BlowPhish

In my 30 gal I have been running peat in the filter for about 5 days now. Funny thing is the pH is now higher than the tap water. From the tap my ph is 7.6-7.8 and in the tank the ph is 8. I previously used ph down to try to bring it down as well but it only worked temporarily. 2-3 days later the ph was right back up. I have 2 very large although long used pieces of driftwood, plants, and 1 rock. The rock was bought from the LFS for aquariums. There is aquarium salt in the water about .75 tbs per 5 gallons. Does anyone know what could be the cause of this?

Edit: that's the rock in the back slightly to the right from center. I should also mention that I am using 1 22 pound bag of eco-complete substrate mixed in with 44 pounds if regular substrate.

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Peterpiper

It could be the peat or the rock.
The rock looks white in the pic, is it a type of lime stone?

BlowPhish

It is white and orange/brown but I'm not sure what it was. My gf got it for me for christmas at pet city. All I saw on the rock was a tag of some aquarium company. It certainly shares similar color to limestone.

I googled limestone in aquariums and found this good article. I'm going to pull the rock and pour some vinegar on it. http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/qa/f/faq0017.htm

Butterfly

Limestone will raise your Ph but not at a fast rate.
Carol

cerianthus

Peat & true driftwoods will soften the water. If anything, should lower the pH. Rock you have maybe so called Rainbow Rock. If this pH rising has started to happen after the addition of rock, it could be the rock. Do pH of Tap and add scaping of the rock to see if the color changes overnight. If it does not, it may not be the rock. Try this method with your substrate and to see if it is the gravel.

BlowPhish

Great advice I'll try both of those and find the culprit. I'll update tomorrow with the results.