PH7.2 for a few days

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iman74

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Oct 7, 2006
Messages
21
Okay, I am now with 2 fish, the tank redone about a little more than 2 weeks. This past Sunday I cleaned the gravel of the excessive food, which also counts for my partial water change. I also added 4 caps full of Aqua Plus Tap Water Conditioner for I believe it's similar to the Primer I was told to buy (figure to use it then buy Primer). Now since that water change, and adding of that chemical my PH went from a 7.0 to a 7.2. Now today is Monday, and it is still at 7.2, the rest of the stuff is still at 0. Next partial water change will be tomorrow (every other day I am doing).

1. First was I wrong to add the Aqua Plu Tap Water Conditioner?

2. Am I being overly worried of the PH? When shoud you really take your PH levels serious.

By the way, the more detail the better, for I am really still trying to learn, and all the books and other reference materials haven't been the best of help.
 
Aqua Plus isn't exactly the same as Prime. Prime is preferred, IMO. But it is a conditioner. As for the ph, it's probably just from the water change. Don't worry about it, won't hurt anything. Yes, you are over-reacting to the ph change. Changes are normal. Excessive changes are bad. 7.0 to 7.2 isn't much of a change at all. Now if it went to 7.8 from 7.0, then I'd be checking things very quickly. Just remember, don't add chemicals to adjust the ph. It will be bad for the fish. Just water changes and Dechlor is all that's needed. The fish will adjust to any ph level as long as it's stable.
 
No worries at all, pH 7.2 is perfectly fine. Like Lonewolfblue said, whatever you do, don't go wasting your money on any chemicals that are sold as "pH buffers" or "pH adjusters," all they do is wreak havoc on your water chemistry.

The name of the water conditioner most people recommend is "Prime." That being said, for most purposes any water conditioner will do. I've been using Tetra's "Aquasafe" for 2+ years now and never had an issue with it. As long as it says it will remove/destroy both chlorine and choramines, it is fine.

You don't need to add water conditioner except when you are doing water changes. If you do water changes using a bucket, then add the conditioner to the water in the bucket and stir it up, before you add that water to your tank. Add only as much conditioner as it says for the volume of the bucket (not the volume of your entire tank). If you add new water directly to your tank from the faucet using a python, then before you add the new water first add your conditioner to the tank, and add as much as would be needed to treat the entire volume of the tank. Then add the new water.

Is your tank cycled? If it is, then there is really no reason to do pwc's every other day. If it's not, then yes, that's a pretty decent schedule. (Depends, of course, on your ammonia and/or nitrite levels...while you are cycling, you want to try to keep them low but detectable, somewhere in the 0.25 ppm range.)

It sounds like you're doing most (if not everything) right, keep us posted and by all means keep asking questions as they come up.
 
Update and I need advice.

Since this post I have been consistantly checking the water every single day, and PWC everyother day. With that said today is Tuesday and the Sunday prior I bought 3 more community fish to bring the grand total to 5 community fish in my tank. Now today is Tuesday (tomorrow Wednesday is the PWO day) and still Nitrite, Nitrate, and Ammonia are at 0 BUT PH has hit an all time high of 7.6. Danger or not? What should I do?

P.S.
I ran out of the conditioner and didn't find Primer at my local store. Now wondering if not ordering it online was a mistake. Help!!!
 
Prime is recommended here, but not required. Any dechlorinator will do the job. We prefer Prime because a bottle lasts much longer, as it's much more concentrated. As long as you can get a decchlorinator, you will be set for the PWC's. As for the ph, do not worry about it. Using chems to try and adjust it will be worse for the fish, as it will bring the ph down, then a day or 2 later, will be right back to where it is, and the ph swings are usually quite fast. And no, you are not in danger, a stable ph is better than trying to adjust to a perfect ph. ph up to 8.0 is not bad for community fish as long as it's stable, the fish will acclimate just fine.
 
I find a pH up to 9 to be perfectly acceptable for almost all fish, unless you want breeding conditions.
 
Just to add, DO NOT DO A PWC without having dechlor. This will kill your bacteria and stress your fish. Please go purchase a bottle of dechlor ASAP. A lot of us use Prime as mentioned because it detoxifies ammonia/nitrIte/chloramine and also because it is cheap and lasts a LONG time. I bought a small 500ml bottle for my 20gallon tank and still have 1/3 left after almost a year and a LOT of PWC's.
 
I'm still somewhat of a newbie to all of this but won't adding a piece of driftwood lower PH? wouldn't that be a natural way of lowering it slowly so as not to shock the fish? Just my 2 cents worth.
 
flushingfish said:
I'm still somewhat of a newbie to all of this but won't adding a piece of driftwood lower PH? wouldn't that be a natural way of lowering it slowly so as not to shock the fish? Just my 2 cents worth.

Yes it will, but the point is it is not necessary at this time. Fish are capable of adapting to a large pH range, it is the quick shock from one to another that causes stress/death. In this case it would be WORSE to add driftwood for the purpose of lowering the pH because every PWC from now on will push the pH back up, it will then drop, then next PWC it will go up, etc.

There are certain types of fish that prefer lower pH's and in those situation driftwood/peat are great ways of naturally lowering the pH. But for the majority of situations, leave the pH alone, your fish will be just as happy (if not more so).
 
Nitrates are showing signs of change

The color now after several weeks is somewhere between yellow and orange. Now the question is, now do I continue with the everyother PWC's or do them once a week? How often would you recommend testing the water; I love the fish but this testing the water sometimes, I just dread it.

You guys are confusing me with this Prime. First I am told it's recommended by not necessary, then I have someone else saying GET IT! Which is it? I understand the definition of matter of opinion, but when it comes to living things, somethings IMHO are factual. What are the facts when it comes to PWC and Prime?
 
If there is chlorine or chloramines in your water supply. IE you are on a municipal system, prime or some type of dechlorination is an absolute must.

Do water changes when ammonia or nitrites are above .5 ppm.
 
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