Help! Ph Is High In New Tank!

I know there are other topics on here relating to high pH, but they all have different situations so I thought I'd post mine:

I'm new to fishkeeping and I know about the nitrogen cycle NOW, but did not a few days ago when I set up my 5.5 gallon tank. I set everything up and used a water conditioner (pH of my tap water is fine), let the filter run for a while, then added fish a few hours later, which obviously wasn't a good idea as all 3 died within 8 hours (guppy and two danios). Afterwards, I added TSS hoping that would speed up the cycling process, and have had the tank running for a few days since then. Now the tank water is cloudy (I'm guessing a bacteria bloom?) and the pH is very high (about 8.4). After reading a high pH, I added a Tetra CorrectpH tablet hoping that would work. pH is still high after that.

Does anyone know what could be causing such a high pH? All other parameters are okay, it's just that I've added so many things to the water now that I have no idea what the source of the high pH could be. I don't have any live plants or real rocks in the aquarium either.

 

First- put some water from your tap in a glass and let it set for 24 hours. After 24 hours run the PH test on that water. It is possible that the PH will be higher than it was straight out of the tap.

Second-stop adding things to the tank to fix problems. The fish should not have died in such a short period of time from ammonia poisoning. How did you acclimate them?

What kind of substrate do you have in this tank? Depending on what it is it is possible it is causing the PH to rise since you said you have no other rocks in there.

The problem with adding so many things to a tank it is difficult to know what if anything we have added is causing the issue.

You said all the fish died. Then you added TSS. What is your ammonia source now? To cycle a tank there has to be an ammonia source. It is food for the bacteria. Without it the bacteria in the TSS will die.

You may want to consider doing a 100% water change to remove all of the things you have added to this tank and basically start from scratch.

 

First- put some water from your tap in a glass and let it set for 24 hours. After 24 hours run the PH test on that water. It is possible that the PH will be higher than it was straight out of the tap.

Second-stop adding things to the tank to fix problems. The fish should not have died in such a short period of time from ammonia poisoning. How did you acclimate them?

What kind of substrate do you have in this tank? Depending on what it is it is possible it is causing the PH to rise since you said you have no other rocks in there.

The problem with adding so many things to a tank it is difficult to know what if anything we have added is causing the issue.

You said all the fish died. Then you added TSS. What is your ammonia source now? To cycle a tank there has to be an ammonia source. It is food for the bacteria. Without it the bacteria in the TSS will die.

You may want to consider doing a 100% water change to remove all of the things you have added to this tank and basically start from scratch.

I definitely added them to the tank too fast, so that was likely part of the reason they died so quickly, but I'm still worried about the pH being too high as well. I have a gravelsubstrate made for aquariums. The bacteria bloom has been around for about three days now, and I just added a few pieces of fish food after reading that that can be a source of food for the bacteria as well.

 

I agree, put water in a glass, set it on your counter for 24 hours and test pH to see where you are with that. If the readings are close to what you are getting from the tank, then that will be the pH you have to work with. Many types of fish can acclimate to that pH and if they came from a LFS that has similar water values, they are likely used it. The most important thing is to keep it stable. If pH swings too much/too fast you may have some deaths.

 

I definitely added them to the tank too fast, so that was likely part of the reason they died so quickly, but I'm still worried about the pH being too high as well. I have a gravelsubstrate made for aquariums. The bacteria bloom has been around for about three days now, and I just added a few pieces of fish food after reading that that can be a source of food for the bacteria as well.

You can use fish food as the ammonia source but keep in mind that it has to start decomposing before it forms ammonia so it is possible that the bacteria in the TSS died off before the ammonia was there. A tank will cycle without bottled bacteria though so even if it did die off as long as you keep feeding this tank the cycle (bacteria) should grow.

For now I wouldn't be overly concerned with the PH level. What kind of tests are you using? Do you have one for ammonia? I both use and recommend an API Master Freshwater test kit. It contains test for the 4 most important things to know while cycling a tank (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and both high and low PH) It is much less expensive to buy the kit instead of individual tests.

