Y is my PH so high???

[ouch]

My PH is soooo high and it wont go down...this is weird b/c a couple of months ago it was too low (5.5) so i added a couple table spoons of crushed coral...then it kept rising and has been steady at 7.4 for a couple weeks now. I have done water changes all week and my ph is still 7.4. Does anybody know y this would happen?
My tap water aged overnight is 6.5
and i have taken out all the crushed coral a long time ago and have nothing in my tank that should raise ph....The only thing i can think of is that i added some Chemi Pure to my filter a few weeks ago but on the package it says that it shouldnt affect ph in fresh water.
Someone please help I would like my ph to be around 6.5-7

 

[greenmaji]

your ph is fine as long as its not 8.8 .. 7.4 is fine actually whatever comes out of the tap is fine as long as it is constantly the same ph.. you just need a stable..stable.stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable stable ph value.. thats it.. not some magic number ok..
5.5 and below is not good for your biological filtration..but if its stable it and water changes is better than yo-yo ing ph values..

 

[BrianNY]

Chemipure is an ion exchange resin. I suspect in your case that the chemipure is working to stabilize the H ions thus keeping the pH at a constant 7.4 (where it was when you introduced it). This is a claim made by the manufacturer (Boyd Enterprises), and in your case it might actually be working.

As greenmagi says, stable pH is more important than the pH value. If your pH is stable and your fish are healthy, I would leave it alone. In other words, "if it ain't broke don't fix it".

 

[Jchillin]

Not to deflect from the great advice mentioned by our two colleagues but I would be interested to know if you discovered what caused your ph to drop to 5.5? A drop of one point is significant and could possibly repeat itself if the cause is not determined.

I assume you used a low-range ph test to get that result? I've heard that the water in Canada is also hard and has high levels of chloramines. You can probably get water test results from the local government website and check it out.

 

[ouch]

what caused your ph to drop to 5.5?

Someone told me that it probably dropped so fast b/c i added to many fish at one time and too many feedings. Not sure if it was true but i slowed down on feedings and it helped, along with the crushed coral.

I assume you used a low-range ph test to get that result?

When i tested that i brought a water sample into my LFS. Thats what they told me.

water in Canada is also hard and has high levels of chloramines

Actually I live on the West coast of Canada and where i live the water is soft. and i always add amquel to get rid of the choramines.


Thanks for the advice everybody. I know that they can probably live in 7.4 ph and its good that its stable, but im just worried about when i change the water. The PH of my water after being left out over night is 6.5 and if my tank is 7.4, isnt that a big difference in ph everytime i change water?

 

[greenmaji]

doing more frequent, smaller water changes will get your fish acclimated to your tap water..