[kribkeeper888]

Ok so I have a 60 gal tank that has got some ph problems, my tap water (well water) has a consistant ph reading of 7.4 and my tank is usually 7.4 also. But recently it has jumped to around 8.1 with no apperent reason, I havent changed anything. The hardness of the tap is 10 and the tanks about 6. And im wondering what the heck might have caused it

 

[Rockhoe14er]

When is the last time you changed your water? hardness doesn't evaporate like water does so each time you top off your tank the water is getting harder. I don't actually think 8.1 is a big deal but i believe this explains why this happened.

Also if you have rocks that slowly dissolve in the water such as limestone and crushed coral this will also increase your pH over time.

 

[ray-the-pilot]

Ok so I have a 60 gal tank that has got some ph problems, my tap water (well water) has a consistant ph reading of 7.4 and my tank is usually 7.4 also. But recently it has jumped to around 8.1 with no apperent reason, I havent changed anything. The hardness of the tap is 10 and the tanks about 6. And im wondering what the heck might have caused it

There are a number of things that can cause an increase in pH and in fact the most likely outcome to water pH is that it will rise over time.
The most common cause of pH increase in planted tanks is the plants themselves. Many plants can crack some of the CO2 from HCO3 leaving you with less CO2 in your water and a higher pH.
If you continually add tap water to replace evaporated water the pH will rise.
There are other reasons as well but you need to do frequent water changes to keep your pH at the tap pH.

 

[kribkeeper888]

I do 30% every week and i test the water before and after

 

[kribkeeper888]

I dont have any limestone or coral ether, just plain old basalt

 

[kribkeeper888]

I have a lot of plants though inculding many sword plants and a lot of water sprite

 

[Rockhoe14er]

can i ask why you're worried about the pH change? are your fish acting weird? are your plants not growing well?

 

[kribkeeper888]

im not overly worried perse but more curios, and i was thinking of adding some bleeding hearts-black kuhlis witch seem to like the lower end of the ph spectrum rather then 8 im not keeping mbuna after all

 

[moonshinetheslacker]

I'm currently trying to get the pH down in my new 75 gal. setup. It is usually between 8.2 and 8.4. That's what it is in ALL my tanks. pH out of the tap is 7.8, and when it sits overnight, it's at about 8.0. Nonetheless, my kuhlis are fine in the 8.2 water. Same goes for my red tailed sand loach, guppies, amano shrimp, trumpet snails, pearl blue shrimp, dwarf pea puffer, and otos. So unless you have something super sensitive, I wouldn't sweat it. Even my GBR did great in 8.2. Only reason he died was due to a mechanical misshap.

P.S: I haven't calibrated my pH test kit yet. I'll end up doing that tonight, and I'll re-post providing my pH is definitely what It's been reading.

 

[moonshinetheslacker]

A little late on this, but my pH readings are correct. Everything in my house is about 8.2, and as I said before, everything is doing well.

 

[Geminiluna]

Just following along in this thread. I need to go back and search/research about pH. But the well water out of my tap is 8.2. I produce pH neutral RO water and cut my tap water down to achieve about 7.6. I use a calibrated test probe to test pH (calibrated with manufacturer calibration fluid). I was stunned to find the pH on one of my tanks at 8.9 pH. No clue why! I had a small layer of natural gravel that is supposed to be inert (and that had been in one of my other tanks for 6 years). I had two PVC "caves", one fired clay cave that the vendor has produced for years and says is inert. And one piece of driftwood that's been submerged for a couple years. If I accept that the gravel and the clay cave are inert (as the sellers claim they should be and I have no reason to doubt them), then I'm stuck to figure out what in the world could have caused my RO/Well water blend to spike up. And yes, I rechecked the calibration after getting an 8.9 pH reading. Calibration is fine. So I'll be digging and researching and testing whether or not the caves/gravel truly are inert, etc.