so i got my tank ready to go with the fisless cycle, added a couple peices of drift wood and spiked the ammonia up to about 5ppm. then i test the ph about 15 min later and it looks in the test tube color that its shot up to 8.8. now i dunno about that test. seems a bit odd to me that it would shoot up that high, so i test the tap water and its reading 8.3. is the test i got just crap or what. one day readings are around 7.5, and the next there at pushing 9. will ammonia shoot the ph up? would the drift wood (from LFS) bring the ph up so crazy? are aquarium pharmaceuticals test bogus? gotta figure it out because no bacteria is going to grow in 8.8. heck doesnt seem like drinking water that reads 8.3 would be very good for me either. mabye ill go get another companies test tomorrow.
ph tests
- Thread starter rich
- Start date
yep brand new. i found a site on the net that says ammonia has a ph level around 10 so that would explain the jump in ph balance. but it doent explain why my tap water is reading 8.3. i mean the same site says that borax is about 8.3. mabye im doing somthing wrong but i dunno, drops in a tube isnt to tough 
ill figure it out soon i suppose
ill figure it out soon i suppose
today things are reading around 7.8. which is better but i still wanna come down. the tests seem to vary a bit every time i do em so i figure its me doing somthing scewy. the ammonia card is kinda funny, the middle to color blocks on the card look like the EXACT same color. haha
Are you testing the tap water straight from the tap, or after it has time to sit out for a while? Tap water is pressurized, so dissolved gases stay in the water and once it's out of the pipes, this is released. Dissolved CO2 can cause low pH readings until it gases off.
Of course, there are other factors at play, but high pH water is quite common is some areas, especially if you have hard water.
Of course, there are other factors at play, but high pH water is quite common is some areas, especially if you have hard water.