8.7 Ph, a little worried.

GazerOfStars

GazerOfStars

Member
Joined
Oct 26, 2011
Messages
310
Reaction score
6
Points
18
Location
Fargo
Country
United States
Alright, so I just bought my first tank today. Filter, added the Prime-brand conditioner, etc

I bought these neat little continuous Ph/Ammonia testers that attach to the tank. My tank's been set up for a couple of hours now and the Ph reading had me a little worried. I checked my city's water website and found out that the city tested it at 8.7 Ph.

Note: I don't plan to get my Axolotls until my tank has been set-up for a week.

My testers show this (Sorry if its a little bubbly.)

Axolotltanktest.jpg


So from what I can gather, the ammonia reads about between 0 and .05 and the Ph is probably 8.2+ Especially after finding out that the city website states that it's at 8.7

So my question is, should I be worried? Think I should buy a Ph-lessening chemical, and if so what would be the best way to administer it.

Secondly, any opinions about the Ammonia levels? Technically It's in the 'Alert' color on the chart(with some dabs of the yellow color still.)

Finally, if someone has some spare time could you check out if there are any other worry areas according to my City's water results? http://www.cityoffargo.com/attachments/0da7a2b9-c7b4-4431-a0ff-d9e708d28b08/2010%20Water%20Quality%20Report.pdf

Such as water hardness, etc etc.

Sorry, I'm just kind of a worrywort, and don't want my new little buddies to die in their first week with me.

Thanks!
 
Last edited:
I know from my own experience that ammonia alert doesn't work/is not accurate at all plus it only works best (as per manufacturers instructions) in ph 6. So if I were you I'd get an API master drip test that tests ammonia, nitrite(also very toxic) and nitrates and ph and high range ph.

I don't know about ph alert but I wouldn't bother with that either. Get drip test they are very accurate and much less confusing and who knows maby your Ph is not that high even!
If it is u can always use API ph down but don't add any axolotls until it stabilises and u will know how to remedy to your problems. Or u can take a risk and cycle your tank with lotl in it and test it frequently and do daily 20-30% water changes.
 
Decreasing pH isn't easy. I agree that you need a High-range pH test kit, I also wouldn't trust the stick-on monitor.

"pH Down" product. This is likely to be only temporarily effective. As Evee says, don't have any axolotls in the tank while you are playing with this. And give it a couple of days after treatment to see if the pH stays stable or goes back up. Aim for pH 8, no need to make it lower than that.

Buffer products. These work well to increase pH, but not to decrease it. Probably won't help.

Peat moss and/or driftwood. These are slow but will help to soften the water and decrease pH. They may also tint the water yellow, but this is harmless.

Distilled water. You could do part of your water changes with distilled water instead of tap water.

Time. Over time, an aquarium will usually decrease in pH even without any other intervention. This is because all forms of metabolism and decay give off acid. This is yet another reason not to overdo it with trying to manipulated the pH.

What is your local water hardness? The more minerals, the more difficult it will be to bring the pH down.
 
I think you may want to try and keep a different kind of animal honestly or find another water source or find some kind of softening filtration for your tap. 8.7 is even too high for my salt water tank :X
When your tap water has such a high ph, your tank will never drop or be VERY difficult to keep stable with water changes. You will just keep adding those buffering minerals from the tap. It's a PITA to try and drop the ph in a tank D:

I tried it before to try and keep chocolate gouramies. I gave up on the gouramis because it just wouldn't stay stable and took forever to drop it to reasonable levels..and my water ph was neutral.
 
Last edited:
According to my city's website the Total Hardness (AS CAC03) ppm : 143

I'll be stopping by a petstore today to buy a legit testing kit, and possibly some Ph down to try it out with. Once I do that test I'll write back here.

Currently I have about 10 Rosy Minnows in my tank for tester fish. They've been in there for a full day and seem to be happy and eating regularly.

Aslo what's PITA? :p

I'm getting an Axolotl and I'm going to go to any measure necessary to provide for them a safe environment. I'll wait to order them until I know my tank is safe.
 
I wouldn't try chemicals like ph down. I'd get my hands on some driftwood or peat moss if I were you. Those should safetly lower the ph, without causing any wild swings. If 10 rosy minnows are doing ok, I'd assume an axolotl should be fine.
PITA=Pain in the ****
edit: haha they block out curse words, I didn't even say the curse word
 
Those chemicals only do so much. I wouldn't waste my money again on bottled things to try and lower ph.
The above mentioned drift wood and moss would be better if you actually want to give this a try.
Another thing to think about...the water you will need to add for water changes will boost your ph again if you use tap.

