Tap water parameters change

Recently we rechecked our tap water to see if there was a change that might explain the issues with my tank recently .... what we found was puzzling ....

Previously when we have checked the water , and pH they were as follows:

KH is 12-13 drops
GH is 16 drops
pH was 8.2-8.4

Now when we check them:

KH is 13-14 drops (234-252 PPM)
GH is 17 drops (306 ppm)
pH (and this is where it gets WEIRD) it seems to have gone DOWN to 7.4

If this stays steady, it means I can basically stop using RO water perhaps but it is strange that the GH and KH are actually a bit higher than before but the pH has gone down ....

 

I haven't been following your other threads very well. Have you done a gas off test of your water? Might be worth the check. Your ph might climb once it's been agitated a while.

I know you tested and it was higher before but some of the water chemistry can be thrown off by small variables with the source water.

 

I haven't used an airstone in it if that is what you are referring to but we do set it in a container with the dechlor for a while (usually overnight for hubby's tank at least) before it goes into the tank. We have a spare air pump but not an extra stone .... will have to see if it being set out for a while with an airstone affects the pH .... It is just really odd that it suddenly went down in pH but the GH and KH are a little higher than before .... with the aeration of the water affect those parameters?

 

The gas off will tell the true ph of the water. Some people have a higher ph in their tanks because of gas off. It's more just a curiosity thing at this point. Just trying to figure out if the ph is only temporarily lower.

 

Ok that's a valid point .... I will admit I am quite new to aquariums overall .... I had one as a kid but it was badly set up (when I look now at what I had then) .... we had issues with hubby's tank cause he was impatient to put fish in it .... but thankfully the fish seem ok .... but if the pH was as low as the test said it was in my betta tank, that might well be why the shrimp had issues .... the ph was below 7 (which is their prefered range) .... will see if I can at least borrow the airstone from the shrimp tank for a bit to test this theory about the water's pH ...

 

I had a similar problem, but reverse. My tank had dropped ph due to me messing with it and my cycle/inhabitants and I was killing some rcs during water changes because I didn't realize the ph difference was as big as it was.

 

Actually that is exactly what happened in my betta tank ... we were checking it for tests yesterday and decided to also check the pH .... it was like 6 when it had been a stable 7.4 last time we had checked pH ..... we checked the water I was using to top up from evaporation and it was still 7.4, so it wasn't the cause .... only thing hubby can think is I made a mistake last water change with the mix of RO and tap, putting too much RO in .... but whatever happened, it has been resolved now .... after a water change yesterday, the pH is back up where it should be for that tank ...

 

How long do I need to let it run with the air stone before testing it?

 

I'd do 8 hours at first, if it changes let it got for 24

 

Darn it ... we just did a check on my tank again ....and it has again crashed down to 6 (according to our tool on the camera) ...

 

What water movement is in your tank? Low ph with tons of buffer like you have could be indicative of high co2 levels. Are there plants in there?

 

Yes there are plants in there .... there is water movement from the power head filter .... I have a baffle on it to restrict current a bit for the betta .... we just took a rock I had added a short time ago out and put it in a cycling tank to see if that happens to be affecting the pH at all (it shouldn't but it was the only hardscape difference I had since we started having issues)

 

Most rocks would raise you ph...

Also, don't dump out that bucket of water when you're done. I have another experiment lol. If you have no change in 8 hours, try a half and half mix of that same tap water and distilled water with nothing added back in. Just pure old ro water. If that raises your ph (sounds impossible I know) then we will be on to something.

 

What water movement is in your tank? Low ph with tons of buffer like you have could be indicative of high co2 levels. Are there plants in there?

so maybe we should install a bubbler in the tank to create more surface agitation since we have the filter baffled?

oh, and btw, I had a 5 gallon jug sitting over night of tap water (not aerating, just dechored and sitting overnight) for doing a water change on my 20 gallon today. We tested that as well this morning, and it is coming up as an 8.3 as is normal for the 20 gallon tank.

 

Bubbling may help, but I'm just trying to troubleshoot for now.

 

just tested that experiment bucket. it's coming up as 8.3 for pH

 

That's good information to have. Is cindil aware of the new tap results and everything. I think she may have missed this thread.Wait, the bubble experiment or the RO experiment?

 

Wait, the bubble experiment or the RO experiment?

bubble

 

Ok yeah. That explains the difference even with the high kh.

 

so, lack of sufficient oxygenation was likely the culprit? would explain why my tank is at a stable 8.3, since the filter on that has a pretty strong flow on it and is unbaffled. LOTS of surface agitation.

 

It's not necessarily about oxygenation itself, it's more about a heavy amount of co2 dissolved in your tap water. The opposite actually happens as well, where oxygen is too heavily dissolved and tap water will decrease with agitation. But I call it waters true ph. It's where it will settle with proper agitation.

 

well I tested this morning and AGAIN it's testing at the lowest pH (so it MIGHT just be below 6 for all we know) and I look over, and it seems like one of the leaves on her anubias is peeling as if from a sunburn (is that the acidity of the tank)?

At this point, I'm tempted to move Jensen to a backup tank and just gut this thing to try and find the source. it is literally the ONLY tank of the 4 in the house that is having pH issues

 

I would get the fish out of that tank. It's not a safe environment with these ph swings.

 

I would get the fish out of that tank. It's not a safe environment with these ph swings.

ok, done.