PH Spike

[Dreamroper]

Hello Everyone,

Over the weekend I had a PH spike that still remains a mystery. It was over 8.5. Right now my readings are:

Ammonia-0
Nitrites-0
Nitrates-0 (odd I know, but probably due a small bio-load at this time)
PH-7.6

I have a 36 gal tank which is medium planted and my stock is : 2 rasboras, 2 endlers, 2 corys (1 is a baby), 1 platy,1cardinal neon,1 dwarf gourami & 3 black skirted tetras. I also have a small albino pleco.

I lost over the weekend-3 juvenile angels, 1 platy and 7 neons. I have no idea what caused the PH spike and am very new at this. Does anyone have any ideas what would cause this? The way that I brought it down (for now anyway) was by adding about 1.5 cups of playground sand. My BF has an African cichlid tank and when he added this sand it brought his PH down which of course he doesn't want, so I thought I'd add just a bit to my tank to see if it would do the same for me and the PH was down with in 30-45 minutes to 7.6 and has remained stable for 48 hours.

Thanks for any help.
D

 

[Convict2161]

Hello Everyone,

Over the weekend I had a PH spike that still remains a mystery. It was over 8.5. Right now my readings are:

Ammonia-0
Nitrites-0
Nitrates-0 (odd I know, but probably due a small bio-load at this time)
PH-7.6

I have a 36 gal tank which is medium planted and my stock is : 2 rasboras, 2 endlers, 2 corys (1 is a baby), 1 platy,1cardinal neon,1 dwarf gourami & 3 black skirted tetras. I also have a small albino pleco.

I lost over the weekend-3 juvenile angels, 1 platy and 7 neons. I have no idea what caused the PH spike and am very new at this. Does anyone have any ideas what would cause this? The way that I brought it down (for now anyway) was by adding about 1.5 cups of playground sand. My BF has an African cichlid tank and when he added this sand it brought his PH down which of course he doesn't want, so I thought I'd add just a bit to my tank to see if it would do the same for me and the PH was down with in 30-45 minutes to 7.6 and has remained stable for 48 hours.

Thanks for any help.
D

Peat granules will help keep pH lower then your 8.5

For the spike I'm gonna have to research this as I don't wanna mislead you. Question though. Do you use a power head and did the water level drop a lot while you were gone? More surface agitation could cause pH to rise.

 

[Dreamroper]

Peat granules will help keep pH lower then your 8.5

For the spike I'm gonna have to research this as I don't wanna mislead you. Question though. Do you use a power head and did the water level drop a lot while you were gone? More surface agitation could cause pH to rise.

Yes, I use a power head, but bought a fairly small one and use it at the other end of my tank that where my HOB filter is to keep from having dead spots. No-water level didn't drop. I didn't know surface agitation would cause PH to rise. It really isn't very strong....I am going to get a canister filter soon and thought I would add some peat moss into the medium, but really isn't 7.6 okay IF I can keep it stable? That's the main thing right? to keep it from fluctuating?

 

[Convict2161]

Yes, I use a power head, but bought a fairly small one and use it at the other end of my tank that where my HOB filter is to keep from having dead spots. No-water level didn't drop. I didn't know surface agitation would cause PH to rise. It really isn't very strong....I am going to get a canister filter soon and thought I would add some peat moss into the medium, but really isn't 7.6 okay IF I can keep it stable? That's the main thing right? to keep it from fluctuating?

Yes stability is KEY, it's the swings in pH that will stress them out. The surface agitation was a long shot but could happen. I'll have to sit on this for a little while and do some more research.

 

[spiketooth]

I know this plays a role in keeping your ph stable, check your KH. This could possible be part of the issue

 

[Convict2161]

I know this plays a role in keeping your ph stable, check your KH. This could possible be part of the issue

Ahh... How did I miss this?!?! 100% agree! Check your KH level as suggested.

 

[Dreamroper]

Ahh... How did I miss this?!?! 100% agree! Check your KH level as suggested.

Well, I don't need to check this to know that the water is hard. It's well water. I'll have to get a kit to check it, I don't think my current one has that as an option. When I get my canister filter, I can start adding some natural media to it to help with the PH & KH I would think? Convict mentioned peat and for the PH and I know that Fluval sells peat pellets and peat fiber. My LFS knows that I'm on well water and has never mentioned that this would be a problem.
Thanks for the help.
D

 

[spiketooth]

KH is you buffer, your thinking of General Hardness (GH)

 

[BillD]

Since it would appear nothing really changed in the tank other than the pH, it isn't what caused the fish deaths. If the basic water chemistry stays the same, the pH means next to nothing. The non existent nitrate reading could be from the plants consuming it, and normally, the pH drops from the biological processes in the tank. Regardless, you should go with the water you have, as is, rather than play with the water chemistry. As mentioned, stability is better than "ideal", and when you start playing water chemist, you invite problems, and a lot of unnecessary work.
In CO2 supplemented tanks, you get daily pH fluctuations, that have no effect on the fish.

 

[Dreamroper]

Since it would appear nothing really changed in the tank other than the pH, it isn't what caused the fish deaths. If the basic water chemistry stays the same, the pH means next to nothing. The non existent nitrate reading could be from the plants consuming it, and normally, the pH drops from the biological processes in the tank. Regardless, you should go with the water you have, as is, rather than play with the water chemistry. As mentioned, stability is better than "ideal", and when you start playing water chemist, you invite problems, and a lot of unnecessary work.
In CO2 supplemented tanks, you get daily pH fluctuations, that have no effect on the fish.

It may be that I'll never know what caused the fish deaths, but the main thing is that all is stable now and fish seem to all be healthy and happy.
Thanks for your response.