Ph Skyrocketing

[irodri25]

So I just did a water change yesterday to my 55 gallon tank I waited 24 hours after that to test my water but it turns out my PH is really really high at 8.8 maybe more but my test kit can't read higher. Everything else is fine Nitrites at 0 Nitrates at zero because of my plants and Ammonia at 0 also. Any ideas on why this is happening and how I can fix it and I've tested my tap water just now and it is at 8.2 which is high already my fish seem to be doing fine nothing strange about them. Anybody know how I can lower it? Nothing in the tank has been changed at all and the only chemicals I add are the flourish and dry fertz. I already have a piece of driftwood inside the tank and I can't put anymore because the one I have is big enough for my tank.


I am trying to get discus in the future but with a PH that high I know it can harm them

 

[Sophie]

That is why I use RO water. To save any pH problems.
You can use pH buffering powders to buffer it down to a certain level.
Just go extremely careful. Too much of a drop too quickly will kill the fish.
I wouldn't recommend using liquid pH droppers as these can easily cause a pH crash.
I'll let someone more experienced comment on more, just go careful.
 
Also make sure it's nothing else in your tank buffering it higher.
I made the mistake of using Dorset Pea Gravel in my tanks which buffered the pH to 7.6 and no matter how much buffering powder was used, it would never drop any lower than that.
I've read that it can also buffer much higher and has done for some people to dangerous levels.
 
 
 
Isn't it at around 9 on the pH scale when fish can't survive?

 

[irodri25]

ok false alarm techen told me to retest and it looks like my test kit is just off and it really was at 7.4 thank you so much