PH swing from tap

[klannin]

I have a pH swing from 6.4 coming out of the tap to 7.4 in the tank. Could this be causing my ammonia to spike? Was doing 50% Wc every other day but since the increased ammonia have been changing 50% every day. But now the water is cloudy and a fish is sick and not getting better.

I really wanted to try keeping discus but not if I can't use water from a faucet.

Thanks in advance for advice.

[Second Hand Pat]

Hi Kelly, personally I think your ph swing is too great. You can try smaller WCs. Also you could be experiencing a mini-cycle but please check for ammonia in your tap. I would suggest daily WCs for now.

[klannin]

Thanks Pat, the ammonia nitrates and nitrites are at zero. Was doing great till I over served them cause I had guests...then my Wc ' s swinging the tank kept it unstable... thanks for the advice.

[kris2341]

Generally, those pH swings come from the large amounts of CO2 in the tap building up and the pH goes up once the water is sufficiently aged/oxygenated. I have the same problem so i just make sure to have a powerful air pump, and water pump circulating the water for awhile and then i pump it into the tank.

I usually wait about 2 hours with a large amount of agitation(30 gallons being turned over with a 6w air pump and a 1300gph powerhead).