city water, what are people testing at?

[cemantic]

Over the two years I have had aquariums I have tested the tap water every month or so.  It always had zero or just a trace, less then 0.25, of ammonia.  The PH was always in the range of 7.2 - 7.6 max.  Last Thursday we had ammonia levels of about 2 and a PH over 8.8.  It has settled a bit but this morning but it is still at 1 for the ammonia and 8.2 for the PH.

I am curious what other people are testing.  We live in the Carling and Fisher area.

I know the city is doing major upgrades to the water system along Wellington by Scott and also a good portion of Preston this summer, the homes and businesses were running off the fire hydrant water

[Nerine]

I haven't tested this month, but I general run at a ph of 8-9 (yes it's very high out of the tap)
and occasionally I get ammonia, depending on what's going on. We've had the water main break a couple times and that's when the readings get crazy. but the ph never changes.

Call the city, they can give you details on what's going on...just dial 311.

I'm over by St Laurent mall

[dan2x38]

Actually I'd not tested pH in a long time, since Spring. But I've been having an issue with my shrimp breeding. Today I decided to test my pH but my kit only tests to 7.6 the colour was very dark blue. I've used SeaChem Acid Buffer to lower water before. I added some on my bin in my fishroom to start lowering the pH bit by bit. Didn't check for NH3 but I always use Prime in my water bin anyways since it for breeding tanks. A month ago I did loss a prized CPD female and had a very low spawn. This might have been an issue with water? Spring & Fall are the times we usually see fluctuations in water conditions/quality.

[2075turner]

Hi there,

I have had the readings of 1 or less for the ammonia, with a 8 - 8.5 for the ph.  Way to high for my discus.  I live in the Tanglewood area of Nepean.

[dan2x38]

Hi there,

I have had the readings of 1 or less for the ammonia, with a 8 - 8.5 for the ph.  Way to high for my discus.  I live in the Tanglewood area of Nepean.

you loweriong the pH? with what?

[Pistol_pete]

My PH is off the chart high. Above 8 for sure. If I lower it, it tends to bounce back up after a short while unless I use lots of phosphate but that's a solution for an algae explosion (trust me, I know from experience. I didn't read the contents of the new product I bought until it was too late). Without doing any weird stuff to my water, the lowest it will stay with adding acids is 7.6 (I can get it lower but this is what it bounces back up to after a few days)

What are people here doing to lower PH and keep it there?

[cemantic]

I am not lowering the PH.  It is actually tanking right now.  I am doing water changes and adding Prime to help with the ammonia and nitrites.  The ammonia is down to between 0 and 0.25 but the nitrite is about 1 for the last couple of days.  Even though the PH out of the tap is about 8.0 now the cattle trough water drops to about 6.0 by the next nights water change.  Something weird is going on there.  I have been adding baking soda for now.  As far as I can tell the only thing that might be happening is I put zeolite in the filter weir to help with ammonia.  Will that cause a PH drop?

[fischkopp]

... Even though the PH out of the tap is about 8.0 now the cattle trough water drops to about 6.0 by the next nights water change.  Something weird is going on there. ...

Ottawa water plants artificially raise the pH into the range 8-9 for a good reason that I can't recall at the moment. But due to the fact that the KH is quite low (21mg/l according to the report below) it will eventually settle down to a lower value. This all depends on the tank itself: I had two tanks that had only silica as substrate, together with a few plants and fish, and the pH settled eventually around 6.8 without any treatment other than Prime.

Have a look here, this saves you from testing in the future:

http://www.ottawa.ca/residents/water/wq/city_wells/wq_reports/index_en.html

[dan2x38]

I use to lower my pH. Since this thread started again I tested noticed it was higher and my shrimp were not berrying. In a bin I aerate, heat, treat with Prime, and use SeaChem Acid Buffer it contains no phosphates. I mature the water for no less than 24 hrs. this way the pH settles in by the next day. I am able to get around 6.6 - 6.8 with regular WCs it maintains the pH in the tank. You shouldn't miss WCs because the pH will start to creep back up. The KH is what maintains the pH so trying to pull the pH down is much harder than raising it.

[blizzack1]

I use to lower my pH. Since this thread started again I tested noticed it was higher and my shrimp were not berrying. In a bin I aerate, heat, treat with Prime, and use SeaChem Acid Buffer it contains no phosphates. I mature the water for no less than 24 hrs. this way the pH settles in by the next day. I am able to get around 6.6 - 6.8 with regular WCs it maintains the pH in the tank. You shouldn't miss WCs because the pH will start to creep back up. The KH is what maintains the pH so trying to pull the pH down is much harder than raising it.

Interesting.. I haven't been testing, but have noticed a complete absence of baby shrimp for a long time now...

[dan2x38]

Interesting.. I haven't been testing, but have noticed a complete absence of baby shrimp for a long time now...

What type of shrimp? It can also be a build-up of NO3 that will do it.