PH, GH and KH

[Fishnut]

I have to move some very sensitive fish from QT earlier than I had planned, so I did some testing on PH, etc between the tank they're in and the tank they're going into.  BIG difference!!  I have no idea what's doing this to my tank but I discovered an 8.0 PH with a very low GH and KH.  Inadvertently, I have created ideal Sulawesi shrimp conditions!  I have silica sand gravel as well as some regular sized aquarium gravel plus some pebble type gravel as a substrate.  All I thought were inert.  I also have a couple bits of driftwood, vals and lots of happy cryprocrenes.  Fish...CPD's, mosquito rasboras, BN pleco and a rare livebearer that I picked up at the last GA.

Here's the problems in the tank though...

My madagascar Laceleaf hasn't been doing well.  I thought it was because of the hot weather and the fact that we don't blast the AC.  Maybe it's because of the PH?

My Cherry shrimp do not multiply.  I never see berried females, despite the larger number of males to females.

My Phoenix Moss isn't looking so hot and it hasn't seemed to have been able to come back from the hair algae that covered it.  My Amano shrimp have since removed every last hair from it.

Could these potentially be cause by the PH being so high?

Possible solutions:

Add some bits of almond leaf litter to the tank.  I have some already but I wasn't really into the tannins that go with it.

Change the substrate to something that buffers a lower PH.  I'm sure I have some of that Red Sea Flora Base in containers somewhere.

[exv152]

It's quite possible. I once used old substrate from another setup I had, thinking it was completely inert, only to discover it was raising my pH to 8-8.5 but the kh and gh were also through the roof. Something is leaching in your tank.  Your two suggestions are merely band-aid solutions. If I were you I'd want to get to the root cause. What kind of substrate do you have? What rocks if any? What is your pH out of the tap? Do you have any filters or powerheads creating surface agitation?

[Fishnut]

As I said in my first post, I have silica sand gravel as well as some regular sized aquarium gravel plus some pebble type gravel as a substrate.  Except for the silica sand, the rest came from the LFS.  No other rocks in there.

It's got to be the substrate.  There's nothing else in there except gravel, wood and plants...and teeny fish.  My GH and KH are low though, not high so I'm not really worried about those.  It's getting the PH to a level that these more sensitive fish like.  In turn, I'm hoping that the other issues I'm having with the tank will correct themselves.

I do have a canister filter running that ripples the top of the water but that has no effect on PH, GH or KH.

The tap water's PH is unstable.  It comes out at 8.? and within 24 hours it settles down to somewhere in the 7's...I can't remember what.  I did a WC on Saturday.  I don't usually care so much about PH until it's time to move fish around.

[bitterman]

Evaporation over time can can cause ph to raise. What percentage of water change are you doing weekly? How much top up is needed weekly?

Regards,
   Bruce

[Fishnut]

I hate evaporation so the top is very tight.  I never need to top up.  I do a 50% WC every weekend...once in a while it get delayed by a week.  Still no need for top-up after that time though.

[charlie]

My way of thinking is that if PH is climbing the KH should do the same right or wrong?
I think you mentioned both your KH & GH is low?
Process of elimination, check some fresh tap water for KH,GH,PH after sitting for a day or 2, add some of your substrate & re test the water parameters after a day or 2, see what you get.
Regards Errol

[bitterman]

Also take a look at your test kits? Are they getting old maybe expired? I had a set of test go bad were showing a ph of 7.8 when I was at 9.18

Bruce

[Fishnut]

I'm going to take a sample of the water to critter jungle to get them to re-test it for me.

It could very well be the test kits that are faulty.  Not like I use those 3 often.

[exv152]

Also take a look at your test kits? Are they getting old maybe expired? I had a set of test go bad were showing a ph of 7.8 when I was at 9.18
Bruce

That's a good place to start. I've read the api test kits expire after 3 years, is this correct? Mine is about that old, but I can't really make out what the manufacturing date is by the lot number (lot 8A0508).

[Fishnut]

Problem solved!!  My PH test kit was WAY off.  The PH of the display tank is actually 6.8 (my test kit showed 8.0) and the PH of the QT tank is slightly lower because it has almond leaves in it.

WHEW!!

Still doesn't explain the sterile shrimp or the lack-luster laceleaf plant, but at least I can move the fish up from QT!

[tim_s]

Have you retested your water since?

Before Silica,

Tap: 7.5 pH KH 2
Resting: 7.0 pH KH 2

After adding Silica,

Tap: 7.5 pH KH 2
Resting: 7.8 pH KH 4

I am curious to know if you solved your issue.