pH controller and aging water question

[rosyrobyn]

I used to use a pH controller with my planted tank to inject CO2 to lower my pH to about a 7.1. (My planted tank is currently low tech/light so I'm not using the controller at this moment).

It's generally recommended to age tap water to allow the CO2 to gas off so the pH reaches a stable level that prevents big pH swings when doing a water change.

If I'm injecting CO2 in the tank, should I be using water straight from the tap to prevent CO2 from gassing off? It seems to me that CO2 levels (and therefore pH levels) from the tap would be closer to tank water than if I allowed the water to age.

In the case of using a pH controller, should I age the water or go straight from the tap?

[dbfzurowski]

I think, new water should be as close to what your tank water is.

[Chad Hughes]

Rosyrobyn,

The biggest reason to age water is to eliminate the issue of super saturation. Sometime tap water can really have a lot of concentrated gas in it, like CO2. I don't mean the levels that you are injecting, far more.

I've kept planted tanks with discus for years. The Ph shift during an aged water change is large on the up swing, but I have never observed an adverse reaction as far as the fish are concerned.

Are you trying to save CO2? Just curious.

Hope that helps!

[rosyrobyn]

I'm not trying to save CO2 per se - just trying to keep the water for water changes as close to what is in the tank as possible.

How do I tell if my water is supersaturated? I got out my pH monitor last night and tested the water. It went from 7.38 straight out of the tap to 7.93 in the morning. Would this indicate a dangerous excess of CO2?

[Chad Hughes]

Supersaturation is typically visible. If you fill a glass vessel with tap water and micro bubbles appear on the glass, you likely have a case of super saturation. Time and/or agitation (I only use time) allows this gas to escape. Your water contains a nominal amount of CO2 as indicated by your rise in Ph. As CO2 leaves the water the Ph rises.

One thing to keep in mind when changing water in your tank is that it is OK to have a rise in Ph in your tank. You can add a higher Ph to the tank without ill effects. What typically goes wrong is when you add water that is very low in Ph or TDS to the tank containing fish. This can cause osmotic shock.

Hope that helps.

[rosyrobyn]

Thanks for explaining Chad! I didn't know that adding higher pH water to the tank was still safe for the fishies. So whether I use a pH controller or not, the safest thing would be to age the water.

[Chad Hughes]

You are spot on!

Age at least 24 hours if you can.

If you must expedite the process, agitate the water such that the surface tension is broken and/or add air to the aging tank.

Best wishes!

[rosyrobyn]

Thanks Chad! Looks like I'll be setting up some aging barrels! :)

[Chad Hughes]

That's how it begins. One innocent aging barrel. :)

I started with one 120 gallon aging tank years ago. I'm holding over 1000 gallons now.

I wish you all the best!


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[waj8]

I don't understand this advice. What is the point of aging water just to gas off the CO2 that you are going to put it back in anyway. Seems pointless. The tap water already has less CO2 than the tank water. What harm could it do?

[Chad Hughes]

Try it. See what happens. :-)

Not all water sources have this issue.

Best wishes!


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[waj8]

Actually that's pretty much what I do. I have a barrel I add the water and dechlorinator to but I don't wait for the CO2 to off gas as I don't see the point since I am using CO2 in my tank. If there was any concern about too much CO2 in the tap water a simple pH test would indicate if there was a problem. My tap water has 15 ppm CO2 but my tank has 30. Why put the fish through a 1.0 pH swing when it could be 1/2 that? Are there other issues besides CO2 that require aging?

[Chad Hughes]

You may be one of the lucky ones in the respect that your tap is equivalent to your tank parameters. Some are not as fortunate. Also, as seasons change, aging helps reduce the effects of changing scourge water. If what you are doing works, stick with it. Different strikes for different folks.

Best wishes!


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[Mathman]

By aging water on a barrel we are allowing gases in the water to simply disappear. Now, as this happens the ph is also increasing. I noticed that after a 30% water change the ph went up by .3 would the hang be much higher with aged water?