Ph And Alkalinity Problems

[kristalynnd1]

I have a 15 gal and a 10 gal, all the levels are good, in both the nitrite and ammonia are 0, nirtate is 10, but there has been a swing in water PH in both tanks. About a week ago I noticed a rise in PH from 7 to 7.2, and alkalinity went from 80 to 40, and the water was hard, now it's soft. I understand that I could get a PH neutralizer, but am wondering how this happend? I haven't done anything different. Also, is it possable for PH to go up but alkalinity to go down? I thought they usually stay about the same range of eachother.

10 gal holds 4 zebra danios and 1 betta
15 gal holds 2 giant danios and 2 tiger barbs and waiting to stock a couple more tiger barbs once this gets fixed

 

[fish_tank0311]

I wouldnt really worry about the pH unless it keeps rising. My neons and glowlights are perfectly happy at about 7.6 and i tell you the plants love it. Not sure about alkalinity, i dont test for that, i dont even know if they sell test kits for that where i live. Hopefully someone else can shed some more light on this.

 

[kristalynnd1]

Thanks! yeah I had tested at home, but thought to take water to my lfs b/c the levels in both tanks where the same, thought maybe my tests weren't working right but they are.
I am not too worried about the PH unless it goes up anymore, more intrested in why its going up and alkalinity is going down. Also I'm wondering how to make my water buffering hard again.

 

[Bignose]

The difference between a pH of 7.0 and 7.2 is almost meaningless. It is a difference in concentration of 0.0000001 moles of H+ per liter and 0.0000000631 moles per liter. Virtually nothing!

The water company may just be treating the company a little differently. As the seasons change, the water does need to be treated a little differently. Just keep monitoring and doing water changes and you should be fine.