what is causing high ph?

[mumrah]

I've been trying to lower the ph in my cichlid tank lately and i'm having the hardest time.

First off, my tap water is 7.6, pretty hard as well. So, i have peat moss in my filter, and some driftwood in the tank. I'm doing 10% daily water changes to try and lower my ph. The fresh water i'm adding has a ph of 6.2. It is the water mentioned in my DIY DI water thread. The ph of this water is stable as i have left a sample of it in a jar for several days, and it remains acidic.

So, here's the great part. The water in my tank is some how more alkaline than my tap water. I have no idea what is causing this alkaline buffer in my tank, but here is a list of EVERYTHING in my tank.

Bottom to top:
Aquarium gravel
Aquarium sand
River rocks (from lfs)
2 clay flower pots (one broken in half)
3 plants (assorted swords)
2 pieces of driftwood (~10")
several java ferns
typical 10g HOB filter
2 15W lights
airstone
heater
blah blah blah
fish

Is someone sneaking in my house when i'm not around and pouring milk of magnesia in my tank? I'm going to try a few 20% water changes with the 6.2ph water and see if i have any more luck.

 

[greenmaji]

Anything that is made of stone or stone-like can be buffering the water...including the sand.... did you test them before they were added..
Did you check the KH of the treated water to make sure it was lower than the KH of the tap water?... that still wouldnt explain the higher ph but would tell you if you will ever be sucessfull in lowering the PH of the tank..
I wouldnt use peat and the filter I would just use the filter for now to lessen the variables in your experiment.. if its not working you will have one less thing to worry about..

 

[Zagz]

From everything I've been told about ph, it is best to have stable ph even if it is a bit high. I'm not sure if it matters for cichlids though. My ph is steady at 7.4 and all my fish are fine. I stressed them out trying to get it down. It would keep going up again.

 

[greenmaji]

From everything I've been told about ph, it is best to have stable ph even if it is a bit high. I'm not sure if it matters for cichlids though. My ph is steady at 7.4 and all my fish are fine. I stressed them out trying to get it down. It would keep going up again.

I tried to stress that with the last thread they wrote.. It didnt seem to matter.. this is one determined new hobbiest!..LOL.
Yes stable is much more important than an exact PH.. you can kill a angel fish with a PH swing of .4 were they will live long happy lives at a stable PH of 8.5.. been there and done that..

 

[Zagz]

I tried to stress that with the last thread they wrote.. It didnt seem to matter.. this is one determined new hobbiest!..LOL.
Yes stable is much more important than an exact PH.. you can kill a angel fish with a PH swing of .4 were they will live long happy lives at a stable PH of 8.5.. been there and done that..

I didn't read the previous thread they wrote, but I did learn the lesson. Actually I think it was in a thread I participated in and I think you were one of the ones that convinced me. LOL, see someone was listening!

 

[krap101]

its gotta be the flower pots... unless theres something like...

 

[greenmaji]

I didn't read the previous thread they wrote, but I did learn the lesson. Actually I think it was in a thread I participated in and I think you were one of the ones that convinced me. LOL, see someone was listening!

Im really glad that someone was listening..LOL.
You could always PM BrianNY if you want to hear a advisor tell you the same thing though..LOL

 

[Toirtis]

Very likely the sand, but unless you have fish that are very particular for very acidic water, the stability of the pH is far more important, and 7.6 is not that high at all.

 

[greenmaji]

Ok.. You could probibly just ask any of the Advisors..LOL..
Thanks for the backup there Toirtis!

 

[mumrah]

well, what about my rams? i figured they would appreciate more acidic conditions

 

[greenmaji]

well, what about my rams? i figured they would appreciate more acidic conditions

Only if you want to spawn them.. And I havnt found out yet what KH is good for that.. maybe someone could fill you in if you posted a thread with that question..
Remember.. PH will not matter.. KH is the number your looking for.. It is what will cause your PH to change.. If you artificaly cause your PH, like with peat, to be lower it will not help you spawn a soft water fish.. you will need the lower water hardness, KH, that causes the lower PH..

 

[mumrah]

yea, i've been looking at every lfs for a water softener pillow. no luck though.

 

[greenmaji]

Look for a water hardness test kit! LOL.. as far as making water softer a RO unit off of e-bay will be cheaper than the water softener pillows in the short run even.. the pillows are only good for maybe 7 recharges.. after buying a couple of them you could have bought a RO unit off of e-bay.. I say go RO if you want to lower the hardness.. but I would only do that to spawn a soft water fish like rams.. and you need to find out what a good number is.. I would guess its the same as discus or angelfish... but you would need a better test if you were to be that intrested in breeding the fish.. Im looking at the July issue of Tropical fish Hobbiest and in Jack Wattley's colom he remomends using a microSiemens test result of 130ppm-200ppm (this is a measure of conductivity http://www.professionalequipment.com/xq/ASP/ProductID.2302/id.448/subID.455/qx/default.htm ) for breeding discus.. I would assume that this would also work for rams..

 

[Toirtis]

well, what about my rams? i figured they would appreciate more acidic conditions

Possibly, but they spawn just fine in unadulterated Calgary water, and our water has a typical pH of 8.0-8.5, and a carbonate hardness around 200-300 mg/l.

 

[greenmaji]

Possibly, but they spawn just fine in unadulterated Calgary water, and our water has a typical pH of 8.0-8.5, and a carbonate hardness around 200-300 mg/l.

That is good news! I say dont mess with the PH and water hardness.. they could spawn anyway..