PH issues on 8 week old tank

[rdflash0788]

If this is not the correct place for this post let me know and I'll be glad to move it to its rightful home. 🙂 So, I have a newly set up 75 gallon freshwater tank with real plants and small river gravel for substrate. The tank appears to be cycling still, but it is hard to tell as I've not seen a spike in ammonia, nitrite or nitrate yet. (possibly due to live plants and Quick Start??) Anyway, I have 1 Angel, 2 Dwarf Gourami's, 2 Julii Cory's, 3 Cardinal Tetra's and 6 Pearl Danios. I had more Cory's and Cardinals but lost a few soon after adding them to the tank. 😞 

I am on well water and used that previously (10'ish years ago) so I knew going in that it would be high in PH. I had African Cichlids previously and they didn't mind in the least. These guys though, they seem a little more picky so ideally I'd like to get the PH down at least a little as it is sitting around 8.4 or there about. I have tried a few things but am a little wary of PH "rebound" and honestly, so far at least, I have not had any luck getting the PH lower. I tried PH down from API (not expired) that didn't budge the levels and then bought some Peat Moss pellets from Fluval to see if that would help but it also didn't move the needle any. 

This got me wondering if something in the tank was affecting the PH and increasing it or keeping it high. The water that is straight from my tap is about 7.4 - 7.6, then when I add it to the tank and check the PH next day, it is up to around 8.4 to 8.6. Tried a little experiment and added some gravel from the tank to a clean mason jar with tap water (verified the PH reading from the tap at closer to 7 this time), Checked after a few hours and low and behold it was up to around 8.4 to 8.6 so I think I have found the culprit. Even though it was river gravel from a reputable vendor it must have some shells or something in it that is driving the PH maybe. Now to figure out how to fix it. 

I'd like to just go ahead and swap it out with another substrate but am dreading the "tear down", swap the substrate and then reassemble it all and hope to not lose any more fishes. Any tips on performing this feat? I know I've seen some vids on Youtube but wasn't sure if any here has tried it. Also, I was thinking about using Fluval Stratum in some biobags as a "base" and then covering with actual sand. I think I saw this on MD Fish Tanks channel but maybe it was KG Tropical. Anyone tried that method? It seems like it'd be good for the plants without the need for root tabs but leave me with something that isn't as "blah" as the Fluval Stratum. Mainly because my older eyes don't like the dark effect it gives . Will the sand possibly have the same effect on PH as the gravel? 

Any help or tips from the more experience than me would be greatly appreciated! 🙂

[Cory]

Test a mason jar of tap water without substrate, and have an air stone. Sometimes co2 pushes down pH initially and when it gases off it raises up again.

That being said, I vote to just embrace the 8.4 ph and build your hobby around it. Long term I find it's much easier and rewarding for me personally.

[nabokovfan87]

On 4/10/2022 at 2:58 PM, rdflash0788 said:

This got me wondering if something in the tank was affecting the PH and increasing it or keeping it high. The water that is straight from my tap is about 7.4 - 7.6, then when I add it to the tank and check the PH next day, it is up to around 8.4 to 8.6. Tried a little experiment and added some gravel from the tank to a clean mason jar with tap water (verified the PH reading from the tap at closer to 7 this time), Checked after a few hours and low and behold it was up to around 8.4 to 8.6 so I think I have found the culprit. Even though it was river gravel from a reputable vendor it must have some shells or something in it that is driving the PH maybe. Now to figure out how to fix it. 

LOL, Cory beat me to it.

The big question is what is the PH right out of the tap, what is the PH after 24 hours of aeration?

Second to that....

What is your KH and GH at those respective times?

On 4/10/2022 at 2:58 PM, rdflash0788 said:

Any help or tips from the more experience than me would be greatly appreciated!

based on stocking, you're probably going to benefit in some capacity (if PH stays extremely high and is an issue for the fish) by running a somewhat blackwater tank. (almond leaves, alder cones, etc.)

If there is a tank setup that works with the PH you have, as Cory mentioned, go for that.

[CT_]

If you don't want to embrace the ph, the "standard" way to deal with it is to mix in some RO or DI water.  Knowing your KH can help a lot too.  If you use pH down I'd recommend using it on aged water, adding it, checking kh and ph a day later until you get to a reasonable kh (2-4 maybe?), but really thats a lot more work than mixing up RO or DI water and way more error prone.

[rdflash0788]

On 4/10/2022 at 6:14 PM, CT_ said:

If you don't want to embrace the ph, the "standard" way to deal with it is to mix in some RO or DI water.  Knowing your KH can help a lot too.  If you use pH down I'd recommend using it on aged water, adding it, checking kh and ph a day later until you get to a reasonable kh (2-4 maybe?), but really thats a lot more work than mixing up RO or DI water and way more error prone.

CT_ - Yeah, I forgot to mention that before doing the mason jar test I went to the store and got 12 gallons of RO/purified water for my water change and that didn't budge it at all. lol I think I will go with what Cory mentioned and just embrace the high PH as the fish that are left standing seem to be doing fine. Also, I somehow forgot to mention one of my favorite inhabitants and that is my rummy nose tetra's. They colored nicely and don't seem to be stressed by the water in the least and as I understand it they can be pretty picky. 

Once I am reasonably sure everyone is settled I'll probably try and get a few more Cardinals, a few more Rummy Nose and some more Cory's to round out the "schools" so they have some company. 

Thanks to you, Nabokovfan and Cory for the quick replies!

Edited April 12, 2022 by rdflash0788