High pH

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lexinicole

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Jun 5, 2016
Messages
12
Hey guys,

I've got a fairly new that that's been up and running for a bit and the pH seems to just steadily and slowly keep creeping higher and higher. Fish were introduced 2 weeks ago and seem to be doing just fine, but here are my current water levels: pH 8, am: 0, nitrite: 0, nitrate 10-20 temp: 79.3

Everything seems to be fine except the pH which has steadily risen from about 7 when I put the fish in. I tested my tap water and the pH of that isn't high at all.

Any ideas on what could be causing this? Also what I could do to fix it or if I should even be concerned. Fish seem to be tolerating it fine, but 8 just seems very high to me.

Thanks!
Lexi

Current stock 75 gallon:
2 koi angels
5 neon tetras
5 ember tetras
3 mollies
1 dwarf gourwmi
1 bristlenose pleco
 
Hi Lexi,

Couple of questions for you:

How long has your tank been setup and is it cycled?

What type of substrate do you have?

Any decorations, if so are they natural ( rocks or driftwood) or man-made?

Can you test your tap water to see what the pH of that is?

Also, if you have a KH test kit can you post the results of your aquarium water and tap water?

KH is the buffering capacity of the water if the number is higher it will help prevent the pH from changing. If it is lower, pH can shift very easily.

It isn't unusual for a new tank to take a little while to balance itself. I wouldn't make any major adjustments to the tank. Most fish will adapt to the pH as long as it doesn't move to quickly. If you use any of the products pH up or pH down it can cause major shifts and kill your fish, plus it doesn't actually solve your problem. Your best bet is to find the source of what is changing the water chemistry.

- NRB
 
Here is the other info you were asking for!

How long has your tank been setup and is it cycled?
Tank was filled on August 20th, cycled with fishless/bottled ammonia, fish added on October 3rd

What type of substrate do you have?
Pool filter sand

Any decorations, if so are they natural ( rocks or driftwood) or man-made?
Several low-light live plants, a large castle and small arch from pet store

Can you test your tap water to see what the pH of that is?
Tap water pH is 6.8

Also, if you have a KH test kit can you post the results of your aquarium water and tap water?
I don’t have a KH kit, but could easily get one if you think that would be helpful

I too was hesitant to try the pH up or down products because I’ve heard they’re way more trouble than they’re worth. More just curious why it’s so high! Thanks for your time!
 
The substrate and plants shouldn't be affecting your water. The only thing I could see would be the castle and arch. Have they been in there since you setup the tank, or added recently? I would try removing them, do a partial water change, test your pH again and see if it starts to rise?

KH can control the pH so it wouldn't hurt to test that. There are ways to increase KH so your PH holds steady.

A pH of 8 most fish can probably adapt to, but I would think you would want to keep it closer to 7 since your fish like the 6.5 to 7.5 range.
 
Yes I was definitely hoping for closer to 7. The castle and arch have been in the tank since way before the fish so I wouldn’t expect it to be from them? Especially the arch, because it came out of an established tank of mine. I will get a KH test kit today and see how it looks! Hopefully that will give me a better idea of how things are going. If that doesn’t give me any answers I can try removing the decorations for sure!
 
Hello lex...

Aquarium fish are adaptable and will tolerate a pH between 6 and 8.5 as long as the reading is steady. Just remove and replace most of the tank water once a week to maintain steady water conditions. I don't recommend trying to change things. This usually doesn't work out very well for the fish.

B
 
Soooo I think I’ve found the culprit. I got some strips (which I realize aren’t super accurate) because they were the only thing in stock at petsmart to test KH....

And the tap water at my house is pretty hard. Like off the charts.

Tank: GH 180 (that’s as high as it reads) KH 40
Tap: GH 180 KH 80

Not sure how to go about fixing something like this or if I even should/can. Thoughts??
 
Hi Lexi,

Glad you found the culprit :) I'm not sure there is really much you can do to fix the problem. There are natural ways to lower KH, but I think doing so may cause a major shift in your parameters and stress out your fish. As long as they are active, I wouldn't worry about it too much.
 
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