My PH keeps going up in my tropical fish tank !?

Question

Why and how do i stop this ?

Answer 1

Fish excrete excess metabolised protein as ammonia which is alkaline. As the water becomes more contaminated by ammonia it become more alkaline i.e. the pH rises. There are must be techniques for neutralising this ammonia. Consult a fishmonger....LOL, maybe a tropical fish specialist.

Answer 2

As mentioned, it would be helpful if you added more info, like what it was at and how high it's rising.

Certain rocks in a fish tank, like limestone, corals, sea shells, crushed coral, will all cause the ph to rise in a tank.

Another thing to do, get a glass of water from the tap(assuming that's what you use for water changes), and test the ph of the water. Let it sit out for 12 hours, and retest it. If it changes, that's pretty much what you should be seeing happening in your fish tank. If it's not the same, then it's most likely something in your fish tank leeching out causing the ph to rise.

Are you using any ph up/down chemicals? Those generally don't work, unless you know what you're doing, which most of us don't :) When using those products, they may alter the ph to a certain level, but usually within a short time, the ph will return to where it was originally.

Answer 3

Tap water pH can be slightly different each time you do a water change. This is due to the chemicals that your local water company add to it. You also have to be carefull not to over feed as this means you are killing your fish with kindness. Having too many fish in your tank is another worry. How often do you do waterchanges? I would recommend to do a third change twice a week from the bottom with a cleaning hose (not sure of correct name) until the pH stabilises, then about two a month. Although this would depend upon how far out your pH is. There are also many chemicals found at your local pet store that can help stabilise the tank as well as adding certain features such as corral or bog wood. This happened to me and it all turned out okay after about 3 weeks but it was a bit of trial and error. Hope this helps.

Answer 4

Hi. I had the same problem a little while back. Best thing to do is change 1/3 of your water every 2 weeks and buy a nitrate removing product - either a bag or a liquid - also try green-away which also helps remove excess floating agae. Also, when cleaning your tank use a tank vacuum syphon when emptying the water and disturb the stones as you do it. This will remove a lot of the crap from the bottom of your tank and lower your ph and nitrate levels. Hope this helps

Answer 5

Do not be pre-occupied with the actual pH level. Provided it does not go over 7.8 most fish species will be fine. It is rapid pH changes that affect fish. Take a look at the article below which explains things in more detail.

Answer 6

you can buy a ph balance product from any leading garden center or fish shop or use a tea spoon of bicarbonate of soda direct to your water in your tank honestly it works i have been keeping fish for around 10yrs and i was told this trick by a wise old fish keeper who was in the business for many years although it sounds wired it dose work and wont harm the fish plants or anything else in your tank

Answer 7

check the pH of the tap water also if you have alot of wood and sand in your tank your pH in your aquarium will rise more than what you expect.

What is your pH at, at the moment??

Answer 8

driftwood/ bog wood helps lower the ph slightly, make sure you only use aqaurium decor as rocks in your back garden can conain minerals that leak into your tank, i use Peat but monitor your tank to make sure it doensn't go to acidic, there are chemicals but to be honest if you fish can survive in your ph then i would keave it alone as you could be causing more problems than you r ph will.

Answer 9

first of all that kind of of filter have you got......... you might want to change it ..... get a under gravel filter and a power head pump. don't buy different products they don't work..... first give your tank a good clean and start again don't over feed your fish give each fish 1 small flake each once a day all so give the tank time to settle down this shoud take about a week

Answer 10

Check your tapwater on what pH you have
Also crushed corals can increase the pH as well



Hope that helps
Good luck



EB



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