PH water problems

[fishinfo]

I have a 55 gal fresh water community tank and have a real problem with my PH and have by the process of elimination narrowed it down to the water itself.
I live in East Orlando,Fl and have well water. My water system first removes the iron with chlorine and the water then passes thru softner tank and then to the house.
The water comes out of my system at a PH of 6.8 and is soft.
It only takes a very few hours and the water is then at a PH of 8.3
I have found that this can happen even by putting the water in a CLEAN
glass or plastic container. Goes in at 6.8 and in a matter of hours it has
become 7.9 to 8.3.
What gives here, how can the PH change by itself wiht nothing else in the container ?
In the aguarium I take the PH down wirh the introduction of acid and inside of no time it is back up.

Gary

 

[BBradbury]

Your Well Water

I have a 55 gal fresh water community tank and have a real problem with my PH and have by the process of elimination narrowed it down to the water itself.
I live in East Orlando,Fl and have well water. My water system first removes the iron with chlorine and the water then passes thru softner tank and then to the house.
The water comes out of my system at a PH of 6.8 and is soft.
It only takes a very few hours and the water is then at a PH of 8.3
I have found that this can happen even by putting the water in a CLEAN
glass or plastic container. Goes in at 6.8 and in a matter of hours it has
become 7.9 to 8.3.
What gives here, how can the PH change by itself wiht nothing else in the container ?
In the aguarium I take the PH down wirh the introduction of acid and inside of no time it is back up.

Gary

Hello Fish...

I have a suggetion. Just treat your well water for the standard remover that takes out the ammonia, chlorine and chloramine and get some plants that conform to your tank lighting and then maybe add some pieces of driftwood for a little pH help and let everything run for a few days.

Test the water if you feel the need to and then add some hardy fish if you don't have them in the tank already. I suggest Zerbra Danios, Platys or maybe some Fancy Guppies. See how the fish do for a few weeks.

My guess is the pH change is gradual enough that the fish will adapt to the water conditions and if the tank hasn't been running that long, it will take a few weeks or possibly months for the tank properties to settle. The added plants and driftwood will help.

Every week or so, replace half the tank water with new treated water. If you're consistent with your water changes, I'm very sure the tank chemistry will eventually stabilize.

Just some things to consider or not.

B

 

[jetajockey]

I have a 55 gal fresh water community tank and have a real problem with my PH and have by the process of elimination narrowed it down to the water itself.
I live in East Orlando,Fl and have well water. My water system first removes the iron with chlorine and the water then passes thru softner tank and then to the house.
The water comes out of my system at a PH of 6.8 and is soft.
It only takes a very few hours and the water is then at a PH of 8.3
I have found that this can happen even by putting the water in a CLEAN
glass or plastic container. Goes in at 6.8 and in a matter of hours it has
become 7.9 to 8.3.
What gives here, how can the PH change by itself wiht nothing else in the container ?
In the aguarium I take the PH down wirh the introduction of acid and inside of no time it is back up.

Gary

Often times water straight out of the tap is low in o2 and may have elevated levels of gases like co2. Your best bet to get a true reading is to aerate a cup of water for a few hours before testing, or leave a cup out overnight and test in the morning.