pH level rising

[fishnoobs]

Day 2 with fish: 5 tetra and 3 ghost shrimp. I feed them with tropical fish granules and the tank is quite heavily planted with java ferns, java moss, marimo moss balls, honwort (I think it's dying though ), amazon sword, and some other plants I don't know the names

Ammonia=0, Nitrite=0, Nitrate=0
pH has been increasing from 7.8 (without fish), to 8 yesterday and now 8.2!
I have peat granules in the filter, driftwood, 3 chola wood and pour liquid CO2 everyday. What else can I do? Do I need to get pH restorer to keep it below 8?

 

[Khuligirl93]

What kind of substrate do you have? Do you have any rocks in the tank? Some rocks like limestone may raise pH
Also what test kit are you using to test pH?

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[fishnoobs]

Substrate: eco-complete and fine black sand from Petco. There are no rocks or limestone in the tank

 

[fishnoobs]

Oh and I'm using the API master test kit

 

[Khuligirl93]

What is the pH of your tap water?
(Remember to let it sit overnight before testing)


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[fishnoobs]

tap water pH=7.4

 

[Khuligirl93]

Sorry I'm not sure what could be causing a pH increase then. Seems like it would be something in the tank.
Maybe someone else will have an idea.

You don't use any aerosols in the room with the tank do you?

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[gemach7]

Your ph could be changing from co2 gassing off.

To test fill a container or bucket with tap water and stir every now and then.
Take a ph sample of from this container when you filled and after 24 hours.

Ph also naturally changes over a day cycle. Lowest at height of photosynthesis. And highest at dawn. The amount of the swing is dependent on the amount of photosynthesizing organisms.



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[Caliban07]

Your ph could be changing from co2 gassing off.

To test fill a container or bucket with tap water and stir every now and then.
Take a ph sample of from this container when you filled and after 24 hours.

Ph also naturally changes over a day cycle.

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+1

Taken from ecology of the planted aquarium by Diana Walstad.

Daily variations of the water parameters are rarely – if ever – taken into account. Data collected in a freshwater lake (Star Lake, VT) with a very low alkalinity showed a diurnal pH fluctuation beyond the imagination of most hobbyists. Thus, the pH at 10 am was measured at 5.7 (strongly acidic), 9.6 at noon (strongly alkaline), 8.3 at 2 pm (moderately alkaline) and finally, 6.4 at 4 pm (slightly / moderately acidic). Readings were taken at a 0.5M depth. The fluctuation observed was due to the low KH value of the water (something reported for the Amazon river, too) and the presence of large amounts of phytoplankton. Under the circumstance it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to figure what is the “right” pH for any form of aquatic life collected in that lake and which tank could cope with this kind of fluctuation. The low – high points of the day differ by 4 pH points, which means that the concentration of H+ in the morning is 10.000 times higher than at noon, while this change takes place in just two hours. It goes without saying that this pH swing cannot be observed in an aquarium only because we cannot reproduce the amount of light which falls in the Lake. In any case, if somebody reported that a suitable pH for aquatic life collected in this lake should range daily from 5.7 – 9.6 most hobbyists would think it was a typo.

Don't worry about pH?


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[Bert2oo1]

Yea basically what caliban said. Mine goes from about 7.6-5.8 daily from morning to night due to my co2. Fish are fine with it. To be honest ph is the least thing I worry about when it comes to my aquarium.


30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

 

[Bert2oo1]

Yea basically what caliban said. Mine goes from about 7.6-5.8 daily from morning to night due to my co2. Fish are fine with it. To be honest ph is the least thing I worry about when it comes to my aquarium.


30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

 

[Khuligirl93]

Does liquid carbon dosing effect pH in the same way that pressurized CO2 gas does?


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[gemach7]

Does liquid carbon dosing effect pH in the same way that pressurized CO2 gas does?


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No, they do not interact with calcium ions so do not effect alkalinity or ph.

Unless your breeding certain soft water fish, keeping wild caught fish, or a select few species hard to keep. You really don't want to chase a pH. Your system will find an equilibrium on its own. And your fish will adjust to this environment.
Fresh water fish live in relatively small bodies of water that are greatly effected by things like drought and thunderstorms.
The numbers you really want to keep track of are:

Any nitrogen compounds.

Since planted, phosphate if get an algae issue.

For freshwater I really only watch my ph in regards to co2 injection.
I take a ph test and a calcium test. Using both results I judge if I have enough co2 dissolving in the water Column.


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[Delapool]

Substrate: eco-complete and fine black sand from Petco. There are no rocks or limestone in the tank

Would suspect the eco-complete if the ph lift persists just having a quick web look but have never tried it.

Looking at the ingredients, my impression was that if it is due to that, it will probably fade away over time.

 

[Khuligirl93]

No, they do not interact with calcium ions so do not effect alkalinity or ph.

Unless your breeding certain soft water fish, keeping wild caught fish, or a select few species hard to keep. You really don't want to chase a pH. Your system will find an equilibrium on its own. And your fish will adjust to this environment.
Fresh water fish live in relatively small bodies of water that are greatly effected by things like drought and thunderstorms.
The numbers you really want to keep track of are:

Any nitrogen compounds.

Since planted, phosphate if get an algae issue.

For freshwater I really only watch my ph in regards to co2 injection.
I take a ph test and a calcium test. Using both results I judge if I have enough co2 dissolving in the water Column.


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Then I'm confused why everyone was saying it was the liquid "CO2"


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[Caliban07]

Then I'm confused why everyone was saying it was the liquid "CO2"


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Sorry but I don't think anyone said this?


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[Khuligirl93]

Were you referencing just CO2 produced by the fish then? Sorry just trying to learn something new because I didn't see the op say they were injecting CO2 but then there was talk of CO2 off gassing.

OP also did not specify which time of day they were testing pH.
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[Bert2oo1]

Were you referencing just CO2 produced by the fish then? Sorry just trying to learn something new because I didn't see the op say they were injecting CO2 but then there was talk of CO2 off gassing.

OP also did not specify which time of day they were testing pH.
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My reference to ph swings of co2 was basically just for a point that fish can tolerate ph swings if there gradual


30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

 

[gemach7]

Deleted double post

 

[gemach7]

Was referring to Co2 that is sometimes present in tap water. As this is removed from the water column from tank flow after filling or a pwc, ph can increase. Sorry if was confusing.


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