. My pH is at 8, so I only use the high range pH kit because my water should retain the same/close reading as it did the last time I tested it. Hope this is helpful!

 

[GoldenPanda]

Hi, The high range ph test only tests a range of 7.4 to 8.8. A value of 7.4 means it is at or below this. The normal ph test giving a value if 6.4 is the correct result. Also worth testing tap water to see what that is. Are you cycling a tank at all? Curious on the 6.4 value.

Thanks for your reply, well I just tested my tap water now at it gives a reading of 7.0 but my tank water is now showing between 6.4 and 6.6 today, and yeah I am in the process of cycling a tank. Is it normal for this to happen Should I be worried?

 

[Delapool]

You could test your tap water after 24hrs just to check true ph after the tap water gasses off but it is normal that the ph will drop, particularly it seems when cycling. The bb slow down at 6.5 and have little activity at a ph of 6 - cycle basically stalls. I would keep an eye on it and baking soda (quick fix) or a bag of crushed coral will lift kH which will lift ph. For cycling as far as I can tell a ph of 6.6 and above is desired. If it is fish-in cycling then you only want the ph to lift by say 0.2 to 0.5 (more towards 0.2 - 0.3) over a 24hr period from the guides I have. Once cycled, my pwc's keep the tank ph close or slightly lower than tap ph.

 

[GoldenPanda]

You could test your tap water after 24hrs just to check true ph after the tap water gasses off but it is normal that the ph will drop, particularly it seems when cycling. The bb slow down at 6.5 and have little activity at a ph of 6 - cycle basically stalls. I would keep an eye on it and baking soda (quick fix) or a bag of crushed coral will lift kH which will lift ph. For cycling as far as I can tell a ph of 6.6 and above is desired. If it is fish-in cycling then you only want the ph to lift by say 0.2 to 0.5 (more towards 0.2 - 0.3) over a 24hr period from the guides I have. Once cycled, my pwc's keep the tank ph close or slightly lower than tap ph.

Hello. I will defo test my tap water again then and see how that turns out, and I think I will give the crushed coral a try if the ph continues to stay low. Another question though (sorry), should I be putting it in my filter which is an HOB or can I just place it in the tank somewhere? Also I assume I should only add a little at a time so as not to raise the Ph too quickly as I do currently have a couple of small fancy goldfish in there.

 

[Delapool]

Hello. I will defo test my tap water again then and see how that turns out, and I think I will give the crushed coral a try if the ph continues to stay low. Another question though (sorry), should I be putting it in my filter which is an HOB or can I just place it in the tank somewhere? Also I assume I should only add a little at a time so as not to raise the Ph too quickly as I do currently have a couple of small fancy goldfish in there.

I would try a small cup or handful in a bag below the hob filter outlet pipe. That way you can change it easily depending on how it goes and it is letting the hob run as normal. I don't know of any way to work out the exact amount I'm sorry. I assume tank size is decent for goldfish. Test ph often until the ph increase rate is known. Goldfish should do fine if it goes a bit above 7 or settles at 7, as long as the ph increase rate is not too sudden (as opposed to aiming to get a specific ph value). Water changes will also help. I assume you started at a tap ph of ~7 and it has been declining.

How long has your cycle been going for, any sign of nitrates?

 

[GoldenPanda]

I would try a small cup or handful in a bag below the hob filter outlet pipe. That way you can change it easily depending on how it goes and it is letting the hob run as normal. I don't know of any way to work out the exact amount I'm sorry. I assume tank size is decent for goldfish. Test ph often until the ph increase rate is known. Goldfish should do fine if it goes a bit above 7 or settles at 7, as long as the ph increase rate is not too sudden (as opposed to aiming to get a specific ph value). Water changes will also help. I assume you started at a tap ph of ~7 and it has been declining. How long has your cycle been going for, any sign of nitrates?

Yes my tap ph appears to be 7 but when I test my tank water later it always seems to drop to 6.4. The lowest reading iv had is 6 and that was today. I have purchased some crushed cockle shells online and I'm hoping they will help with the ph drop.
My tank has only been cycling for about a month, I'm ashamed to say it but I I knew nothing about the cycling process before I got my fish, iv had the fish themselves though for three months or so and so far I guess I have been lucky that they have had no health issues. I have always kept on top of water changes and treated the water but that was the extent of my knowledge at the time. There is absolutely no sigh of nitrites when I test my water and the ammonia always seems to be quite high. Out of curiosity I tested my tap water for ammonia and that alone is 0.50ppm. When I test the tank it is more or less always around the 1.0 or 2.0ppm mark. I do about 50% water changes every other day but should I be doing that everyday or am I already doing too much? I'm at a bit of a loss to be honest. I love my two little guys and I don't want to cause them any harm.

 

[Delapool]

Can I just double-check if your test is strips or liquid, also if the test kit is fairly new, and if you are testing the tap water before or after treatment?

In case useful I've copied in a couple of links on cycling.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f12/fish-in-cycling-step-over-into-the-dark-side-176446.html

I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?! - Aquarium Advice

Is it nitrite or nitrate that is always 0? Have you seen any nitrite or nitrate at all? Just hoping

The bb start to slow at a ph of 6.5 and stall at a ph of 6.0. That doesn't matter so much as most of the ammonia is in the form of ammonium which is less toxic. Generally above a ph of 7 the more toxic ammonia is formed. A table is in the link below.

