Why is my pH so high in my aquarium?

I forgot to add, I put in the peat with the goldfish on the 22nd and am going to see if anything will happen. Before adding the peat, I lost 1 goldfish and 2 ghost shrimp, so the numbers are 2 goldfish and 1 ghost shrimp. The ghost shrimp doesn't seem affected at all by the peat.
Tom

 

I just tested all water parameters. Everything is within normal ranges except for the PH. I use crushed coral to keep the KH increased so the PH is normally at 7.8 and has been for at least the past month. I last tested one week ago and PH was at 7.8, today it was between 8.4 and 8.8. The PH out of my tap water is around 7.2, so I add baking soda with each water change. Why is there such a jump in PH? I need to do a water change today but don't want to shock the fish too much. I have one neon that doesn't appear he will make it, and I am guessing it might be from the sudden increase in PH?

 

Sudden changes in water parameter can shock fish, so that may be the cause of your fish's sickness. I'm not sure what may have caused the jump is pH, so hopefully someone else can help you figure it out. May need more details though.

On a side note, why are you trying to manipulate pH? to my knowledge, even tropical fish can have a tolerance for different pH's. As long as they don't fluctuate (aka they're kept at the same level) they should be fine. It might be better to slowly stop using the chemicals/coral so that every time you do a water change it's not such a hassle, and you don't have to worry about shocking the fish.

 

Sudden changes in water parameter can shock fish, so that may be the cause of your fish's sickness. I'm not sure what may have caused the jump is pH, so hopefully someone else can help you figure it out. May need more details though.

On a side note, why are you trying to manipulate pH? to my knowledge, even tropical fish can have a tolerance for different pH's. As long as they don't fluctuate (aka they're kept at the same level) they should be fine. It might be better to slowly stop using the chemicals/coral so that every time you do a water change it's not such a hassle, and you don't have to worry about shocking the fish.

This is a good question. Tetras, as a rule, aren't fans of hard or basic water, although they can adapt. Chemically manipulated water is seldom stable. It's generally a better idea to acclimate your fish to local conditions unless you have a specific reason like idealsing breeding conditions for making a change.

 

Where did I state I am chemically trying to alter my PH? Increasing KH is necessary to keep the PH stable and avoid a PH crash. I simply stated I use crushed coral for this reason and with that my PH is usually at 7.8. In no way is coral a chemical. I know fish can adapt to different PH and I wasn't asking to change it. Sometimes tap water has to be adjusted in order for it to be fish safe. And as far as hard water, soft water fish can adapt and will do fine in hard water. My water has to be harder because of other fish in the tank.

 

Then what was the baking soda for? Baking soda will raise your pH.

 

Baking soda acts as a temporary buffer. Again, my tap PH is much lower than that of my tank. Baking soda temporally increases the PH of water being added back to the tank so there is no shock to the fish.

 

Where did I state I am chemically trying to alter my PH? Increasing KH is necessary to keep the PH stable and avoid a PH crash. I simply stated I use crushed coral for this reason and with that my PH is usually at 7.8. In no way is coral a chemical. I know fish can adapt to different PH and I wasn't asking to change it. Sometimes tap water has to be adjusted in order for it to be fish safe. And as far as hard water, soft water fish can adapt and will do fine in hard water. My water has to be harder because of other fish in the tank.

You're adding baking soda as well as crushed coral. Totally unnecessary.

As far as soft water fish living in hard water, it's not good practice.



"For some small fish adapted to soft water conditions, the minerals in hard water are thought to cause blockages in some of the organs. Dissection of neon and cardinal tetras has revealed damaged kidneys in specimens kept in hard water aquaria. "

 

So I should add water with much lower PH and cause shock to the fish. I'm sorry I asked anything on here today. CindiL any ideas? You've helped me in the past and everything I'm doing now was suggested by you and has been working great so far.

 

Tank pH is desired 7.8 and tap is 7.2?

unless you're doing a 75%+ water change you're causing more stress to the fish by adding unnecessary salts to the water. If you have crushed coral you have your pH buffer. Short of a huge water change there's no reason to be adding baking soda to the water.

 

So I should add water with much lower PH and cause shock to the fish. I'm sorry I asked anything on here today. CindiL any ideas? You've helped me in the past and everything I'm doing now was suggested by you and has been working great so far.

