Super high PH caused by 3D background need help!

LMBDave

LMBDave

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Nov 5, 2009
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I built a 3D background for my 55gal out of Styrofoam and quikcrete. I allowed 24 hours between every coat of concrete (3 coats) then another 24 hours after siliconing the background into the tank before filling it up. I performed 100% water changes every 3 days to rinse away anything that might leach out from the cement. On most DIY sites it says to do this rinse 3 times over 9 days and levels should stable out. Well ive been rinsing mine for almost a month now and the PH levels are still absurdly high...im talkin into the 9's!!! i was wonderding if anybody else has had a problem like this and what did u do to solve it. Also i was wondering if allowing the tank to cycle would help lower ph? i am stumped and frustrated, im almost to the point of giving up the 3D background dream...which would be a huge shame because it looks AWESOME!
 
What are you using to test the ph? And what is you tap ph? I made the same background for my 60 gallon, and the ph leveled after a couple days of being in the tank with water.
 
I have a master test kit and i use the little viles and ph test solution. The color comes back so dark blue that it doesnt match any of the blues on the card that shows the level according to the color. so i tried the test for high ph tanks and it came back well into the 9's. for my background i used quickcrete commercial grade mortar mix...it was the only stuff i could find that didnt have gravel or chunks of rock mixed in with it...do u think that could have been a disastrous mistake?
 
I don't really think so, all my freshwater tanks run a high ph (water is very hard here) my ph in my tanks is between 8.0-8.4, and I've had no problems keeping anything in this range including "Soft water," low ph fish like angels, rams, and neon tetras. I doubt yours got into the 9's, maybe your test is out of date...did you say you had a high range test (only goes to 8.8) Your main concern should be keeping a consistent ph, as long as the ph doesn't fluctuate, you should be o.k. I'd let the tank run for a bit and do a few more water changes to make sure everything has cured and you should be o.k. You don't want to have a ph Spike or crash, once you put fish in there. What are you putting in there anyway?
 
I bet the pH is in the 9s, actually. I'm afraid there's nothing to do except W/Cs and be patient. It will settle down, but you'll need to keep rinsing it, in effect.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/diy_background.php
Once you've added water, setup a pump to circulate the water. Check the pH after the first day, it should be elevated. Perform 50% water changes every 2 days or so for at least 2 weeks. If the pH was elevated, wait until it is consistently back at your normal level. In my opinion, it's better to be safe. My tank actually had water in it for a month before I added my first fish.

Perhaps using water softener salt could help?
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/diy_aquarium_background2.php
I let the cement and silicon dry for at least 3 days before starting the curing process. I bought a 40lb bag of water softener and used half in the tank. I let this water run in the tank for 3 days and used a single powerhead to circulate the water.

Drained the water from the tank and put clean fresh water in the tank to flush out the water softeners. I repeated this process 2 times.

I'm sure there is lots of discussion about this on cichlid forums - DIY backgrounds with concrete are nothing new and CAN work, so don't despair!
 
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ok thanks guys i really appreciate the advice, ive just been getting frustrated and was becoming impatient. But i will keep doing the water changes and maybe try a softener. I have the water flowing through a couple HOB filters. here's a couple pics of the background. keep in mind ive been doing a lot of water changes so the plants are kinda messed up.

IMG_0160.jpg

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