Weird ph won't affect an animal in a single day. I don't know how sensitive axies are to ph but I know sensitive marine creatures slowly die if the ph is not right.

LOL thats why i said PITA
I know that last word will be bleeped :X
 
Last edited:
When I hear PITA I only think of the food, lol.

I understand that If I did the Ph down route I would have to add it every time to the new water when I did a water change. If after awhile I still have no success, I could always go the route of buying distilled water and buy the solution that adds minerals to it. I assume thats what you meant, your not suppose to do water changes with distilled water only, right?
 
GazerOfStars said:
When I hear PITA I only think of the food, lol.

I understand that If I did the Ph down route I would have to add it every time to the new water when I did a water change. If after awhile I still have no success, I could always go the route of buying distilled water and buy the solution that adds minerals to it. I assume thats what you meant, your not suppose to do water changes with distilled water only, right?
Click to expand...

Yes that's right...water can be too pure so you need to add some minerals back in.
 
Well I was stuck between two different conditioners, and so I decided to ask an employee. He made it sound like one was to turn tap water into aquairum ready water, and the other was to turn distilled water into aquarium ready water. I went with the tap water one(Dechlorinator, etc etc)
 
GazerOfStars said:
According to my city's website the Total Hardness (AS CAC03) ppm : 143
Click to expand...
That puts you in the "hard" category.
Explanation of Water Hardness
You'll have difficulty bringing the pH down.

Looking at what I wrote, I hope it didn't sound like "pH Down" would be a good idea. Given the hardness, the pH Down is unlikely to change the pH more than temporarily. You should look into adding peat moss. It can be put into a nylon stocking and placed either in the tank or inside the filter.

If you are going to use distilled water, mix it with tap water. You do want some mineral content.
 
Alrighty, I'll try to experiment a bit. Hopefully I can get my water just right. Hopefully the distilled water conditioner will be a fine option. I'm beginning to loathe my city water :S
 
bought some buffers today and currently my ph is at 7.2-7.4. Now let's see if It holds up. I've also had an Anubis plant(My spelling may be off here) from day one. So hopefully that helps a bit too.
 
Sorry if your getting bugged by my persistent questions, but I have another. Now my water is a little on the cloudy side. I've read that adding too many conditioners can cause this. Since I've added Prime and just last night a Ph Buffer, I'm guessing this caused that. If my levels are all fine, think it's still safe for pets? Or, where should I go from here? Like i said if this is going to happen every week I might just try getting distilled water and add minerals to it, then slowly changing that water into my tank.

-Hopeless Aquarium owner-
 
you're beginning the cycling process of your tank. You're going to get some bacteria blooms.
I wouldn't add any axolotls until your ph stabilizes from whatever you're throwing in there. I'd also cycle the tank first, but I guess that's just personal preference. if you don't mind doing daily waterchanges you could add one, once you get your gh/kh/ph figured out
 
So cloudiness is normal? :eek: This is day 3 or 4 since I've had and filled my tank. The rosy minnows in there are still doing fine.
 
It's probably not a bacterial bloom. It is more likely because too many/much products were added. I've done that with animals in the tank and they were fine. Bacterial blooms typically cause distress to animals. At least thats how it's always been for me when one cropped up. The bacteria use up the oxygen. The only thing that I am worried about in your tank is ph stability. If you can keep a stable ph in the proper range, then you can add an axie :)
 
Thanks Lizzy :) And actually when I did a search of the forums on cloudiness I ran into a post from you, that's where I got info from.

Aye, I'm not going to rush into anything. The ph and the rest of the properties of the water are fine atm. I'm just anxious to see if they stay at that.
 
Good luck :) it might be hard work but if you can get it then give yourself a few cookies for it hehe :p
 
I'm a bit at wit's end here. Since my city water is so PH high (And I hate the Ph buffer fizz tablets. It made my tank so cloudy :S), you all know I've been talking about trying to buy store water and do the necessary mineral add-ons to make that work.

I've ran into a bit of a road-block. I don't know what type of water to choose. Distilled, Spring water, and I keep reading about Reversed Osmosis water. I don't quite understand, are RO and Distilled water the same thing? I just want the most ph-neutral, best for my tank water.

My current plan is to buy Distilled or RO Water(If they're different.) And buy a solution that adds the healthy minerals back into the water.

Any more advice here would be awesome. I'm getting a bit stressed out by all this water nonesense.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
General chit-chat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
    There are no messages in the chat. Be the first one to say Hi!
    Back
    Top