New fresh water tank setup... ph way too high...?

Question

I set my 50/55 gallon tank (I'm not sure which it is) just Saturday. I bought a ph test kit, and found the ph was off the charts blue, which means it's worse than 7.6! I've put enough ph down in it according to the bottle, and it's still sitting at 7.6. How do I fix this? Do I need to keep dripping ph down into the tank until it's fixed? Is there a more natural way to fix it, without having to drain and refill the tank? It isn't the tap water that's screwy. That is almost perfectly 7.0. I put a dechlorinator, aquasafe, and accu-clear in the water while filling. Could that be part of the problem? I'm kinda eager to get this underway asap, since my cory cat is picking on my betta in his 2 gallon. The sooner they can have the space, the better...
Thanks in advanced for your help.
:o)

I have some gravel, rocks, and fake plants and a few other decorations that I have already added in the tank. They were used/disgusting so I washed them off in just warm water.

I think the rocks may be shale or something. There's no seashells or anything like that in there.

Answer 1

Stop buying the pH down - it's too expensive and only a temporary fix at best.

Since the pH of your tapwater is almost neutral, the cause must be something in your tank. Do you have a crushed coral, aragonite, or cichlid substrate? Or seashells for decorations? All of these are meant to keep the pH high and aren't suitable for freshwater tanks. Did you wash off any rocks, decorations, etc. before you put them in case they had something on them?

You could use a high range pH kit to see how high your pH actually is (or have your local fish store test it for you). If the pH isn't too much higher, you could keep your fish in the water as long as you acclimate them slowly - it's better than trying to adjust the water each time you do a change. I once lived where the pH out of the tap was 8.3! My cichlids loved it! But I kept other freshwater fish (normally recommended for 6.5-7.5) in it as well. I'd only really worry if it was above 8.5-9.0.

If you have one of the above mentioned substrates, I'd remove it. You can also try a 50% water change to see if that lowers your pH at all in casse something was on the decor. Just try to match the temperatuer to close to what is in the tank. The chemicals you added shouldn't have beed a factor.

Answer 2

First off, DON"T RUSH IT. You are not going to be able to move your fish for atleast two weeks. Your tank is going thru it's cycling process.

Read this on cycling a new tank:
http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/biolog..

Once you understand the nitrogen cycle, you and your fish can live a happier life. Your PH and your nitrates will spike during this break in process. DON"T try to adjust this. Let nature take its course.

DO NOT DRAIN the tank. You will be tossing everything you are working for down the drain. Forget the accu clear out the window. It is useless and a waste of money. Eager is not what you need PATIENCE is. If you MUST cycle your tank more quickly, the fastest way is to take a couple of pieces of raw fish cut up or a few shrimp cut up and toss them intoyour tank. This will jump start the bacteria in the cycling process.

Placing your fish into your new tank now will definately end the conflict between them, and their lives. Test your water after two weeks. If the ph nitrogen etc. (don't forget the ammonia) are all ok, then you can think about putting your fish into their new home.

A word of advice, a new tank cycle can take as long as 6-8 weeks or as little as 1-2. Depending. DO NOT DO WATER CHANGES, add some raw fish pieces and this will help. Read the link I listed to understand why this cycling is so important.

Good luck and if you have any additional questions please feel free to im or email me.

Answer 3

First, your tank is still brand new. Everything is going to be "out of whack" for a while. It will take some time for all of the readings to get to their proper levels. Wait until the tank has completed cycling before you worry about whether your levels are not where they should be and you need to do something about it. You shouldn't have bought any fish until your tank completed its cycling process. But, to speak to higher ph levels. Higher ph levels are higher in akaline. Lower ph levels are higher in acid. Most hardness and alkalinity comes from limestone or dolomite sources in nature. So, in a high pH situation, adding an acid such as vinegar is a way to lower the pH. But, the bigger question is to determine what is causing your water to have high ph in the first place. Consider your gravel and your rocks. Is your gravle crushed seashells? Do you have seashells in your tank? Are the rocks limestone? Look for things that are calcium based or limestone based, for example. If you remove any of the things that can cause your alkaline levels to increase, your ph should go down naturally.

Answer 4

All of the above answers are quite good but I would also ask that you draw some tap water and allow it so sit out for several hours and test it again. Often because of the chemicals used in tap water as well as the airless environment it sits in during delivery to your house the pH can bounce a bit as soon as you get it fom the tap. If you don't have anything in your tank that is causing it to rise you can see if that is the case.

MM