Fritz Zyme :: Fritz Industries, Inc.

GreenLily can you check this strategy please as my tap water has no ammonia and I don't have to worry about it.

The ph needs to come up slowly above 6.5 (a pinch of baking soda is what I would try to start until you know how much is needed). But I would keep it below 7 until you get the bb going. Same with the shells, I would just use a tablespoon to start to see what happens. I would aim to keep ph around 7 until your cycle is complete.

For now I would do 50% pwc every day (sorry!) both to get the ph up and to get the ammonia down below 0.5. I don't think you are doing too many. A water changer hose may help if the tank is large. I suspect from my own experience that even if looking fine, it does weaken the fish. I would also try seeding from bacteria in a bottle or even gravel from the lfs to try and speed the process up.

Once cycled, tap water treated with prime will be ok for 24 to 48 hrs which gives the bb time to catch-up. I'd do small, more frequent pwc's to deal with the 0.5 tap reading.

 

[GoldenPanda]

It is a liquid test kit, the API freshwater master test kit to be exact and I have been using it for the last two weeks or so.
When I first used the kit I tested my water before doing a water change but now I have gotten into the habit of doing my water changes in the afternoon then testing my tank water later the same evening.
The nitrite and the nitrate are always at 0. The ammonia over the last few days has been 0.25 and that's with doing the 50% Water changes every day. Do you think that is still to high?
Thanks for all your help so far by the way! You have been really great

 

[Delapool]

It is a liquid test kit, the API freshwater master test kit to be exact and I have been using it for the last two weeks or so.
When I first used the kit I tested my water before doing a water change but now I have gotten into the habit of doing my water changes in the afternoon then testing my tank water later the same evening.
The nitrite and the nitrate are always at 0. The ammonia over the last few days has been 0.25 and that's with doing the 50% Water changes every day. Do you think that is still to high?
Thanks for all your help so far by the way! You have been really great

Well that's great news on ammonia. Test kit sounds good. Normally 0 in a cycled tank, 0.25 is a warning bell that its climbing IMO.

At your lower ph its not such an issue and the bb will catch up. And the water changes are doing the job. It sounds like your more at the start of the cycle, I was hoping for some nitrates. Perhaps it did stall.

 

[mistersprinkles]

Are you using the Nitrate test kit properly?

Instructions:

Add solution 1

shake test tube slightly

shake solution 2 for 30 seconds

Add solution 2

Shake test tube for 60 seconds

Wait 5 minutes

Read result.

 

[GoldenPanda]

Yes I have been using the nitrate test solution correctly. I made sure I read the instructions thoroughly before using the kit.

 

[Roz]

Hi there,

I've been in a similar situation to the OP.

My tap water reads a pH of about 7.5, but until recently, my tank water was 6.4 - in a 150L tank with 4 small fancy goldfish, and 15-30% PWC every second day.

About a week ago I bought broken up shells from a good lfs, put them in a filter bag and secured it near the intake pipe of the filter, as they recommended. The pH is now slowly rising

Before I got the shells, I went to another lfs, whose "expert with 40 years experience", told me to heap in a load of aquarium salt to raise the pH. That sounded really dodgy to me, for freshwater fishes, but I am a total newbie.

 

[Ebennett]

I have the master kit the high ph is used if you are aiming for a high ph 7.4 or above the low ph should be used for most normal tanks the best ph for a community freshwater is about 7.0 give about .2 or take any way if you are aiming for mixed ph normal is the way to go

 

[Delapool]

Before I got the shells, I went to another lfs, whose "expert with 40 years experience", told me to heap in a load of aquarium salt to raise the pH. That sounded really dodgy to me, for freshwater fishes, but I am a total newbie.

Hi, this does sound odd. I can't see how aquarium salt would help plus if you have plants or sensitive fish. Marine salt sounded like it might but same issues. Seems better ways to do it. Did they say how or why?

 

[Roz]

They just said that Melbourne (Australia) water needs salt added to buffer the pH, and not doing it will mean the tank could crash at any moment.

 

[Delapool]

Oh well, if it's anything like Melbourne weather ...

They must mean carbonate salts to increase kh I guess. I do test kh a fair bit but don't worry a lot about gh. The tap water over here in Perth where I am is soft (~100ppm) as well. I've increased the water changes, partly to stop kh dropping down (seems a summer feature).

 

[GoldenPanda]

Just a quick update. I wanted to thank everyone for their advice it has been so much help, I have managed to raise the ph to a steady 7 over the last few weeks, the shells really helped. I also upgrade to an even larger tank and it has done wonders for the cycling process, I believe it has finally completed, but I will be keeping a close eye on it. Thanks again.

 

[Old Scales]

The guy saying salt will affect your pH a lot is full of hooey! I can't believe what some of these fish shop owners pass off as knowledge. You are absolutely correct in checking out for yourself first what other people say. Good for you! The coral/cuttlebone method is the safest way to up your Ph/KH. It's slower and easier on the whole eco system of your tank. Use baking soda with caution. A little goes a long way. But it is a viable remedy if you think you're about to loose your cycle because of low Ph. Sounds like you have a good understanding of things. Congrats and good luck. OS.