high ph level

E

elite2468

AC Members
Nov 30, 2006
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I have had a 10 gallon cycling tank with 3 zebra danios for about a week now. Today I bought a bunch of aquarium plants for the tank to give it a more natural look and to help reduce the stress of the fish so they have some hiding areas. I have been checking the water every few days and noticed today that the ph level has soared to 8.8 and the ammonia levels are between 1 and 2 ppm. what is the proper way to handle this... should i just wait it out, or do a water change to dilute some of the ammonia since it is more toxic with a high ph level. i also tested my tap waters ph level and it came out around 7.1 so obviously something caused the ph level in my tank to soar up to 8.8

please help me out as a newbie, thanks!
 
definitely do water changes, maybe 10-15% once an hour for two hours, then if your ph is more normal go ahead and do a 30% change, or whatever is needed to bring the ammonia level down below .25. the quick ph change may damage the fish, but so will the ammonia.

what kind of gravel or sand do you have in the tank? any natural rocks?
 
standard white gravel in the tank, here's a picture :)

PB290081.jpg
 
oh and, do you know what could have made the ph skyrocket. the only thing different i've done was add plants and use flourish excel supplement to help plant growth.
 
Good looking tank. Look through the DIY section for sugar/yeast CO2 and that might help to stable the ph out. Worth a try. Did you wash everything before you placed it in the tank?

Doubt you did but did you put the water from any bags in the tank.
 
the water was settled last night when i tested ph. I actually didn't wash off the plants before i put them in but washed everything else in the tank off. I guess i was anxious to see how the plants would look. and i did let some bag water in when i introduced fish to the tank by accident.

I actually just did a very very slow 30% water change for the first time since i got the tank. after about 2 hours i tested the ph level. it has dropped to 7.4 which i am happy about. I am sure the fish are in some shock but it's better than a ph of 8.8 and ammonia of 2 or 3 ppm - aka fish murder
 
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