pH

[dragonwalker]

Hi Guys,

I am trying to come up with a more economical way to treat our tap water. We used de-ionising filters, but they are very costly and strip the water. I have been contacting the local water authority to find what is added and have been doing my own tests also.

It seems that they use Chloramine and I have found nitrite at some points in the past so would use Amquel+ to eliminate these.

I was planning on then bubbling air through the water afterwards to balance the dissolved gases.

I checked the Carbonate Hardness and it seems acceptable and is at about 51ppm which I have heard is a good thing as it will help with pH stability.

I could not detect GH (at first I thought that I was not seeing the water change properly as it was so pale after one test drop that I could not detect whether it was orange or green, but then did the same test with distilled water and it looked the same). I checked on the latest municipal water test and it shows that there is only between 15 and 20 mg/l of dissolved solids, and after looking at how to convert to gGH it looks as though it is only 2gGH which is 'very soft'. i assume that I will not have to worry about this then?

No Phosphates are added to the water so that is a very good thing and one less thing to worry about.

Heavy metals were listed as Non-Detected so that is also fine.

My concern is the pH. The report says 9.5 and it would not register on the high pH test.

What can I do to lower this. My tanks tend to become acidic, so am not too worried if I am using the water to just top off these tanks, but sometimes if there is a leak and more water needs to be added and also I have some of the newts that have water dishes rather than filtered water pools, so this is a real concern. Any ideas how I can SAFELY lower this pH economically. This is for adult frogs and salamanders, but sometimes larvae and morphs also, so water quality is EXTREMELY important.

Thanks so much for any advice that can be given. I a leaving the zoo in a week and would like to have recommendations in place before I leave.

Rachel

 

[Jennewt]

I applaud you for reading your local municipal water report! Everyone should do this. Your pH of 9.5 is shockingly high, and you do need to change it.

I would recommend trying one of the pH buffering products, like "Bullet 7.0", etc. These products result in a much more stable pH (as opposed to the "pH Up" and "pH Down", which make only a transient change). If your water is soft, then the buffer product should be effective.

Have you tried testing your pH after adding the Amquel+? I believe that Amquel may already have some buffer in it, but I could be mistaken.

 

[dragonwalker]

Thanks Jen.

So I assume that the buffer that you mentioned is safe for all species of amphibian and even larvae?

I haven't got the amquel yet, but it does say that it does not change pH. I will see if that buffer is available locally, and if so then I may get some, and then the amquel and write up my proposal. I am only working at the zoo through Saturday (been there for almost 7 years and will be very sad to leave my sweet amphibians, especially my T. shanjings that I raised from eggs) so want to get it in before then if I can. I will be going to England for a year to spend with my family and hope to get a M.Sc. in Conservation Biology while I am there and hopefully specialise in captive management of amphibians...

Amphibians of all shapes and sizes are amazing and need SO much help right now.

Thanks again and if anyone else has any advice I would love to hear it.

Rachel

 

[dragonwalker]

Some great news in regards to treating pH. After speaking with a curator of herps at one of the countries top herp zoos, he recommended trying to bubble air through the water to see how that would help. I was skeptical as I knew that CO2 could help but not air as CO2 is in such low concentrations...

Well, in 24 hours, the pH went from 8.8+ (would not read higher and the water department tests show the 9.5), all the way down to a perfect 7.6!

This could be a great and safe way to lower the pH significantly for amphibian keepers.

Rachel