Local Water With High Ph

[orillian]

I have a 50 US gallon tank with about 2 Watts per gallon of lighting. I recently (2 weeks ago) bought a C02 regulator with a Milwaukee pH monitor. I have set the bubble rate at roughly 1 bubble per sound. Due to the hardness of the local water, my PH is still 8.5! I do not use peat or any phosphate filter. My fish are doing well and seem very happy. This tank is about 6 months old and I have not had a dead fish yet.

My problem are my plants (swords, java moss, java fern, hygro, water sprite etc.) are not growing well at all. I think the water is too hard and the pH is too high. Also, I am getting more of a black beard algae problem since I started injecting CO2.

My questions are:

1) Should I turn up the bubble counter and see if the pH will drop?
2) Should I try peat and if yes, how do I do this?
3) Any other thoughts?

Please help.

 

[Jen]

Do you know what the kH value of the water is? My guess is that you will be able to increase your co2 rate to bring the ph down, while still being in a safe range for the fish, but it will depend on the kH.

 

[Themuleous]

1) No - test your KH to get a rough idea of the current CO2 level in the tank. If you just go upping the bubble rate willy and indeed nilly, you could kill all your fish. Having said that 1BPS is low for a 50g, so you might need more like 2 or 3BPS, but test the current CO2 level first and take things from there.

2) Its a personal choice but I never use peat, I cant bring myself to destroy a beautiful and wildlife rich ecosystem such as a bog in order to lower the pH in my tank. The pH is high, but if you can increase the CO2 that should bring it down. Alternatively, you could get an RO unit and use that to reduce the hardness (and pH) of the water you add to the tank.

3) None at the mo

Sam

 

[orillian]

1) No - test your KH to get a rough idea of the current CO2 level in the tank. If you just go upping the bubble rate willy and indeed nilly, you could kill all your fish. Having said that 1BPS is low for a 50g, so you might need more like 2 or 3BPS, but test the current CO2 level first and take things from there.

2) Its a personal choice but I never use peat, I cant bring myself to destroy a beautiful and wildlife rich ecosystem such as a bog in order to lower the pH in my tank. The pH is high, but if you can increase the CO2 that should bring it down. Alternatively, you could get an RO unit and use that to reduce the hardness (and pH) of the water you add to the tank.

3) None at the mo

Sam

Thank you Jen and Sam.

My pH is 8.4. GH is 160 mg/L CaCO3. KH is 220 mg/L.

What should I do?

 

[Jen]

for the kH... how did you get that number? number of drops x17.4?

 

[orillian]

for the kH... how did you get that number? number of drops x17.4?

The number of drops x 10. I am just following the instruction booklet.

 

[MoreCoffee]

for the kH... how did you get that number? number of drops x17.4?

The number of drops x 10. I am just following the instruction booklet.

You can use this online conversion utility to convert between different KH meassument methods (mg/l / dKH etc) .
Hagen KH Calculator (it's one worthy of a bookmark ! )

It looks like you have a KH of 12.3 dKH, combine that with your PH 8.4 (Chuck's calc) gives you a Co2 reading of just 1.4ppm. Very Low !

That's probably why your plants are not showing any signs of growth. BBA is also a clear indication of low Co2 in a high light aquarium.

As long as your PH and KH readings are correct and there is nothing in the tank (or being added to the tank) that could impact the test results, then you'll need to increase your Co2 and aim for a PH of 7.1.

The 1BPS and the low level in the tank and BBA all indicate you need to increase your Co2 dosing, there are a couple of things you should check before turning up the bubble rate. Diffusion !

> What sort of Co2 diffuser are you using and where is it positioned. Are the bubbles from the diffuser in an area of good water flow, are most of the bubbles being moved around the tank or escaping to the surface ?
Simply changing the position of the diffuser so the bubbles are dispersed around the tank as evenly as possible can help increase your Co2 levels.

> How much surface movement is there is the tank. Having lots of aggitation a the surface will lose Co2. If you are using a spray bar, make sure it is at least a few inches below the surface of the water ?

> Are you running anything like an airpump in the tank ? If so turn if off, you shouldn't need it !

Important: When turning up your Co2 from low levels I'd do this gradually over a few days, keeping an eye on your fish for any signs of stress and take regular PH and KH measurements to check the Co2 level.

Hope that helps .........

Al

 

[mattb]

Have a go at getting some indian almond leaves. These will lower your ph and soften your water, although they do leak alot of tannins into the water.

 

[orillian]

Have a go at getting some indian almond leaves. These will lower your ph and soften your water, although they do leak alot of tannins into the water.

Thank you for all your tips.

My regulator is the one from aquariumplants.com. The diffuser and water pump is also from the same place. There is no surface water movement as I use a cannister filter and the spray bar is set horizontally and at a depth about mid tank level.

The pH does dip a little bit overnight (I have the CO2 turn on 24/7 and not set on a timer). pH goes down to 8.1 - 8.2 overnight. It goes back up to 8.4 in the morning when the lights are back on.

I will try to turn up the CO2 to 4-5 bubbles per second and report back.

Once again, thank you for all your help!!!