Aged Water Increases Ph?

[Raka]

So I have been testing aging my water to see if the Ph is more ideal for Discus in the future and I am experiencing the opposite of the expected result.

Tap Water; 8.0ph after aging 24hr 8.3ph. Has been repeated 3 times, any ideas? Most of my searching leads down the wrong rabbit hole on this one.

 

[kno4te]

Is there a powerhead or air stone?

 

[Raka]

Is there a powerhead or air stone?

Yes, air stone.

 

[Rocksor]

You have some sort of dissolved gases in your tap water, hence why aging it causes your ph to go up. Whenever measuring ph you wait at least 24hours of sitting in a cup to get its true ph. If you want ph to go down you need API GH/KH test kit to find your buffering capacity KH.

 

[Raka]

I have the capacity to test this. I just dont have a full understanding of what I am testing for.

How would knowing this number allow me to lower ph?
Or is 8.3 just my true ph at this point? That is what my water tests at after 24hr on repeated trials.

 

[kno4te]

I have the capacity to test this. I just dont have a full understanding of what I am testing for.

How would knowing this number allow me to lower ph?
Or is 8.3 just my true ph at this point? That is what my water tests at after 24hr on repeated trials.

I’d ur trying to lower ur ph then aging wont work. It’ll do the opposite as co2 is dissolving out of the water. To lower ur ph you will have to add a acid or add RODI water to tap water to dilute it.

 

[Raka]

I’d ur trying to lower ur ph then aging wont work. It’ll do the opposite as co2 is dissolving out of the water. To lower ur ph you will have to add a acid or add RODI water to tap water to dilute it.

Thank you, I had reversed the effects of the c02 dissolving.

 

[neutrino]

I’d ur trying to lower ur ph then aging wont work. It’ll do the opposite as co2 is dissolving out of the water. To lower ur ph you will have to add a acid or add RODI water to tap water to dilute it.

This...

 

[TwoHedWlf]

Thank you, I had reversed the effects of the c02 dissolving.

The CO2 isn't dissolving, it's outgassing from the water. Less CO2=higher PH.
Surprising it's that significant, but it's the most likely explanation.

 

[twentyleagues]

If your pH has that much swing to it I'd guess your buffering capacity is out of whack or really high. Check kh with test. Probably only way to fix is like kno4te said add acid or use ro/di. Personally ro/di would be the better way less fuss more consistent results. If you use acid you will need to defeat the buffering capacity and make sure you added the correct amount of acid to do so. If not once the acid is neutralized your pH will rebound. Obviously you see that oxygenation has an effect on this. With ro/di the kh, gh, most other stuff is permanently removed. You start with near perfect water neutral pH. If you start with really low ph water Id guess it could go well below neutral though....
Anyway mix this ro/di with your straight water to achieve the pH/kh you want.