Hi, I posted this before the forum went down so apologies to anyone who answered.
I set my tank up about a month ago. Tap water ph is 7.8, this level was maintained for about 2 weeks while I started a fishless cycle with flake food. I added 5 guppies to quicken the cycle a bit and the ph stayed at 7.8 until the cycle was over.
I didn't check the ph for 6 days, but when I did it had risen to 8.2. I gradually brought it back down again with water changes, which I do daily, but next day it would be back to 8.2 again. The other day I checked the ph and it had risen to 8.3. This means that every time I do a water change I'm dumping a ph 0.5 less into the tank.
I removed the few shells I had in the tank incase they were causing the increase but it hasn't changed a thing. I have some rainbow rock, fake plastic rock decorations, white column decorations (from lfs, not sure what they're made of), stones from lfs, terracotta pots, plants, airstone, stones from beach which passed vinegar test.
I've read somewhere that a lack of CO2 can cause the ph to rise, do you think this is the case? I plan to add to the stock next week which may help a bit.
I've also read that stones containing calcium could cause it, how do I tell if a stone contains this?
I set my tank up about a month ago. Tap water ph is 7.8, this level was maintained for about 2 weeks while I started a fishless cycle with flake food. I added 5 guppies to quicken the cycle a bit and the ph stayed at 7.8 until the cycle was over.
I didn't check the ph for 6 days, but when I did it had risen to 8.2. I gradually brought it back down again with water changes, which I do daily, but next day it would be back to 8.2 again. The other day I checked the ph and it had risen to 8.3. This means that every time I do a water change I'm dumping a ph 0.5 less into the tank.
I removed the few shells I had in the tank incase they were causing the increase but it hasn't changed a thing. I have some rainbow rock, fake plastic rock decorations, white column decorations (from lfs, not sure what they're made of), stones from lfs, terracotta pots, plants, airstone, stones from beach which passed vinegar test.
I've read somewhere that a lack of CO2 can cause the ph to rise, do you think this is the case? I plan to add to the stock next week which may help a bit.
I've also read that stones containing calcium could cause it, how do I tell if a stone contains this?
