Ph spikes

[jlbfish]

What makes ph go up in an established aquarium? It has only had a small bioload but I recently changed the substrate (Sunday).

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5
pH 8.3 (normally 8)

28 gallon
4 Corys
6 neon tetras
Plastic plants
Sand substrate
No driftwood. Clay or ceramic decor. Whatever they make the stuff at Petsmart out of

I know getting crushed coral (or argonite?) would stabilize pH but at what?

Off to do a water change!

 

[jlk]

Did you switch to pfs or another type of sand? Adding crushed coral or argoite will only increase your ph further. I saw a slight ph increase (@.2) when I switched to only pfs. It lasted a few weeks & I just did some extra water changes. No big deal.

 

[jlbfish]

I used aquarium sand from Petsmart. Sounds like it may be normal. I've got a tetra that has been breathing heavy for a while and I am trying to keep an eye on things. That spike made me worried. Thanks!

 

[Mr.Pleco]

wouldn't worry too much. As long as it stays around 8.3 you should be fine. I'm sure you've heard that stable ph is better than fluctuation, but I'll tell you again ha.
My water is naturally hard (8.0) and my fish are fine. Crushed coral will raise ph, not sure how much since my water is naturally hard and I haven't used it. If you really want to lower it you could try peat moss. I bought some for my 150g planted before I got my co2 working properly. It brought it down some. It's really cheap as well.
You could do more frequent water changes. Might help.