PH question/advice needed

[fishy_jim]

My tank has been up since the beginning of December and fish were just added 7 days ago. I have been closely monitoring my PH and have some data I have collected that Im looking for guidance on please. My current tank water parameters are:

PH - 7.56
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 3
KH - 40 mg/L
GH - 30 mg/L

My water is very soft in the county I live in and apparently is some of the softest water in the nation from what I have found out. Here is what I would like to know, Im wanting to know if the PH swing I am seeing is acceptable to run with, or do I need to be concerned?

Aging barrel after 48 hours aging my PH is 7.98 which is pretty much what it reads straight out of the tap so aging does nothing to my PH, most likely due to how soft my water is. Tank PH after a 50% water change I read 7.42 the next day. I purposely skipped a WC 1 day and PH read 7.26. I then did a 50% WC and tank PH read 7.56 Looks like I am seeing a range from 7.56 and drifts down over the coarse of 2 days to 7.26. Is what I am seeing good or something I need to worry about? What is the PH swing tolerance ?

FYI - fish are doing great and eating out of my hand enthusiastically and feed 2x a day. They are 4 - 4.5" discus My replacement blue diamond that arrived DOA arrives tomorrow morning (sat) so Im excited about that. I even had 2 pair off and already laid eggs the other day. They were all eaten within 2 days however.

[brewmaster15]

Jim, your tanks pH swings are okay for the Discus at this point. The problem will happen down the road where you may get busy or go on vacation and regular water changes Lag. Soft water is prone to pH crashes and with insufficient water changes over time drift down. Still I would rather have soft water(great for breeding) than hardwater. You can easily buffer your water by adding some crushed coral or oyster shells in a nylon stocking to your filter. That will help stabilize the pH . Its a bit trial and error but 1 cup per 55 gals is a good starting point.

Hth,
Al

[fishy_jim]

Jim, your tanks pH swings are okay for the Discus at this point. The problem will happen down the road where you may get busy or go on vacation and regular water changes Lag. Soft water is prone to pH crashes and with insufficient water changes over time drift down. Still I would rather have soft water(great for breeding) than hardwater. You can easily buffer your water by adding some crushed coral or oyster shells in a nylon stocking to your filter. That will help stabilize the pH . Its a bit trial and error but 1 cup per 55 gals is a good starting point.

Hth,
Al

Thanks Al !! OK - I added some crushed coral (1 cup to both canister filters in a mesh bag. Here is what I see happening, let me know your thoughts.

SUNDAY
before WC tank ph was 7.02
did a 50% WC and added the crushed coral. PH was 7.58 after WC in tank

MONDAY
PH in tank 7.58 am reading
PH in tank 7.86 pm reading (24 hrs having the crushed coral in)

TUESDAY (today)
PH in tank 7.98 am reading

FYI, my aging barrel water reads PH 8.22

It seems my tank is now more inline with what my aged water reads which I assume is good? Am I fine to let it go a few more days and see where it settles in at?

Thanks!

[brewmaster15]

Hi Jim,
Stability is important so if the tanks more inline with what your aged water is pH wise that is a good thing. I would not use more crushed coral than you are or it may drift up more.

Does your municipality treat the water to bring up the pH? Aging to pH 8.2 is pretty high for softwater.

Are the fish still doing well?

Al

[fishy_jim]

Fish are well this morning. If the PH reads the same when I get home tonight as it did in the morning I will leave it be. If it has creeped up higher sould i remove the coral entirely or from one of my filters.?

[fishy_jim]

Fish are well this morning. If the PH reads the same when I get home tonight as it did in the morning I will leave it be. If it has creeped up higher sould i remove the coral entirely or from one of my filters.?

Im also suspecting my cheapo ph meter is not accurate. It always seemed to be reading higher than what API shows (new test kit) and also if using a test strip. The API and test strips are in line with each other reading. Ive read those digital ph meters are iffy at best.

[jwcarlson]

I would not trust a digital pH meter unless it's something you calibrate with known fluids. And those are typically about $120-150. I've got a Milwaukee MW102 and it's fairly nice. The problem is calibrating is kind of a pain. But those $10 pH pens from Amazon aren't reliable at all.

[brewmaster15]

I would not trust a digital pH meter unless it's something you calibrate with known fluids. And those are typically about $120-150. I've got a Milwaukee MW102 and it's fairly nice. The problem is calibrating is kind of a pain. But those $10 pH pens from Amazon aren't reliable at all.

I agree. I have them and I have to calibrate them pretty much weekly or they drift. Ironically I found the $100 hannas I used to use to do the same. I don't measure pH often but I will have to check out the Milwaukee MW102.

al

[fishy_jim]

Thanks guys. Im gonna get a fresh reading usin API and see where Im at.

[jwcarlson]

I agree. I have them and I have to calibrate them pretty much weekly or they drift. Ironically I found the $100 hannas I used to use to do the same. I don't measure pH often but I will have to check out the Milwaukee MW102.

al

It was suggested by some apistogramma breeders, some of which only spawn when the pH is down in the 4s! So they add muriatic acid to their water storage and monitor the pH. I don't do anything like that, but I figured if they trust it during that process then just monitoring it ought to work. I don't use it very often, however. It's nice to have something that I can "trust" even if it doesn't always tell me what I want it to. :D

[fishy_jim]

Im trashing that crappo PH pen. Tested with a new API PH liquid test and tank reads 7.2 and my aged water aging for 48 hours reads a solid 7.0 Gonna do a 50% WC tonight and see if the tank stays stable with the PH. If it does I will leave the crushed coral in. If it goes up then I will fine tune the amount of crushed coral and take half of it out. I put 1 cup in a mesh bag in each canister filter (Im running 2)

[fishy_jim]

Update incase anyone is following this thread ... Did 50% WC last night. Before WC tank PH was 7.2, Aged water read 7.0. This morning tank read 7.2 which is consistent of PH prior to WC so Im happy with that. The crushed coral seems to be doing the trick perfectly. These PH readings were done with my API kit. If checking my PH tonight shows an increase I will remove some of the crushed coral, but with what I am seeing so far I feel its very close to what I need to stabilize the tank PH.

[brewmaster15]

Update incase anyone is following this thread ... Did 50% WC last night. Before WC tank PH was 7.2, Aged water read 7.0. This morning tank read 7.2 which is consistent of PH prior to WC so Im happy with that. The crushed coral seems to be doing the trick perfectly. These PH readings were done with my API kit. If checking my PH tonight shows an increase I will remove some of the crushed coral, but with what I am seeing so far I feel its very close to what I need to stabilize the tank PH.

awesome! :)