My pH and Nitrate levels....?

Question

..seem to have shot up. A water test on Sat showed OK - Amm 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate was between 25-50 (has always shown 25 before now), pH 7.6.
I have just done another test and my Amm and nitrite are still 0, but my nitrate is now between 50-100 and my pH has gone up to 8... why is this?
I done a 20% water change on Wednesday,and will be doing another one this Wed and I used the same tap water (treated with Aquasafe).
Why is my pH changing? What can I do to alter this? And why is my nitrate going up, yet my amm and nitrite have always shown zero? My tank is still new and cycling, and I have 6 platys, who seem OK.

Answer 1

It sounds like your tap water may be the source of your problem. It's not unusual for tap water to change in chemistry over the course of a year and increased nitrates are common in the summer months. Check the pH and nitrates in your tap water before you do another water change and see if that is the case. These changes can occur quite quickly, so you may wish to check the tap before each water change for a few months. If the tap water has a very high pH and / or a very high nitrate level, you may need to use some bottled water until the tap water comes back in line.

The nitrates can of course be due to excess waste in the tank, but I doubt it witha jump that high and that quickly. Personally, I would check the tap water first.

MM

Answer 2

The platys will be finme stop worrying about your nitrate and stuff and concentrate on building your water alge up the water and the alge clean the tank for you. Do a water change weekly, not on a weekend and not on a Monday due to severn Trent putting the chemical in i always do my water change on a Thursday and i always do a full tank change, and my mollies, guppies and platty's are very happy fish breeding like wildfire.

Hope this helps

Answer 3

Ph should not be rising. Water natually goes down in ph over time. Something is definatly leeching into your water! I suspect some ornament. Holey rock, limestone, sandstone, colored rocks, painted ceramic ornaments all leech eventually. They do not leech over night, sometimes takes months. Can kill the fish too. Holey rock is sometimes all grey the color of concrete or orange and white swirly or white and grey swirly. Remove immediatly. I so wish the pet store would stop selling this stuff, I've had it kill my whole tank off.
Your nitrates are way too high. Change 75% of the water. If you do under 50% you are basically doing nothing to lower nitrates. It does not ever hurt to change a lot of water, that is a total myth. Change all of the water if you can, your fish will thank you. Ph never rises unless something leeches. Trust me I've done my homework.

Answer 4

just out of interest when you do your water change,are you filling up a container with the fresh water and letting it stand for over 24hrs before topping up your tank? if not this could be one possibility as to why your problem has occured? you say you treated your water with aquasafe,any chemicals added can upset the whole balance of things,you will be better off doing what i said above?