PH, new test kit, dont like the results..

[Drekkyk]

I've been using test strips until I could get a liquid test kit. I finally got one today and the readings kind of scare me.

Strips say that my tap is 6.8 and my tank is 6.8.

Liquid says my tap is 7.0 and my tank is 7.6. (I did a 50% water change a few hours prior to the test.)

What do you guys think? What could cause a PH jump? My KH is about 80 (according to the strips since I dont have a liquid KH tester) Fish seem fine.

Plasitc plants. Tank is nearing end of cycle with some nitrite and some nitrate. (low amounts and hence the water change earlier) (I like parenthesis)


Thanks!

[Pufferpoison]

strips equal junk. if your ph is 7.6 it doesn't sound like that's a problem. rerun both tests again (strip vs. liquid) and see if the strip is just off. i wouldn't start trying to change your ph, most times it can do more harm to the fish than good. but for your tiger barbs, i dont see 7.6 being any problem.

[Roan Art]

Liquid says my tap is 7.0 and my tank is 7.6. (I did a 50% water change a few hours prior to the test.)Take some of your tap water and put it in a cup. Aerate it with an air stone and pump if you can. If you can't, that's fine. It's just more accurate that way. Leave it overnight and test the pH again.

Post results here.

Thanks
Roan

[Drekkyk]

I will do that! I remember reading something about that. My strips read consistantly at 6.8, but I realize they are junk. Using them as an indicator though, I bought the low range PH test kit, and now its reading at the top of that chart. I could actually have PH higher then that!

I'm setting out some water now, If I test in 10 hours would that be sufficiant or should I give it more like 24?

[Drekkyk]

One more question... I've read what the effect of CO2 is on PH somewhere, but I can't remember where. Could too little/to much aeration in the tank cause this ?

Ok, I thought of another question...
When doing 50% water changes with TAP water, if its coming in at 7.0 and adjusting back to 7.6 it seems this would be stressful for the fish. I think I will add a tiny bit of dechlorinater to straight tap water and test, as this is what my fish will be feeling. I do not have the option to age water.

[Roan Art]

One more question... I've read what the effect of CO2 is on PH somewhere, but I can't remember where. Could too little/to much aeration in the tank cause this ?That's what the overnight test is for. You've been doing your homework ;) CO2 will drop the pH of water. When you sit the water out overnight it lets the CO2 gas off and the pH will go up. Aerating it helps gas it off more fully and.

If you are aerating it, 10 hours should be fine.


Ok, I thought of another question...
When doing 50% water changes with TAP water, if its coming in at 7.0 and adjusting back to 7.6 it seems this would be stressful for the fish. I think I will add a tiny bit of dechlorinater to straight tap water and test, as this is what my fish will be feeling. I do not have the option to age water.
It's a gradual gas-off that happens over the course of a day or more. I wouldn't worry too much about it. Fish don't really care too much about pH unless it's in the extremes and yours isn't. They care more about how hard the water is -- "thick" will give a better visualization. Think of taking a fish out of your water and throwing it in a vat of thickening jello. Sounds a little extreme, but believe it or not some people who don't bother with regular water changes may as well have a vat of liquid jello for tank water. Anyhow, fish care more about how much junk -- pollution -- is in the water than what the pH is.

Roan

[Drekkyk]

Well, I was wondering if I was aerating my tank too much as I have an airstone. I thought this would be benificial due to the height of the tank. I also heard that Clown loaches enjoy them and I plan on adding a few of them sometime in the near future.

I think 7.6 PH is fine, but I'm worried that adding my tap at 7.0 to a tank that is 7.6 would result in a shift of the tank to about 7.45 (at a 50% WC taking into account the logrithmic scale of PH) and then have it go up to 7.6 during the next 24 hours. I would think this PH flux is more detrimental to the fish then the actual stable PH value.

[Roan Art]

Nope, quit worry about it. They'll be fine with the water change routine. My tap water, before I started with CO2 and plants, was 7.8 out of the tap and 7.4 in the tank.

No problems.

So long as you aren't going for a planted tank, an airstone is fine. They're mostly for aesthetic reasons, but in a tall tank I can see it being beneficial.

Roan

[Drekkyk]

Thanks for the response. I was too lazy to pull out the other air pump, so I will give the tap water another 24 hours before I test.

On a side note, the tank is starting to look good with the 20 barbs. Its really cool to see so many small fish in a large tank. They go their own way for some of the time, but then sometimes they are in a tight school. I will post pics soon. I wish the decor was a bit better, as it looks thrown together, but all in all I'm pretty satisfied with my fish selection and set up. I will go for 4 clown loaches and 10 more Barbs, green to mix it up, and I think I will be all set.

[Drekkyk]

Ok, tested the standing water and it was the same as my tank. I may have been reading the test wrong as well, because if I hold the tube about 1 inch from the white background the color seems to match 7.2 more then 7.6 +. Doing this with my other tests seems to make a difference as well.

Ph 7.2
Ammonia < .25
Nitrite .50
Nitrate 5.0


Looks like another water change is in order here shortly.

Thanks!

[Roan Art]

Yep :)

I've noticed that as well. I think the color is easier to figure out if you don't hold it flat against the white and let the light reflect right through. Otherwise it's almost impossible to tell what it's supposed to be.

Frankly, I take my pH so much and I have so many tanks, I think I'll spring for a pocket pH meter. Then I just have to test KH when I'm in doubt. Faster too.

Roan