new tank, worried about pH

[redinfinity]

I'm cycling a new 60gal tank. I have put 3M colorquartz sand in with water and a heater, and left the water sit for a week while I waited for my filter to come in the mail. Just got the filter today so I started my cycle. Checked all the parameters but pH is around 8.4. I then checked my pH for the tap water and it was around 7.4. I also have a rubbermaid trash can that i left outside (covered) to hold 20 gallons of water for water changes, and that was at pH of around 8.2 - so I dont think it's the sand that's causing the pH change...it's inert, right? (Or am I wrong?)

I plan to put clown loaches in this when I finish cycling, but I was wondering if this will affect my cycle? Is it normal to see pH this high in new tanks? Is there a buffering agent that goes away after the water sits for a week?

I do have driftwood which I read can lower the pH as well but I still havent put it in.

If it's important: Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate were at 0 initially and my temperature is set at 85 degrees for cycling. Brought up my ammonia to ~4ppm.

[andyjs]

Your water may just be pretty hard. Do you have KH/GH tests?

The outgassing of CO2 can cause a rise in pH from the tap to water that has been sitting in the tank. As long as your pH is stable, 8.4 should be ok for most tank bred fish and shouldn't affect the cycle

Driftwood will lower the pH of soft water, but if your water is well buffered, it wont do much.

[jpappy789]

Sounds like Co2 outgassing...not a problem.

[redinfinity]

I suppose you guys are right about the CO2 outgassing. I do not have a KH/GH test - but how important is it for me to test for those? I can get those tomorrow if I need to.

I looked at data for my city's water and my water seems to fall in line with the parameters they list - pH ranges from 6.5-8.2, avg 7.4, and hardness (grains per gallon) is 15-20 avg 18. There are other parameters listed but I'm not sure what else I should be looking at.

[jpappy789]

GH and KH are as close as most people can get to measuring TDS (total dissolved solids) which is what matters to fish in terms of osmoregulation. Most tank bred fish are perfectly fine with a wide, wide range as long as they are acclimated. I am assuming that your GH/KH are on the high end, but nothing to worry about.

Both numbers are great to know, but aren't things that need to be monitored unless you suspect something is up.

[redinfinity]

GH and KH are as close as most people can get to measuring TDS (total dissolved solids) which is what matters to fish in terms of osmoregulation. Most tank bred fish are perfectly fine with a wide, wide range as long as they are acclimated. I am assuming that your GH/KH are on the high end, but nothing to worry about.

Both numbers are great to know, but aren't things that need to be monitored unless you suspect something is up.

Great to know, thanks.

[bknapp]

And I'd be careful about adding clown loaches right after the cycle, especially if theyre juvies, they tend to get ich kind of easy, I'd atleast get it pretty stable and a good WC schedule down first, but thats just my two cents worth.