 

I agree, put water in a glass, set it on your counter for 24 hours and test pH to see where you are with that. If the readings are close to what you are getting from the tank, then that will be the pH you have to work with. Many types of fish can acclimate to that pH and if they came from a LFS that has similar water values, they are likely used it. The most important thing is to keep it stable. If pH swings too much/too fast you may have some deaths.

I did put some water out overnight and the pH was fine when I checked the next day (around 7.4, normal range) so I don't think it's anything in the actual water quality. I might have to invest in a test kit though.

 

I did put some water out overnight and the pH was fine when I checked the next day (around 7.4, normal range) so I don't think it's anything in the actual water quality. I might have to invest in a test kit though.

Hmm. so you have the tank with just gravel and water right now?

 

I did put some water out overnight and the pH was fine when I checked the next day (around 7.4, normal range) so I don't think it's anything in the actual water quality. I might have to invest in a test kit though.

When doing a fishless cycle testing the water is the only way you can know when you are done.

Since the PH didn't change in the water you set out I have to think something in the tank is causing the higher PH. I know you said you have a gravel made for aquariums. Could it possibly be one with crushed coral in it? One that comes to mind is something called aragonite. That substrate will raise the PH.

 

Hmm. so you have the tank with just gravel and water right now?

Just gravel, water and some plastic plants at the moment, but the water's got a bunch of different things in it that I've added.

When doing a fishless cycle testing the water is the only way you can know when you are done.

Since the PH didn't change in the water you set out I have to think something in the tank is causing the higher PH. I know you said you have a gravel made for aquariums. Could it possibly be one with crushed coral in it? One that comes to mind is something called aragonite. That substrate will raise the PH.

It's Aqua Culture aquarium gravel. I don't think it has crushed coral in it.

 

Just gravel, water and some plastic plants at the moment, but the water's got a bunch of different things in it that I've added.

I would remove all the water, re-fill it with conditioned water and see where it lands after that. If it is just plain ol' Aqua Culture gravel, I don't think it would affect pH. Plastic plants also shouldn't affect it.

 

It's Aqua Culture aquarium gravel. I don't think it has crushed coral in it.

I feel sure it doesn't. At this point I am stumped as to why your PH is getting this high. Hopefully someone else will have some thoughts.

For now I would have to go ahead and do close to a 100% water change to remove most of what you have added to this tank. You are very early in the cycling process. In my humble opinion it would be best to just start with a clean slate by removing everything you have added up to this point.

If at all possible you may want to consider getting some pure ammonia to grow and feed your cycle. With food it is hard to determine how much to add to get the ammonia level you need and it is messy.

The high PH readings you are getting now shouldn't be a problem during the cycling process. The only time the number is a problem is if it drops too low (below 6.5) Lower than that has been known to stall a cycle.

 

I feel sure it doesn't. At this point I am stumped as to why your PH is getting this high. Hopefully someone else will have some thoughts.

For now I would have to go ahead and do close to a 100% water change to remove most of what you have added to this tank. You are very early in the cycling process. In my humble opinion it would be best to just start with a clean slate by removing everything you have added up to this point.

If at all possible you may want to consider getting some pure ammonia to grow and feed your cycle. With food it is hard to determine how much to add to get the ammonia level you need and it is messy.

The high PH readings you are getting now shouldn't be a problem during the cycling process. The only time the number is a problem is if it drops too low (below 6.5) Lower than that has been known to stall a cycle.

Okay, it looks like starting over would probably be my best bet. Wish I didn't have to ughead: Thanks everyone for your help! I definitely should have researched this more in the beginning.

 

Okay, it looks like starting over would probably be my best bet. Wish I didn't have to ughead: Thanks everyone for your help! I definitely should have researched this more in the beginning.

You are so very welcome

You really aren't starting over completely. If bacteria has started growing on your filter media changing out 100% of the water won't be removing it.