Very high ph?

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princessearrings

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Apr 18, 2010
37
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Florida
Hi all! I am brand new to this forum, and new to fish keeping as well. My 75 gallon tank is in the process of cycling, and my ph has changed dramatically in the past month. I have not used any chemicals in the tank, nor will I ever. I am worried about the ph because I am wanting to keep south american cichlids. When I first filled my tank with water, it had no substrate and had a large clam shell with air stones and a bubble wand, and the ph was at 9.0! Then I figured out that the clam shell was possibly the reason for this high ph, and I removed it. Then I added pool filter sand as the substrate (after reading that it was safe to use), and did a 100% water change to get rid of the cloudiness. I then checked the ph of my tap water, and it is at 7.3. After adding the sand and doing the water change, the ph went down to 8.5. After this, I decided to add driftwood to the tank. This lowered the ph to 7.5 for about a day or so, and then it spiked back up again! I then added tadpoles (I know, sounds strange) to help cycle my tank. My ph stays at a steady 8.3. I have thought of many reasons for this: from my substrate, to too much oxygen in my water from my two emperor 400 power filters and airstones. What could it be?
Thank you so much!
 
What is your substrate? If it is crushed coral it will buffer the water higher to a range of 8.2-8.6. Also any stone or anything that is high in lime or calcium will leach it back to the water and raise the ph. That is the first place I would be looking.
 
I would start out by verifying your ph kit. What type do you have? I find it very hard to believe you had a ph of 9.0. I didn't know kits measured this high. Basically the best thing is to let everything stabilize and then test. While the tank is cycling it will be prone to ph fluctuations.
 
My test kit is made by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals, but I had a different one before I got this one. I don't remember the name of it, but I dont doubt that it was wrong.
 
So its a liquid test kit? I know they make the dropper type. I don't know if they do the strips. If it is a liquid kit I use a similar and there should be a low and high ph test. If done properly and the kit is not old then you should get consistent readings. Best bet is to let everything stabilize, and cycle and then figure out where your ph is. I think you will find it will stay very close to your tap ph with regular water changes. The higher the ph from you tap the more stable it will be. Lowering for your fish isn't what I recommend. If you are new to this hobby try and keep it simple to start. Changing your ph is going to cause you more problems than not.
 
yeah that's strange, i would suspect the tap water is high in pH....but 9.0 sounds really high. I use the same pH test kit you use...so far things are in my tank have been fine. There is one thing that comes to mind about that test kit....and I am not trying to be rude. If you happen to be colorblind or have a blue insensitivity you will have a very difficult time reading that test kit. Also, for best results you should read the results of the test under full spectrum light....such as the sun. This will give you the true color of the liquid. Typical house hold light bulbs are not full spectrum so if you have a difficult time seeing blue color you will have a really hard time determining the test results under light bulbs. You may not believe me but trust me, im in dental school and we just had a 2 hour lecture on this, it is called metamerism. It is important in dentistry so we can match the shade of the filling material to the color of the natural tooth. Anyway, try it under the sun. Also, women tend to be better at determing slight color differences than men. goodluck with the tank.
 
Dechlorinate some household water in a clean, water only container and test ph for a baseline, having a baseline will tell you if it is somthing in the tank is raising or lowering ph. Next, take a percentage of the substrate and decorations and put that in the container. Test after a day or two and compare to the base line. In all reality, plain silica sand wont change PH but large amounts of wood, calcium and alkaline substances will. All in all, the fish you want to keep should be okay with the water from your local water supply as long as they were bred in the same water. If you get them from a breeder, ask them what parameters they raise their fry in. LFS dont usually breed so they are getting their stock from a local breeder most likely, but if not I'm sure that they would be able find those breeding parameters for you if you just ask, just be sure to ask for ph in a grow out, not breeding parameters. Bottom line; if you are really trying to reach that "golden ph number" just so you can have say, Discus, you may be able to keep them in less than "ideal" ph just by virtue that they were raised locally without special attention to ph levels. Breeding, however, is a different discussion...especially with fish like Discus.
 
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