I know the water straight out of my tap is pH 7 but when it sits aerated in a barrel overnight it's up to pH 8.2. The kh does NOT change however. The reason mine does that is because it's stored underground (well water) under pressure and has tons of undissolved CO2 in it. Don't worry about the 'pH reading'. If you want accurate info on the hardness/softeness of your water test only for kh and gh.
When Miles said this "oh and FYI the reason the pH is dropping between water changes is because; The minerals and nutrients that make up your kH are consumed by nitrifying bacteria.. the bigger you bio-load and the more nitrifying bacteria you have, the faster your kH will decline, and in turn, lower the pH." it's my opinion he was exactly right. So if you by some chance have undissolved CO2 in your tap (like I do), plus you're overstocked that would explain why a crash could occur.
But then again, my suggestion (for all it's worth-not much) is not to worry about pH so much as kh & gh-those are the real indicators you need to be careful of.
When Miles said this "oh and FYI the reason the pH is dropping between water changes is because; The minerals and nutrients that make up your kH are consumed by nitrifying bacteria.. the bigger you bio-load and the more nitrifying bacteria you have, the faster your kH will decline, and in turn, lower the pH." it's my opinion he was exactly right. So if you by some chance have undissolved CO2 in your tap (like I do), plus you're overstocked that would explain why a crash could occur.
But then again, my suggestion (for all it's worth-not much) is not to worry about pH so much as kh & gh-those are the real indicators you need to be careful of.
