how can I adjust water levels?

Question

I have a community tropical freshwater aquarium. My water hardness has increased and the GH and KH are now just above normal limits. The pH has also risen quite dramatically. I have added a pH balance chemical to reduce the alkaline but from what I understand the two issues are related. My testing kit tells me to add water from a reverse osmotion tank but I don't have one or know much about setting one up. Do you have any suggestions? (Regualr water changes are not helping in this case)

Answer 1

I would also have to say that unless the values are extreme, you'll probably do more harm in trying to change your hardness and pH. It does sound as though something in the tank is affecting your values if they are higher than what's found in your tapwater and are rising from the time you're doing a water change.

Do you have any carbonate/aragonite material in your tank? This would most commonly be shells or corals or a substrate made from these. You may also have rock called reef or lace rock, or travertine. If you're not sure of these, remove a few pieces and drip some vinegar on them. If you see bubbles form, this is the source of the increased pH and hardness, and you may want to find a substitute for these.

I woudn't continue to use chemicals to try to alter your pH - if yours is increasing, whatever you have in your tank is neutralizing them, so they won't do you any good to continue with them.

If you don't find a cause immediately and want to try RO water, you can buy this at most Super WalMart stores - it's the same process that Culligan uses to treat their water, and you can buy it for about $0.33 per gallon once you buy the refillable containers. You can also buy home filters for this, but they get a little expensive, and you only get about 1 gallon for every 8-9 gallons of water used, so they aren't terribly efficient either. I would start by mixing it with your tap water to reduce the pH, and find a ratio you can live with (1 part RO to 1, 2, 3 etc. parts tap). This won't be a permanent fix, though, if the cause is something within the tank, so your primary concern would be to find the cause of the pH and hardness increases.

Answer 2

The first think to remember is don't try to change it unless it's absolutely required for your fish to live. This is practically never the case. Hardness and pH are closely linked and adjusting one means adjusting the other and playing those adjustments off of each other to try hit or miss until you stumble across the amount of chemicals or R/O water needed to get the levels correct. Of course, if you have a very strong water chemistry background, you can plan these adjustments and work the equations needed to regulate the water chemistry, but truthfully, you really don't need to at all.

As long as the pH is between 6 and 8.5 your fish should be just fine.

The only note I'll add to that is you say the hardness and pH are both increasing. You need to identify what is causing the increase so you can take measure to prevent it from going too high or changing too quickly. If you need assistance in finding the cause and planning for it, feel free to email me.

MM

Answer 3

As you have said the hardness and pH are linked. Test your water source to find out what that is reading. If it has a lower pH than your tank, doing a water change can help lower it should it reach danger level.

It sounds like you have something in your tank that is leeching into the water. Several things can cause this such as gravel that has been painted to make it neutral. If the paint is wore of that could cause a rise in ph steadily over time.

If you would like to counteract your pH rise slowely you can add things such as driftwood and peet. Peat can be placed in a netting and set in the tank or in the filter if you have room. Also many snails will lower the pH some as they take minerals for their shells. Malaysian trumpet snails will work and they hide in the gravel during the day. They are a plague snail so be warned.

Keep in mind that rapid changes can kill fish quiker than the pH level itself. Chemicals are a quik solution, not a cure. And finally most fish can do well up to 8.5 pH.

Look around your tank and try to find anything that might be leeching into the water. A test for the gravel or rocks you may have in there is to take them out, wash them, then pour some vinegar over them. if it bubbles they are the cause of your rise and need to be removed or counter balanced.

email me if you have questions about what might be causing the rise.

Answer 4

I think you're obsessing too much over pH. Stop adding chemicals except for declorinating when adding water. I add water to my tank directly from my kitchen faucet via a "python" system and no reverse osmosis is involved.

Answer 5

Do not put any more chemical in the tank and change a quarter of water and the water condition should right itself.

Answer 6

There is a chemical called Prime. It is miracle juice. You can find it at a good aquarium shop. After a while it will be all you need for a healthy tank.
Use it when changing/adding water.

Answer 7

If it is not causing any problems to your fish then i would leave it alone