That's what you call a 7.5. You can look up the ph of bottled water that you have locally, and test your test, to make sure it is reading right. If so, might as well go with 7.5. I get that sometimes and that's what I do. You mainly want to keep it stable and the fauna should be ok, unless they have special needs. If you get that reading regularly, I wouldn't worry too much. Bear in mind that the ph will change a bit during the course of a day. More so if you are injecting co2 into your tank.
Help me understand PH testing? (photo enclosed)
Hi there!
I just tested the water in my tank, and everything checks out ok except for the ph - I can't figure out what it is.
The regular pH testing seems to be around 7.6 - but the high range pH test seems to be 7.4 or below? Am I missing something?
Thanks so much!
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I just tested the water in my tank, and everything checks out ok except for the ph - I can't figure out what it is.
The regular pH testing seems to be around 7.6 - but the high range pH test seems to be 7.4 or below? Am I missing something?
Thanks so much!
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Oops - I'm redesigning a site so it was locked behind a password. (didn't realize it would affect this sort of thing too.) I changed where the image is hosted, so hopefully it works now.
Thank you for the replies!
To further complicate things, I had my water tested at Petsmart yesterday - and everything was great except for the pH that tested at 8.3. I'd tested my water beforehand at home with my api master test and got the same results I posted here - so I'm not sure which test was inaccurate.
I did order ph testing strips that will be here tomorrow to see how that compares. I also ordered fluval peat pellets to introduce slowly to see if that helps.
I'd be much happier if my pH was closer to 7.6 - I'm guessing my fish would be happier too, especially since I'd like to add more fish in the future. My current fish are probably going to start aging out soon. (I mostly have five year old gold tetras, neon tetras and corydora - they've survived three aquarium changes, and then this apparently higher ph water several months ago when I moved to a new house, haha.) I also have several nerite snails, though I lost all of my older snails when I first moved here and had trouble introducing newer ones - I guess because of the higher ph.
Would a ph of 8.3 explain why I've had a hard time keeping plants alive? I'm using eco-complete for the substrate, have a 24/7 planted plus light in a 29 gallon, homemade fert capsules, and dose with co2. I'm FINALLY seeing slightly better results lately, but if lowering the pH would help, that would be even nicer!
...or maybe I should just get cichlids after my current stock dies out, haha.
To further complicate things, I had my water tested at Petsmart yesterday - and everything was great except for the pH that tested at 8.3. I'd tested my water beforehand at home with my api master test and got the same results I posted here - so I'm not sure which test was inaccurate.
I did order ph testing strips that will be here tomorrow to see how that compares. I also ordered fluval peat pellets to introduce slowly to see if that helps.
I'd be much happier if my pH was closer to 7.6 - I'm guessing my fish would be happier too, especially since I'd like to add more fish in the future. My current fish are probably going to start aging out soon. (I mostly have five year old gold tetras, neon tetras and corydora - they've survived three aquarium changes, and then this apparently higher ph water several months ago when I moved to a new house, haha.) I also have several nerite snails, though I lost all of my older snails when I first moved here and had trouble introducing newer ones - I guess because of the higher ph.
Would a ph of 8.3 explain why I've had a hard time keeping plants alive? I'm using eco-complete for the substrate, have a 24/7 planted plus light in a 29 gallon, homemade fert capsules, and dose with co2. I'm FINALLY seeing slightly better results lately, but if lowering the pH would help, that would be even nicer!
...or maybe I should just get cichlids after my current stock dies out, haha.
I do some water sampling and testing for submission to government regulatory agencies, pH samples have no hold time and must be tested immediately to ensure accuracy.Thank you for the replies!
To further complicate things, I had my water tested at Petsmart yesterday - and everything was great except for the pH that tested at 8.3. I'd tested my water beforehand at home with my api master test and got the same results I posted here - so I'm not sure which test was inaccurate.
.
Update!
I tested with my api master test, and got the same exact results as the top of this thread. PH test = 7.6, and "high range" PH test = 7.4.
I tested the water straight from the faucet, and that was between 7.0 and 7.2 - so it apparently gets higher from something in my aquarium.
...and here is the result from the strip test. I actually can't quite tell what the PH is, what do you think? It does appear that I have hard water - might need a softener for my plants to be happy? (I've had issues with keeping plants alive)
![]()
In case it tested high, I did get some fluval peat granules to introduce slowly - but I'm thinking it might not be necessary.
I tested with my api master test, and got the same exact results as the top of this thread. PH test = 7.6, and "high range" PH test = 7.4.
I tested the water straight from the faucet, and that was between 7.0 and 7.2 - so it apparently gets higher from something in my aquarium.
...and here is the result from the strip test. I actually can't quite tell what the PH is, what do you think? It does appear that I have hard water - might need a softener for my plants to be happy? (I've had issues with keeping plants alive)
In case it tested high, I did get some fluval peat granules to introduce slowly - but I'm thinking it might not be necessary.
Your parameters are almost identical to mine actually, and your water is not too hard if those strips are remotely accurate. With a low KH, carbon dioxide will lower pH much easier. Out of your tap, the pH is lower because it has CO2 mixed in, and as it gasses off, the pH raises.Update!
I tested with my api master test, and got the same exact results as the top of this thread. PH test = 7.6, and "high range" PH test = 7.4.
I tested the water straight from the faucet, and that was between 7.0 and 7.2 - so it apparently gets higher from something in my aquarium.
...and here is the result from the strip test. I actually can't quite tell what the PH is, what do you think? It does appear that I have hard water - might need a softener for my plants to be happy? (I've had issues with keeping plants alive)
![]()
In case it tested high, I did get some fluval peat granules to introduce slowly - but I'm thinking it might not be necessary.
Thank you, everyone!
So it appears I might finally be on the right track? I do have a liquid GH & KH test kit, I'll do that later just to check.
I'm also crossing my fingers. I have new plants arriving today and I'm hoping they do better than plants I've tried in the past. My biggest problem has been an algae bloom, but I seem to have that better under control since I introduced more nerites (black racers), have been dosing with co2, am using osmocote capsules, and altered how long I left the lights on. I have a Finnex 24/7, and it seems the algae *really* liked the 24/7 setting.
The nerites have been especially helpful. I had one decoration in my tank that would get overwhelmed quickly with algae, and it has been spotless since introducing the new snails!
So it appears I might finally be on the right track? I do have a liquid GH & KH test kit, I'll do that later just to check.
I'm also crossing my fingers. I have new plants arriving today and I'm hoping they do better than plants I've tried in the past. My biggest problem has been an algae bloom, but I seem to have that better under control since I introduced more nerites (black racers), have been dosing with co2, am using osmocote capsules, and altered how long I left the lights on. I have a Finnex 24/7, and it seems the algae *really* liked the 24/7 setting.
The nerites have been especially helpful. I had one decoration in my tank that would get overwhelmed quickly with algae, and it has been spotless since introducing the new snails!
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