PH and alkalinity?

Question

I have been testing my tank water every other day now in my currently cycling aquarium. I am wondering if there is a way to get the PH and alkalinity to go down. As of yesterday the water parameters are:

nitrate 20-40
nitrite 10
hardness 25-75
alkalinity 180-300
ph 7.8-8.4

Once the tank is cycled I am planning on getting 2 dwarf frogs. Are the ph and alkalinity levels ok for them to live in? They have been staying pretty constant. I have been putting a lot of effort into this tank and really dont want these frogs to die a few days after I get them. If the levels arent good, how do I get them to go down. I have not been doing any water changes because it will slow down the cycling time. Once the tank is established will a water change bring the levels down?

Answer 1

That pH wouldn't be a problem for the frogs or most fish as long as it's fairly consistant. In fact, African dwarf frogs should have the pH a little above neutral.

I lived in an area with levels like this, so it can just be that your tap water has a naturally high alkalinity. If you test your tap water and the results are the same, you'll have a great deal of trouble trying to lower your pH if your alkalinity is near 300 (don't use chemicals to lower the pH, this will make it fluctuate up and down too much, and this is worse than leaving it at the levels you have)! If the pH of your tap water is lower, are you using any corals or shells for a substrate in your tank? Corals and shells will raise your pH. If you want to lower it at all, you'll have the most success with a piece of driftwood in the tank, and small frequent water changes.

And if this is the natural level for your water, a water change won't bring the pH down.

Answer 2

The problem is the tank is being neglected and there are lots of fish. "My filter is built up and probably needs to be changed within a month or two, would that effect anything?" In a month or two? That filter should be getting a rinsing every single month in order to keep it free flowing and unclogged, and to prevent too much waste from collecting - waste rotting in the filter is still waste rotting in your tank. With your stocking levels your tank should be getting a 20% water change every single week, and the gravel should be getting a vaccum while you do it. You say you did a 20-50% water change, but that doesn't make sense. Was it 20% or was it 50%? What you should do is 20% water changes every day until the levels get back down. If you have been neglecting the vacuuming, start doing now, every day with the water change. GIve the filter a cleaning - and that means a good rinsing in a bucket of aquarium water to remove most of the physical waste - don't worry, the bacteria is tough and well adhered to the media. Try to keep your stocking so that it makes sense. 12 guppies makes sense. 2 bristlenose, well I would just go with 1 in this size of tank since they are so messy, but it's not too bad. 12 guppies and 2 BN plecos is enough stocking for this tank. The tiger barb didn't belong at all and the mollies didn't really need to be there either (though mollies can live quite well in fresh water under better circumstances). Lighter stocking leads to healthier tanks. Great idea for not buying all those chemicals. Doing small and frequent water changes while gradually cleaning up the gravel, and clearing out your filter in the way I mentioned will gradually get your tank into shape. Then it will be up to you to resist buying more fish and to keep up the right weekly routine to keep the tank in good order from then on. Having a high pH and KH is not a problem, mine has been high for 20 years and has not kept me from succeeding in this hobby without changing my water. Messing with the pH is a bad idea.

Answer 3

Best way to get the PH down is by adding reverse osmosis water to your tank water and add PH down. PH down is used for tropical fish...well that's how its down for tropical fish. You can buy reverse osmosis water from your local water supply store.

Answer 4

The PH is fine for your frogs. As to why it is so high there could be a few reasons, what kind of gravel are you using in the tank? Crushed corals will raise the PH and keep it high. Also, did you test the water from your source? (Tap water?) It too can already be high. What you have now is fine for your frogs (Nitrites need to come way down)

Here is more on PH an dhow to control it and how it works

The property of water to resist changes in pH is known as buffering capacity. You can determine the capacity of your buffering system by measuring total hardness. A reading of 4-6 dH or higher is usually adequate to keep the buffering system in place and maintain a stable pH. A reading under 4 dH means there isn't enough of a buffering system and the pH is likely to drop. For higher pH levels, you will probably want to aim for 6-12 dH. Many hobbyists choose to measure only Carbonate Hardness (KH), which is a measure of the calcium carbonates in your water. This test is also effective in maintaining a proper buffer system. When testing for Carbonate Hardness, a reading of 75-100 mg/L is adequate for most aquariums, while a reading of 100-200 mg/L would be desired for higher pH levels. For the purpose of freshwater aquariums, measuring either total hardness or carbonate hardness is necessary, but measuring both independently would not be needed.

You need to know that anywhere in your aquarium where detritus (a fancy term for dirt) accumulates is a source of Phosphate production. As detritus accumulates in your gravel bed and on your filter pads, the Phosphate levels in your aquarium rise. Free Phosphate ions may bond with calcareous buffering material, precipitating calcium from your aquarium, and reducing your aquariums ability to keep pH stable. This is why it is so very important to clean your filter pads regularly and vacuum the aquarium gravel with each water change. In addition, your tap water contains buffering ions. Doing regular partial water changes will help to replenish the buffers which have been lost. This is important in all aquariums, because fish respiration and organic wastes alone will cause a gradual drop in the ability of your aquarium to buffer against pH swings.

Now the question becomes what to do if the fish you want to keep have very special pH requirements. If your fish prefer a pH level which is reasonably close to the pH your aquarium water is naturally buffered to, then I do not recommend you make any changes at all. Unless you are keeping an extremely specialized fish your fish will be fine. On the other hand, if your fish have pH requirements which are far from the values in your tank, then you have work to do.

Let us consider methods of raising the pH of your tap water. There are many additives on the market today which claim to raise your pH. Most of the liquid products on the market today are a 50/50 success at best when used alone only to find the ph will soon return to the normal level of 6. You also need to use a product to increase the buffering ability of your aquarium. To maintain a stable pH in the upper levels of the pH scale for fishkeeping, I would recommend using a buffering substrate such as crushed coral. You can add crushed coral to your existing aquarium. You can place larger amounts of shells or chrushed coral beneath the substraight in the tank. I personally place the crushed coral in a mesh bag and place the bag in my filter. You will want about 1 kg of crushed coral per 40 liters of water to buffer the water to hold a pH around 7.6. This method does not allow for the use of large quantities of crushed coral, but can be effective if you only need to make small adjustments to your aquariums buffering ability. This is why ocean items such as shells and ocean sand should not be used in a fresh water aquarium. It does raise the PH level.