Hi, the other people aren't aware of the history with your water supply. It sounds like the coral has done its job so I would cut back on the baking soda. You may not need it anymore if the coral is doing its job and you're not changing out huge amounts of water. How much are you adding with new water. What is your KH in your tank right now? You want to aI'm for about 5-6dKh for a stable PH.
Once we know your KH you can safely lower it to bring it down along with PH as it sounds like the KH might be a bit high now.
I'd test your tap for ph and kh again, its possible its changed.

You want to aI'm for no more than a .5 difference in PH with your water change to safely bring it back down. So if your tap is 7.2 and your tank right now is 8.4 you could change out about 40% but if its closer to 8.8, I'd change out about 30% today and 30% tomorrow to safely lower it back down. Don't add baking soda with the water you're changing out. Test your KH and PH after the change and post them again.

FYI MikeRad89 and maggie_thecat he originally added the coral due to very low KH. He was adding in baking soda to increase the buffering capacity of his tap water, not to increase ph though the two go hand in hand. He was not targeting a PH, he was stabilizing his water to avoid PH crashes.

Also in general softwater fish will adapt to hard water easier than vice versa though he is not talking about his GH, general hardness here, just the KH. Most fish will also adapt to a ph between 6.8-8.2 just fine though a higher ph at 8.4-8.8 is too high I agree.

 

Sorry, my other posts should have said KH not Ph when referring to the baking soda. Maybe that's where the confusion was.

Hi, the other people aren't aware of the history with your water supply. It sounds like the coral has done its job so I would cut back on the baking soda. You may not need it anymore if the coral is doing its job and you're not changing out huge amounts of water. How much are you adding with new water. What is your KH in your tank right now? You want to aI'm for about 5-6dKh for a stable PH.
Once we know your KH you can safely lower it to bring it down along with PH as it sounds like the KH might be a bit high now.
I'd test your tap for ph and kh again, its possible its changed.

You want to aI'm for no more than a .5 difference in PH with your water change to safely bring it back down. So if your tap is 7.2 and your tank right now is 8.4 you could change out about 40% but if its closer to 8.8, I'd change out about 30% today and 30% tomorrow to safely lower it back down. Don't add baking soda with the water you're changing out. Test your KH and PH after the change and post them again.

FYI MikeRad89 and maggie_thecat he originally added the coral due to very low KH. He was adding in baking soda to increase the buffering capacity of his tap water, not to increase ph though the two go hand in hand. He was not targeting a PH, he was stabilizing his water to avoid PH crashes.

Also in general softwater fish will adapt to hard water easier than vice versa though he is not talking about his GH, general hardness here, just the KH. Most fish will also adapt to a ph between 6.8-8.2 just fine though a higher ph at 8.4-8.8 is too high I agree.

I've been adding 1/4 tsp with each 40% water change. The tank KH is at 6 drops right now but fluctuates between 5 and 6.

The tap ph is around 7.2- 7.4 and KH is 3.

I thought the backing soda was being added to the new water to match the KH in the tank? I already did a water change with the baking soda and it brought the ph down to 8.2. Should I do another wc today with less or no soda?

 

It sounds to me like he added too much baking soda and it raised the ph. I would try to just use the tap water with a little crushed coral to improve water buffering with minimal effect on the ph. Sometimes the water doesn't seem to go up in a linear fashion when adding pb buff [add some, nothing happens, add some more it jumps way to high].

 

You were, it seems like the KH was lower in your tap then? I can't remember all the details of original thread but if your tap is at 3 dKh and 7.2-7.4 ph and the tank is 7.8 ph and you're doing 30-40% water changes, I'd reduce the baking soda to 1/8 tsp. It seems like your KH is at a good place between 5-6 drops which we want to keep it at without the ph going too high. Coral should not take your ph above 8.2.

You could add more coral or just reduce the baking soda. There is nothing wrong with using baking soda it is just a carbonate (not sodium chloride), most minerals have salts in them, i.e,. calcium chloride, potassium chloride etc and even soft water fish need a low level of salts, again referring to GH of about 75-100ppm or 4-5 dGh. The coral also releases carbonates along with salts.

Its up to you on the water change and how much time you have, 8.2 is ok for today. You could do another one tomorrow. Seems like things were very steady for the past month which makes me wonder if your tap changed at all. If you do another 30% you can leave out the baking soda and then test the tank for ph and kh and see where you're at.

Its kind of a fine tuning process, you want a stable tank without your ph going too high.

