New Tank, PH question

[Carpe_Diem]

Good evening all,

I have started up a Fluval Studio 900 package. It's been running for about a week and 4 day's and I have kick started the cycle with bio media from my
established 46 Gallon Bow Front. I have two large and one small piece of driftwood, several rocks that I utilized to make caves and some live plants.

Friday night I did a small water change as I currently have 11 rummynose tetras in the tank.

Current parameters as of 30 minutes ago are: Ph 6.5-7.0, Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Phosphate 0. No current Nitrate reading.

My Tap water comes from our drilled well and comes out at 6.0. It seams that the PH goes up slightly after being in the tank overtime.

My question has several parts: Why is the PH going up over time? If I keep doing water changes from the tap at 6.0 will that effect the fish
in the tank every time I do a water change? Should I add some Peat in a bag to the bottom of the tank or possibly run some through a filter,
or am I ok with the status quo doing partial water changes with the 6.0?

Many thanks for the help.

[Wes]

As CO2 leaves the water the PH will rise and some rocks will make the PH rise also. You may want to age the water in a barrell to let the CO2 out gas before adding it to the tank.

[Nick Klimkowski]

As CO2 leaves the water the PH will rise and some rocks will make the PH rise also. You may want to age the water in a barrell to let the CO2 out gas before adding it to the tank.

+1

[Carpe_Diem]

Good evening all,

Thanks for the replies xeriod and Nick, below is some more detail on what's going in far more detail and reasons why
aging the water will not work for me.

I have started a new tank recently, a Fluval Profile 900 package (47.5 Gallons) to be exact. I have some plants and
11 Rummynose tetras in the tank at this time.

I have a water problem that is generally the opposite that most people have. We have a well and the water comes out
of the tap @ a PH of 6.0 or less. I say or less because the API PH test kit bottoms out at 6.0 and that is where the color
sits. This is great as I want to do Discus however, after aging in the tank with filtration, substrate wood and rock the PH
goes up to 6.8 or 6.9.

The problem I see with this is, everytime I do a water change there will be that swing in PH from the tap water to tank
water. So my solution was to try peat (in the form of the Fluval Peat Granules). The peat is in the tank but I do not see a drop
in PH? I have another 46 Gallon Bow front tank where the swing is even worse, the PH after aging in the tank get's as high
as 7.6. The Peat Granules have been in the filter for a few day's with no lowering ph PH whatsoever.

My question is, do i need to do something to the Peat granules to make it work or should I try real Peat Moss? Does it take a long time to see the lowering of PH using the Granules?

Other suggestions have been to age the water prior to doing the water changes. This simply is not feasable and a far bigger PITA is my opinion. I do not have a container to hold water is nor extra aeration / heating equipment to maintain a holding tank so aging water is not an option,

Any ideas out there. Thanks for the help.

[Wes]

I have a water problem that is generally the opposite that most people have. We have a well and the water comes out
of the tap @ a PH of 6.0 or less. I say or less because the API PH test kit bottoms out at 6.0 and that is where the color
sits. This is great as I want to do Discus however, after aging in the tank with filtration, substrate wood and rock the PH
goes up to 6.8 or 6.9.

This is the same as most people. Your ph may start out lower (ph 6.0) mine is (7.6) but after you or I put it in the tank the airation releases the C02 and the ph rises . My water after ageing in a barrel or in the tank ends up at 8.4 . People usually use peat in a ageing barrel to affect the ph in water and then add that water into the tank. If you cannot age the water then chemical means would be the only way but is a dangerous. You could end up with bigger swings.

[OC Discus]

How long does it take for the ph to rise from 6 to 6.8? If you are doing a 50% water change, the immediate change will only be .4 and the gradual change will be .4. What is considered dangerous in a sudden swing? The gradual swing may not be harmful. You could reduce the sudden swing by doing 25% water changes. Adding 25% at ph 6 will only lower the tank by .2 to 6.6. I'm not sure, but that may not be enough to hurt anything. The test kit should have some information about maximum changes in a set time period.

Or, what about a ph buffer added to the new water- like proper ph. Add proper ph 7 the the new water, and you don't have much of a swing at all.

[Carpe_Diem]

Thanks again xeriod and OC,

When I originally filled the 46 Gallon it took 24 hours or more to get up to 7.6. That being said, the 46 has more aeration with 2 X HOB filters on it. How long it takes for the water to go back up from a water change I really have not determined. The new FLUVAL STUDIO 900 has a canister filter which is plumbed in from the bottom so it has an intake tube and an out take tube, 'No Spray Bar' so there is little to no aeration, which I believe is why it only goes up to 6.8 / 6.9 Which leads in to another question, do I have enough available oxygenation/exchange for Inhabitants. I have live plants, but not sure if there is enough.

OC, you may be right. It's plausible that the swing in the PH may not be enough to stress the Discus out, I am just trying to have the best possible water parameters and excellent conditions before I purchase the Discus. Currently the tank is cycled after using strong bio media from the established 46 gallon and it has 11 Rummynose tetras living in it at this time. I care for my fish and my wallet, meaning I don't want to make any mistakes with these beautiful fish. I may not even put anything else in the tank with the Discus other than the rummynose that are in there.

I have still not figured out why the dam Peat granules have not brought the PH down in either the 46 or the Studio 900. I figured it would be easier for me to bring down the PH in the tank with peat naturally than trying to alter the new water going into the tank. Frustrating.

[OC Discus]

Most sd experts don't recommend messing with ph in the tank because the swings are more harmful than a stable ph that is low or high. Treating the new water to match the tank may be the simplest way to go.

Is the Pete in both tanks? Could the pete be keeping it from rising even higher in the one tank? If it is affecting the ph, be sure to keep on top of it. Or remove the pete and see what happens to avoid a big crash later.

[Carpe_Diem]

The Pete is in both tanks, but the peat has only been recently added. The 46 Gallon has been running for quite some time with no peat and the PH readings were 7.6
at the highest. I was hoping the Peat would bring down the PH a little and then stablize.

[strawberryblonde]

With discus you will most likely be doing a daily water change, so the real question is how much your pH shifts in 24 hours.

Grab a bucket, add tap water and an air stone. Test the pH as soon as you fill the bucket, then test again 24 hours later. That will tell you what kind of shift you can expect in your discus tank. A shift upwards is much less worrisome than a downward shift.

As someone else mentioned, if you have a .4 shift over a 24 hour period, you can either age the water for 24 hours to circumvent it altogether, or you can do a 50% WC per day to lessen the effect of the shift.