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I use R/O water mixed with tap water for my tanks, this gets the pH to 6.8 -Which i and my fish really like. But after about a day its starts to rise and is at 7.2 by the 2nd day after the change. I change my water everyother day so its usually only at 7.0 when i change, but still! Is there anything I can do to stabilize it at the lower temp?

thanks
ashley

OB,

Your tapwater is "outgassing" in your aquarium. If you stored your water overnight and used it the following day, you would find that the pH had risen since the water went into storage.

If you store and aerate your water overnight then mix it with RO, you would not have the pH increase.

Last edited by Bob Wesolowski at 12-Feb-2005 15:33

__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

I do leave it overnight, and the pH is the same the next day. It only rises when its in the tanks (and i don't have airation in them)

thanks
ashley

Aeration or agitation, the idea is that moving water outgasses much more quickly. If you have a filter on your tank you are moving the water and outgassing it when it is in your tank.

__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

Hi,
Unless you are getting your water from the Lake, as they
do with most towns along Lake Ontario, you would be getting
it from a system of wells. In Ontario most are drilled into
limestone formations and will yield water that can be over
7.0 pH.

As Bob suggested your problem could simply be outgassing.
Pour a bucket full, test the pH, add an operating airstone,
wait 24 hours, and test again. If you cannot duplicate
the rise in pH, then I would look to the tank.

What do you have for substrate, rock ornaments, etc.?
Local rocks can be carbonates, which naturally raise the
pH and hardness of the water.

You may want to simply add some peat moss to the output of
your filter and naturally lower the pH.

Frank


Last edited by FRANK at 13-Feb-2005 10:08

Last edited by FRANK at 13-Feb-2005 10:10

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The pH is stabilized outside the tank. I let it sit overnight, and yes it is higher then when I first got it- but it is stable. But the problem is once its in the tanks it starts to rise(I don't have filtration on my tanks, so there is no airation of any kind)I don't have any decorations that would affect it either...

thanks
ashley

Last edited by Ontariobetta at 13-Feb-2005 15:54