 

It sounds to me like he added too much baking soda and it raised the ph. I would try to just use the tap water with a little crushed coral to improve water buffering with minimal effect on the ph. Sometimes the water doesn't seem to go up in a linear fashion when adding pb buff [add some, nothing happens, add some more it jumps way to high].

This is very possible. The last water change I did quickly so maybe I used the wrong measure. Between the prime, replenish and the baking soda, I could have easily messed something up. I have everything written down to exact amounts hoping to avoid any mishaps.

You were, it seems like the KH was lower in your tap then? I can't remember all the details of original thread but if your tap is at 3 dKh and 7.2-7.4 ph and the tank is 7.8 ph and you're doing 30-40% water changes, I'd reduce the baking soda to 1/8 tsp. It seems like your KH is at a good place between 5-6 drops which we want to keep it at without the ph going too high. Coral should not take your ph above 8.2.

You could add more coral or just reduce the baking soda. There is nothing wrong with using baking soda it is just a carbonate (not sodium chloride), most minerals have salts in them, i.e,. calcium chloride, potassium chloride etc and even soft water fish need a low level of salts, again referring to GH of about 75-100ppm or 4-5 dGh. The coral also releases carbonates along with salts.

Its up to you on the water change and how much time you have, 8.2 is ok for today. You could do another one tomorrow. Seems like things were very steady for the past month which makes me wonder if your tap changed at all. If you do another 30% you can leave out the baking soda and then test the tank for ph and kh and see where you're at.

Its kind of a fine tuning process, you want a stable tank without your ph going too high.

I don't think the KH of the tap has changed much if any. It is at 3dkh now and it might have been at 2dkh a while back. Anything could have changed with it within the week of testing, it is town water.

I did a small water change (roughly 8-10%) without the baking soda. That brought the PH from 8.2 to 8.0. The KH dropped from 6dkh to 4dkh. When adding the baking soda in the previous water changes, I didn't have a decrease in KH. Will the coral increase the KH quick to get it back to the 6dkh? Or should I just do another water change tomorrow to bring the PH down more and continue adding the baking soda?

 

With the coral in there I wouldn't overly worry about 4. See where it is at tomorrow and you can always add in another 1/4 tsp without doing a water change since you've done two. Just make sure to mix it with some tank water first so its dissolved.

 

I just had a chance to test the water today. The PH has remained at 8.0 since the last water change I did last night and the KH is at 5dkh. Is there anything I need to be concerned about during water changes if my tap water PH is around 7.2 and the tank it around 8.0?

 

Just keep your water changes less than 50%. AI'm for a net difference in ph of less than .5

 

Ok, thanks. I will keep an eye on that and try not to let the PH fluctuate too much.

 

I just tested all water parameters. Everything is within normal ranges except for the PH. I use crushed coral to keep the KH increased so the PH is normally at 7.8 and has been for at least the past month. I last tested one week ago and PH was at 7.8, today it was between 8.4 and 8.8. The PH out of my tap water is around 7.2, so I add baking soda with each water change. Why is there such a jump in PH? I need to do a water change today but don't want to shock the fish too much. I have one neon that doesn't appear he will make it, and I am guessing it might be from the sudden increase in PH?

Try not to change ph always keep a stable ph most fish will adjust to the ph you have, unless your breeding don't worry about it.

 

Try not to change ph always keep a stable ph most fish will adjust to the ph you have, unless your breeding don't worry about it.

I don't want to alter my PH but when it's over 8.4 that worries me. That's a little to high for my liking. I lost one neon tetra very quickly that I suspect was from the increase. It's been consistent at 7.8 for over a month and everyone's been fine.

 

Hello everyone. I have read posts on here for so long trying to fix this problem myself with no luck. I am not a beginner necessarily I have been doing this for almost 5 years but this is the one thing I can't fix. I have a 65gal bare bottom freshwater tank. I have two golden dojo loaches 8 mystery snails and 9 nerite snails. I also have two minI anubias and one large anubias. I two different coarses of sponge in my filter as well as bio balls. I also have Co2 going a one bubble per second. All of my other levels are perfect but my PH is always at 7.6 or above. If I do a big water change it drops to 6.8 or 7 temporarily and then shoots right back up. What am I doing wrong??

 

That’s because the tap water’s pH changes as it ages, sometimes called gassing off. This isn’t uncommon but there’s not much to do about it except letting the new water sit for a day or so before adding it back in. Can’t say for sure the chemistry behind it, I’ve never had to problem so didn’t do the research.

