Water problems

pjp · 10-23-2006, 06:45 PM

Hi everyone,

My problem is my tank ph level is rising.
I have a water softener, iron filter and a UV light for my well water.
The problem I am having is when I test my water right out of the sink it is at 7.4-7.6ph with 0 hardness and 240 total alkalinity.
I let it sit in the buckets for a few hours before my water changes and it still at 7.4+/-.2ph.
But when i add it to the tank after a few days the ph keeps rising it is at 8.4 right now.
I added buffers in the past with no luck.
I have a 55 gallon tank with 5 tiger barbs in the tank with driftwood and plastic plants - no coral or shell at all.
I have a empty 10 gallon tank that it doing the same thing with complete water changes too.
Any help with this would be appreciated.

Tommy Gun · 10-23-2006, 07:44 PM

Do you have any airstones in the tank or other methods of helping with gas exchange? (i.e. CO2 out of the water, O2 into the water)

pjp · 10-23-2006, 08:05 PM

Yes - I have 12" airstone strip and large bubble chest on full all the time.

PJ

Tommy Gun · 10-23-2006, 08:16 PM

What are your other water parameters (e.g. ammonia, nitrites, nitrates)?

Just want you to keep in mind that in a tank with a higher Ph, ammonia levels will be much more toxic than with lower Ph.

ahill3780 · 10-23-2006, 08:40 PM

Welcome to FishTankForums!

Yes, we will need some up-to-date test results to be better able to envision what is happening in your tank before we can offer solid suggestions as to the cause and cure.

pjp · 10-23-2006, 08:54 PM

Thanks for the replies,

Ammonia=0 to .010
Nitrite= 0 to .05
Nitrate=0 to 5.0
Everything seems real good besides the ph that is rising.
It was 8.6 when I got home so I did a 10 gallon water change and right now its at 8.2 to 8.4

This is really puzzling me - I live in florida with really hard water but with the water softerner my hardness is showing 0.
The total alkalinity is 200 to 240 and the PH out of faucet is 7.6 to 7.4.
The fish seem okay but I worry this will eventually affect them.

PJ

ahill3780 · 10-23-2006, 09:12 PM

pH is directly effected by the level of alkalinity in the aquarium. What kind of substrate do you have in the tank and do you have any rocks in there?

pjp · 10-23-2006, 09:21 PM

The tank has plastic plants, gravel and 1 piece of driftwood (14" long).
No coral or shell.

PJ

pjp · 10-23-2006, 09:50 PM

The gravel in the tank is just regular type colored 1/4" size pet store gravel. It is about 1 1/2" deep in a 55 gallon tank.

PJ

Jay · 10-24-2006, 07:24 AM

Tank water with a high total alkalinity can indeed have pH fluctuations which can rise as you describe.

I would suggest that you probably have a water softener which is the ion exchange variety. It adsorbs calcium and magnesium ions (water hardness) and exchanges them for sodium ions.

It is the sodium and probably high natural KH that is providing the high buffering and allowing your pH to increase. The lack of GH is contributing to a state of instability or equilibrium in the tank.

Off the top of my head the easiest way to deal with this is to go with RO water or bottled filtered water. I would change out the tank water completely over a period of time as I am not sure if only a partial change would help much.

Adjust the GH of the filtered water with a product like Seachems Equilibrium, and the KH with some crushed coral in the filter. The addition of baking soda will work in the short run until as it takes a few weeks for the water to stabilize using the coral.

I would start immediately improving (increasing) your GH as it is fairly essential for biological health and water stability.

Regards,
Jay