Ph problems

[Peppa]

My tank has fully cycled and all parameters are good but ph. It is 8.2 and won’t come down. I have added drift wood, done water changes, checked the ph of my tap. I had some rocks in the tank but took them out because I thought they were raising the ph. Now it only has decorations in it. It has stayed up for weeks despite these efforts.any thoughts?

 

[wolfen]

whats the ph of the tap water?
what is the kh and gh?

 

[minorhero]

+1 for looking into your tap water ph. Also you will need to degas your tap water. Tap water frequently has dissolved CO2 in it which lowers ph. To degas just let it sit out for 2 days, or use a bubbler for a few hours. If the tap ph is the same as your tank ph, not much you can do but keep animals that like your natural ph.


Oh also, make sure you are not on a salt based water softener in your house.

 

[Peppa]

whats the ph of the tap water?
what is the kh and gh?

My tap water ph is 7.4. I condition it and let it sit 24 hours before using it for a water change. I test it again and it is still 7.4. I need to buy the kh and headed home test. If the kh is high, is there a way to change that?

 

[Peppa]

+1 for looking into your tap water ph. Also you will need to degas your tap water. Tap water frequently has dissolved CO2 in it which lowers ph. To degas just let it sit out for 2 days, or use a bubbler for a few hours. If the tap ph is the same as your tank ph, not much you can do but keep animals that like your natural ph.


Oh also, make sure you are not on a salt based water softener in your house.

My tap water ph is 7.4. I condition it and let it sit 24 hours before using it for a water change. I test it again and it is still 7.4. I do have a bubbler in the tank. Would that raise ph? Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[minorhero]

My tap water ph is 7.4. I condition it and let it sit 24 hours before using it for a water change. I test it again and it is still 7.4. I do have a bubbler in the tank. Would that raise ph? Thanks for your thoughts.

If your tap water is really 7.4 after being degassed (you degas the water by either waiting, or putting a bubbler in your water change water), then you have something else in your tank raising your ph. Have you done a 100% water change since removing your rocks? Did you by any chance add some crushed coral to your substrate?

Pictures would be helpful at this point.

 

[Peppa]

If your tap water is really 7.4 after being degassed (you degas the water by either waiting, or putting a bubbler in your water change water), then you have something else in your tank raising your ph. Have you done a 100% water change since removing your rocks? Did you by any chance add some crushed coral to your substrate?

Pictures would be helpful at this point.

I have done 2 50% water changes hoping it would lower the ph without messing up the other parameters. We have no substrate since taking out the rocks (they were large rocks, not a gravel or sand).

 

[minorhero]

So there is something in your water that is increasing your kh and this raising ph. Ostensibly plastic decorations won't do that. But something is dissolving in the water to do that.

Or, your water has a natural ph of 8.2 and you are not degassing it all the way before measuring ph or you still have too much old water in your tank to get a good measurement.

The easiest thing to rule out is the last. Do a full 100% water change and then re-run your tests. If you still get 8.2 then you know something is dissolving in your water or your water really is a natural 8.2

 

[wolfen]

how was the tank cycled?
what are the water parameters? ie.. temperature, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, kh, gh.
high kh will prevent/hinder ph being reduced via driftwood etc..
if the gh is low then increasing the mineral level can be done to reduce ph (use a modified holtfreters ie.. without the use of bicarbonate of soda)

 

[Peppa]

how was the tank cycled?
what are the water parameters? ie.. temperature, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, kh, gh.
high kh will prevent/hinder ph being reduced via driftwood etc..
if the gh is low then increasing the mineral level can be done to reduce ph (use a modified holtfreters ie.. without the use of bicarbonate of soda)

Ammonia is usually 0 to .25
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 10
Temp 19C
Just tested my Kh for the first time and it is 304. The gh is 35.

 

[wolfen]

ideal kh levels are 3-8 (53.7-143.2) yours are 17.
ideal gh is 7-14 (125.3-250.6) yours are 2.
your temperature is a bit high (ideal being 15°c-18°c, colder being better)
use 50% modified holtfreters + 0.1g/l magnesium sulphate (this is without adding 0.1g/l bicarbonate of soda), this will increase gh whilst reducing kh/ph
ideal levels for axolotls .. Water Quality Explained: How It Can Affect Your Axolotl's Health - WSAVA 2015 Congress - VIN
holtfreters etc.. Axolotls - Requirements & Water Conditions in Captivity

 

[Peppa]

Ok I think with some experimenting (taking things out of tank, using an extra tank to see how it reacts) the source of the high ph has been found but I don’t know how to correct it. My conditioned tap water will stay dow for days until it has air added to it, either by the bubbler or the fall of water from the HOB filter. Thoughts on how to address this? Thanks.

 

[minorhero]

Ok I think with some experimenting (taking things out of tank, using an extra tank to see how it reacts) the source of the high ph has been found but I don’t know how to correct it. My conditioned tap water will stay dow for days until it has air added to it, either by the bubbler or the fall of water from the HOB filter. Thoughts on how to address this? Thanks.

When you say your tap water will stay down until you add air or hob filter. I interpret that to mean your ph rises to 8.2 when you add air or hob filter.

That means your tap water has CO2 in it which is making your tap water.more acidic. When that CO2 dissipates (degasses) your water goes to it's natural pH level of 8.2.

The only good way to change that is to add RODI water to your tank when doing water changes.