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I haven't bothered checking nitrates as the tank is in no way cycled. It has only been setup a bit under two weeks.

I'm not concerned about the ammonia/nitrite levels. What concerns me is my PH going from ~6.1 to ~7.7 after adding plants.
 
The plants didn't raise the ph. Sometime substrate or hardsape can raise the ph depending on material. Also water gassing can change the ph. What you can do is put some water in a pail; wait 24 or so hours and take the ph to get a baseline.
 
The plants didn't raise the ph. Sometime substrate or hardsape can raise the ph depending on material. Also water gassing can change the ph. What you can do is put some water in a pail; wait 24 or so hours and take the ph to get a baseline.
PH out of the tap is ~6.1.

I was thinking the spike in PH might be that I've been over dosing plant nutrients. :dunno:
 
But what is the ph if it sits in a pail over night ?
I just filled a container and will check tomorrow. Still I would think that the actual tank staying at ~6.1 for several days before I started the plant nutrients would indicate the same as just letting water sit in a container. Even though I am pretty much a total newbie as to planted tanks I think the PH spike is due to over dosing the plant nutrients.
 
But what is the ph if it sits in a pail over night ?
Well you called it! Next day and the tap water PH rose to 7.6. Water company must have done something as this would not have happened a month or so back. :dunno: I wonder if mayhaps they raise the PH in the summer to avoid metal leeching in the pipes... :dunno:
 
Water companies normally add more chlorine or chloramine in warmer weather. This will often cause the pH to go up and if it doesn't, the water company will add more buffers to compensate for the higher dose of chlorine/ chloramine.
 
Water companies normally add more chlorine or chloramine in warmer weather. This will often cause the pH to go up and if it doesn't, the water company will add more buffers to compensate for the higher dose of chlorine/ chloramine.
Thanks for the info. I REALLY thought that it was over dosing with plant nutrients as the Flourish stuff I'm using is the only product I remember getting from them that did not state as to not affecting PH. Part of what made me think this was that this is the second time I've setup this tank. The first time my PH never changed from ~6.1 so I looked for what was different this time and the plants and nutrients were the only thing. Occam's Razor failed on this one. ;)
 
Oh, to add on to my above post this hot weather PH rise brings up another question. My 'target fish' is Laetacara dorsigera if I can ever find the danged things. The current PH is at or slightly higher then the suggested range. Do I need to look for different fish, don't worry about a PH spike for a while or treat new water to lower PH when doing water changes. My initial thought would be to go with the fish I want but check the new water PH when it gets hot outside and then lessen the amount of water replaced during water changes to make the PH rise slower.
 
What is the pH of the water?
What is the fish's preferred pH?
Are they wild caught fish?

If the pH of the tap water is at the top end of the fish's preferred pH, and the fish are captive bred (not wild caught), they should be fine. If the pH is significantly higher than what they normally occur in, then adjust the pH in a bucket 24 hours before using the water.
 
What is the pH of the water?
What is the fish's preferred pH?
Are they wild caught fish?

If the pH of the tap water is at the top end of the fish's preferred pH, and the fish are captive bred (not wild caught), they should be fine. If the pH is significantly higher than what they normally occur in, then adjust the pH in a bucket 24 hours before using the water.
Don't know if the fish would be wild caught as I can't find any.

The water PH looks to be 7.6. Preferred PH is 6.0-7.5.

LOL! Sounds like I may need a second bucket. ;)
 

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