MartinBlank
Aquarium Advice Freak
10g tank, silk plants, no driftwood, fake castle. 6 white clouds, 1 betta. Fish all seem happy, active and are eating well.
I was testing the big three tonight (ammonia, nitrites and nitrates all come back fine). Decided to test ph tonight for the first time (tank has had occupants since late Feb, but betta is newest occupant and has been in there a little under 2 weeks) and it came back way high. Like 8.4-8.8-off-the-charts high. I did feed them around 2 hours before I did the test. Would that have an effect if there was anything left over?
I feed them flakes mostly (I will throw a couple betta pellets in there for the betta when he comes up to eat). Freeze dried brine shrimp 2 nights a week and freeze dried blood worms about every other week as a special treat.
I do 20-25% water changes twice per week (Sundays and Wednesdays). Usually I fill a plastic bucket with water the night before and treat it with dechlorinator (I use API Tap Water conditioner) and then let it sit overnight. On Sunday I forgot to do this so filled the bucket and treated it right before I did the change. Could this have done it?
So looking for advice on next steps. I am hesitant to treat the tank for ph since the fish appear well and don't want to shock them with a big ph change.
Do I do a water change tomorrow as scheduled and then check the water again? Should I check the water straight from the tap? Should I test the water I have sitting out tomorrow before I put it in the tank?
Could I be adding to much tap water conditioner? not enough?
I am not super worried as White Clouds and Bettas seem to not be affected to ph levels (though mine seem absurdly high). But I plan on adding a 75 gallon later this summer that will have some other types of fish (nothing super sensitive I don't think.. but still).
Any advice would be truly appreciated.
Thanks
I was testing the big three tonight (ammonia, nitrites and nitrates all come back fine). Decided to test ph tonight for the first time (tank has had occupants since late Feb, but betta is newest occupant and has been in there a little under 2 weeks) and it came back way high. Like 8.4-8.8-off-the-charts high. I did feed them around 2 hours before I did the test. Would that have an effect if there was anything left over?
I feed them flakes mostly (I will throw a couple betta pellets in there for the betta when he comes up to eat). Freeze dried brine shrimp 2 nights a week and freeze dried blood worms about every other week as a special treat.
I do 20-25% water changes twice per week (Sundays and Wednesdays). Usually I fill a plastic bucket with water the night before and treat it with dechlorinator (I use API Tap Water conditioner) and then let it sit overnight. On Sunday I forgot to do this so filled the bucket and treated it right before I did the change. Could this have done it?
So looking for advice on next steps. I am hesitant to treat the tank for ph since the fish appear well and don't want to shock them with a big ph change.
Do I do a water change tomorrow as scheduled and then check the water again? Should I check the water straight from the tap? Should I test the water I have sitting out tomorrow before I put it in the tank?
Could I be adding to much tap water conditioner? not enough?
I am not super worried as White Clouds and Bettas seem to not be affected to ph levels (though mine seem absurdly high). But I plan on adding a 75 gallon later this summer that will have some other types of fish (nothing super sensitive I don't think.. but still).
Any advice would be truly appreciated.
Thanks