What makes ph go up? And other Qs...

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HarmonyAZ

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Jan 9, 2004
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I got my big order from Big Al's today. Of course it came RIGHT after I finished changing water (I ordered a python) and cleaning the old filter (I ordered a new one). Anyway, I finally have a test kit.

So my tank water is ph of 8.0. Sounds high, huh? I tested my tap water and it's like 7.2. What raises the tank ph? Should I change a lot of water or is this normal? I'm at the beginning of restocking. Should I change direction to fish who like high ph and high hardness? Gh is 16. Ammonia and nitrites are zero.

I got rid of my big and/or aggressive fish: a bala shark and two silver dollars and two pictus catfish. And I have left a clown loach and some undetermined orange thing. I was going to restock with 6 cardinal tetras, 8 danios, and several dwarf cories. I added 9 danios over a week ago and all but two survived. I added 3 dwarf cories Wed. and they all died. Is this from high ph, you think? Or just normal rate of survival? Should I change gears and look at cichlids, given my water conditions?

Also, on the recommedation of "Simple Guide to Freshwater Aguariums" I bought a stick-on thermometer. It read nothing while in the packaging. On my tank it 's reading 84. The heater reads 78. Is this normal?

Thanks in advance for any advice!!!
 
Heater temp settings are, at best, a ballpark figure. You have adjust the heater to reach temp setting desired as measured by an thermomenter, preferably one in the tank. (The stick-on type tend to be influenced a lot by ambient room temp.)

The most common cause of pH rising in the tank is some sort of calcareous substance -- seashells, coral, limestone or the like.

HTH,
Jim
 
And another question... I have a reverse osmosis water system in my house, for drinking water. I haven't been using it for water changes, because I had read tap water is better, but I do use it for topping off. It's ph is 6.8 and gh is 7.0. Should I start using it for water changes?
THANKS.
 
The general hardness of the RO water is 7.0... is that degrees or ppm. Shouldn't it be near zero, if it's RO? I thought the point of RO was to remove all that stuff...

Jim
 
Good point. It's degrees. I bet we haven't changed the RO filters in 2 years, so it may well be not filtering out all it could. Looks like it's doing about half, though! ;) Thanks for your advice so far, by the way! :) I don't have any calcareous substances in the tank, though. Unless silk plants or rocks count. The rocks are the ones you buy off the shelf at PetSmart... not live. ???
 
If you are testing tap water fresh from the tap, pH tests are not meaningful or stable. Cold pressuized water holds a lot more gases, including CO2 - which acidifies the water. Always age tap water overnight in a shallow bowl to check the pH after offgassing. Or at least aerate strongly for a half-hour to an hour for the same effect.

So the question may not be what is raising the tank pH, but rather how much is the dissolved gas in the water lowering the pH at the tap? This can change quite a bit with the season. With my water supply, tap pH is lowest around March, highest in late summer or early fall.
 
That makes sense. Thanks.

Does anyone think that's what kills the fish that I add? The high ph or gh? Wouldn't all my LFS have them high, too? Would you feel safe to go ahead and add fish as long as the ammonia and nitrites are zero?
 
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