7.6 isn’t a problem so don’t try to fix it. Messing with the pH does more harm than good in most cases. If the fish and snails aren’t bothered by it then let it be.

 

That’s because the tap water’s pH changes as it ages, sometimes called gassing off. This isn’t uncommon but there’s not much to do about it except letting the new water sit for a day or so before adding it back in. Can’t say for sure the chemistry behind it, I’ve never had to problem so didn’t do the research.

7.6 isn’t a problem so don’t try to fix it. Messing with the pH does more harm than good in most cases. If the fish and snails aren’t bothered by it then let it be.

Oh ok thanks for your help! Now I feel silly. Most things I read say the pH for those guys and the bloodfin tetras I want to add should be 6.8 or 7 so I was worried.

 

Have you tested the KH and GH? What about TDS?

 

Have you tested the KH and GH? What about TDS?

I have not tested those ☹️ but my loaches do seem happy and healthy. I will educate myself more on that.

 

I have not tested those ☹️ but my loaches do seem happy and healthy. I will educate myself more on that.

Oh that's ok, I was just wondering if you by chance had a TDS meter.

KH is carbonate hardness. It's what keeps your pH stable. GH is general hardness. A lot of it is calcium and magnesium. It usually coincides with kh to determine pH, but does not have as much of an impact. It would just be helpful to figure this out.

The other thing is co2. I can't help with that, but I only see anubias. It's so slow growing that it wouldn't utilize much of it. That's cool @ the flower btw. At what time of the day are you testing the tank pH?

 

Oh see I was under the impression that if you had plants you need Co2. So you are saying I might not need it since I just have anubias? I love when they flower! I have checked it I feel like at all different times of day. Is there a certain time I should be doing it?

 

So l have no experience using pressurized co2. It's just that the pH will be lower right before the lights turn on because plants are breathing in oxygen and expiring co2 at night. It might have something to do with the pH swings.

Maybe Thunder_o_b Skavatar might be able to help?

 

Maybe. I did have the same issue before I used co2. I read somewhere that my plants needing more co2 could be causing my pH to be too high. Just to clarify I don't have any big swings unless I do a huge water change, and I've only been doing those because I thought my pH was too high.

 

I' glad this subject has come up. My PH is 6.6, maybe a bit lower according to my test.
I tested my tap water as well and it was considerably higher but I cannot remember how high. I have 9 tiger barbs. They are doing great and the other water samples I tested also were great.

Should my PH be a bit higher? Or is 6.6 a good number? Thanks in Advance...John

Probably not a good idea to mess with pH unless you know what you're doing and can keep up with it. There was a thread somewhere explaining how they had similar pH and attempted to buffer their water and wound up with a huge pH jump which stressed certain fish. Definitely don't wish that upon anyone.

I would advise that you keep up with maintaining clean water via water changes and carry on as usual. Dont try to fix something that's not broken, if your fish are happy and healthy then keep it at that. My 2 cents.

 

Are you adding anything to the water? Any fertilizers or other products? Which water conditioner do you use? Like what do you mean by "trying to fix"?

Agree on not messing with pH, but sometimes there is a lot of co2 in tap water and it may benefit to off-gas water before water changes to prevent the shift from happening in the tank. Especially if you are doing large WCs.

 

I'm not adding anything. I do weekly or bI weekely water changes. My tap water pH is normally 6.8 or 7. I have been trying to fix by doing frequent water changes adding drift wood and the co2.

 

So l have no experience using pressurized co2. It's just that the pH will be lower right before the lights turn on because plants are breathing in oxygen and expiring co2 at night. It might have something to do with the pH swings.

Maybe Thunder_o_b Skavatar might be able to help?

Sorry, I don't do Co2.

 

I'm not adding anything. I do weekly or bI weekely water changes. My tap water pH is normally 6.8 or 7. I have been trying to fix by doing frequent water changes adding drift wood and the co2.

Have you ever done the bucket test? Leave a sample of test water in a bucket overnight and test after 24 hours.

Sorry, I don't do Co2.

Oh oops, I know who does.... Dave125g!

 

 

Have you ever done the bucket test? Leave a sample of test water in a bucket overnight and test after 24 hours.

I have not. What's the benefit?

 

If your tap water has a lot of dissolved co2 in the pipes, pH can climb up after the water off-gasses. And often pH changes after sitting out from when it first runs from the tap.

I have not. What's the benefit?