Ph Nightmare

[ShoC]

I'm having trouble with my PH levels,

straight out of the tap my PH is 7.1
but for some reason in my tank it shoots up to 8.2/8.4
I have two very large pieces of bog wood inside of it but to no luck,
doing 50% water change don't help much either

how do I determine if my Buffer is to low?

only thing I can think of doing is checking that and if it's low,
when doing water changes dechlorinate and then buffer the 20L that I would put into the tank and that will slowly over a course of 3weeks or so get my PH down to the level of my tap!

Does this sound like a good plan?
but what do I do if my water is nicely buffered?

Really appreciate any help!
as I dont think my RTBS likes it.

 

[helterskelter]

To be honest playing with the can to more harm, under 8.5 is fine for most fish unless you get tetra's or fish the specify soft water.

Bog wood can help to reduce the pH, but what's hardening the water?
Do u have any large rocks and if so do u know what types?

 

[ShoC]

No rock,
just bog wood and plants.
I do have tetras in there
I know not good idea with RTBS but no choice (so save that for another time )

I'm using roman Gravel by pettex and says it's inert...

Im actually suffering from this in my 2nd tank... (got rid of it just today)
again just gravel... and nothing else (no large Rocks)

 

[rdd1952]

What type gravel do you have? It is extremely odd for pH to rise once it is in the tank. And if anything, your buffers are extremely high or the pH wouldn't rise that much. Have you tested the KH and GH of your tap water? Also, have you tried letting the tap water stand in a bucket for 10 to 12 hours and then testing it again?

 

[ShoC]

no I'll try letting it stand,
what determines how easy PH changes?
And what can reduce it?

I'll pick up a GH/KH tester today...

 

[rdd1952]

KH (a measue of the buffering capacity) is the key to how steady and stable pH will remain. The higher the KH, the more difficult it is to change your pH. GH is the hardness of the water. The higher the alkalinity, the higher the GH or harder the water. Most municipal water supplies try to keep the GH very low in order to make the water taste better. In the UK though, I know it is quite common to have very high KH & GH.

Here is a very good article on GH, KH, pH and their relationship. It also mentions the ways to reduce them but it can be tricky. As a general rule, you don't want to use pH adjusting chemicals or anything that has to be done on a regular basis. Probably the best way to reduce GH & KH is with RO water mixed with tap water.