Looking for help with pH issue

[06redragtop]

We have a 72 gal Discus tank. The city water here is 6.8. However since we set up the tank 6 month ago. The pH in the tank has risen to 7.4. Not good for Discus and over the last couple of month lost several and i beleive its due to the pH. Ammonion, nitrite and nitrate are all good. I do 30% water change and vacuum once a week and 50% once a month. Grave substrate. Java moss and java fern for plants. Lava and river rocks for decorations. Have just added drift wood to see if that will help.
I do not understand why the pH has increased and until i get it under control we are not going to add anymore Discus.
Any suggestions

 

[V227]

PH is really only a factor in Discus keeping when trying to breed them. I kept a healthy Discus community for several years in my local 8.2 PH tap. I even had a breeding pair.
Unfortunately the eggs failed to hatch, probably due to the hard water.
Most Discus keepers I talk to change out 50% to 100% of the water each weak.
Maybe upping the WC volume to 50% to 75% per week would solve your problem.

 

[Brookster123]

How many fish in there? That ph is totally fine for domestics. If you're feeding them daily and only changing a little water I'd suspect it's the nitrates that's getting to them.

 

[06redragtop]

Thx for the response.
We're down to 2. Dont know if are / domestic or imported
If my water quality is fine why up the water changes?
I guess my biggest question is why is the pH loosing its acidicy

 

[06redragtop]

Thx for the response.

We are down to 2. I beleive they are imported but dont know from were. I dont beleive they are wild.
If my water quality is fine why up the water changes?
I guess my biggest question is why is the pH loosing its acidicy

 

[Brookster123]

Ph in tap can and will swing, a slight change like yours should not upset the discus unless they're wilds. How are you testing nitrates? How many fish in the system. With the gravel substrate and minimum wcs, I cannot see how that nitrates would be below 20 ppm? Improbable.

 

[JasonG2003]

One possible reason could be extremely high water flow. As carbon dioxide is dissolved in an aqueous solution, it undergoes hydrolysis, which yields carbonic acid. The higher the amount of co2 there is in water, the lower the ph. If there is an extreme amount of water flow, more carbon dioxide is exchanged with oxygen.
Lower amounts of co2 = higher ph
High amounts of co2= lower ph

Btw, are you doing sufficient biweekly water changes? This is important as not doing water changes seems to increase the ph as well. The continuous increase of oxygen and decrease in carbon dioxide could also raise the ph in aquariums, lowering the acidity of the water. This effect is boosted when things such as limestone and crushed coral are introduced in the water; they raise the ph.

Sorry about the long explanation, I just like learning about chemistry, biological, and health sciences. Anyways good luck! [emoji4]

 

[06redragtop]

Brookster: nitrates are 5ppm. I'm using API test kit

Jason: dont be sorry I'm trying to understand whats going on. That the only way I know how to solve this issue. I have a fuval 307 and I have it running wide open. There is not much surface aditation. I also have a small air stone but its just a trickle. I read a while back about too much O2 would burn off the co2.

 

[Brookster123]

Shake the absolute heck out of the solution bottle and test again. No way you're at 5 ppm. Testing error

 

[Caliban07]

Ph isn’t causing your fish deaths. There are too many counter claims of discus doing very well in higher ph levels. So Ph isn’t your issue.

Tap water contains co2 which leaves the water some time after adding to your tank. This raises ph because co2 is acidic.

There are many reasons you could have lost fish. Temperature shock, dissolved solids shock, ammonium toxicity, disease, stress.

Chasing ph values will cause more harm than good.

 

[Brookster123]

Ph isn’t causing your fish deaths. There are too many counter claims of discus doing very well in higher ph levels. So Ph isn’t your issue.

Tap water contains co2 which leaves the water some time after adding to your tank. This raises ph because co2 is acidic.

There are many reasons you could have lost fish. Temperature shock, dissolved solids shock, ammonium toxicity, disease, stress.

Chasing ph values will cause more harm than good.

Listen to this guy, hes basically an aquarium scientist

 

[Caliban07]

Listen to this guy, hes basically an aquarium scientist

More of naturalist these days Brookster

I’ll share some more thoughts at some stage.

 

[Brookster123]

More of naturalist these days Brookster

I’ll share some more thoughts at some stage.

These days... surely you haven't forgotten the last 10 years of your fish keeping adventure? I hear you though.

 

[Caliban07]

These days... surely you haven't forgotten the last 10 years of your fish keeping adventure? I hear you though.

Most of the science still applies. Naturalism by theory still relates scientific method to philosophy but I’ve been much more philosophical lately and much of an observer. What I’ve seen just in the last day alone has opened my eyes up even more to this hobby. Still needs time to be sure but once I’m sure I’ll share.