# My FOWLR Tank has a pH of 8.8+



## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

I'm using API liquid test, and the result is a deep purple, the last color on the chart. It could be 8.8, or it could be higher.

I'm wondering why this is happening, and whether it's bad for my fish?

Nitrates are consistently 0, and I keep 2 ocellaris clownfish, along with a few snails. The tank has a deep sand bed and chaeto.

I'm using Instant Ocean Sea Salt.

The tank has been running for over 8 months, and the clowns have been in there for over 6 months. There are lots of macro algae growing on the live rock.

In the past, I have battled with cyano and have lost a peppermint shrimp, but since then, I have brought NO3 to 0 and cyano has vanished. I'm considering adding another shrimp, but I'm worried that the high PH might not be suitable for a shrimp.


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## ecoleshill (Jan 22, 2009)

When was the last time you did a water change?


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

ecoleshill said:


> When was the last time you did a water change?


A month ago. Do you think a tank will slowly rise in pH? What would cause that?


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

After a 40% water change, the pH is still around 8.8


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## carmenh (Dec 20, 2009)

Have you tested your plain water and mixed salt water, before it goes in to the tank? 
Not to offend, but when you top up, you use plain water, not salt water, right?
What's your SG?


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

carmenh said:


> Have you tested your plain water and mixed salt water, before it goes in to the tank?
> Not to offend, but when you top up, you use plain water, not salt water, right?
> What's your SG?


I use tap water to top up and for water changes. I keep salinity to around 30-35 ppt. I will remember to test mixed salt water next time.


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## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

tap water has a tonne of excess nutrients in it that could be causing (and likely is) your high pH readings.


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## wildexpressions (May 3, 2010)

Based on your posts my gut instinct is that your ph is not 8.8 unless you left something out like dozing with a two part alk/calcium or kalkwasser or something of that nature. Using poorly cured frag plugs or home made rock could do it.

It is not easy to accomplish a stable ph of 8.8. The first thing to do is test it with a different test kit, preferably an electronic tester. Maybe you can borrow one or someone with one can come over for a visit.

What is the ph of your tap water? City water is typically around 7.2 and there should be nothing in it that would cause a ph rise like that. 

What is the ph of the salt mix you are adding to the aquarium? You say next time you will test it. Why not mix some up and test it tight now? It only takes a minute to mix up 1 liter of saltwater.

What is the aquariums KH? In order for your ph to remain stable at 8.8 the KH would have to be at, or very close to at, saturation levels.


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

wildexpressions said:


> Based on your posts my gut instinct is that your ph is not 8.8 unless you left something out like dozing with a two part alk/calcium or kalkwasser or something of that nature. Using poorly cured frag plugs or home made rock could do it.
> 
> It is not easy to accomplish a stable ph of 8.8. The first thing to do is test it with a different test kit, preferably an electronic tester. Maybe you can borrow one or someone with one can come over for a visit.
> 
> ...


I don't dose anything. Toronto tap water is actually pH 8.0 once the CO2 has been gassed out.

Why do you say it takes only one minute to mix up saltwater? I have to measure out the salt, mix it up, test salinity, adjust, test salinity again, etc. It's a pretty time consuming process. Do you know a faster way to do this?


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## wildexpressions (May 3, 2010)

no, I don't know any special tricks to making saltwater. I just know exactly how much of the brand of salt I use it takes to make 1 gallon of salt water. I use Royal Nature and the variance from batch to batch has been very small in my experience. (which admittedly has only been 3 buckets worth so far).


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## wtac (Mar 17, 2006)

Just curious, what's the alk/kH?

If you are keeping corals, what's the Ca and Mg?


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## ecoleshill (Jan 22, 2009)

Test kits are really only good for about 1 year. So if you test kit is older you could be getting incorrect results. As wildexpressions said, try testing with a new kit.


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## shark (Jan 28, 2009)

did you fix the problem?


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

shark said:


> did you fix the problem?


No, I'm gonna wait until my next water change to test the pH of salt mix + tap water.


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*sugg*

how big is your tank , can u not find a store in your area to purchase RO water 
i have a 29 gal and prior to water changes i would purchase a water jug from the store with r.o water 
just an idea 
tom


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## ecoleshill (Jan 22, 2009)

tom g said:


> ... can u not find a store in your area to purchase RO water


When I had my hardware failure and ended up doing some major water cycling to get the Nitrates down I went to the WaterStore. They will rent your the large blue jugs and you will get your deposit back when you return them. I.E. you only have to purchase the water.


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

Update:

I checked the pH of newly mixed water, and it's 8.2. So, that means there has to be something in my tank that's raising the pH.

Found this article: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-03/rhf/#6

It's possible that my chaeto is the culprit by using up all the CO2 in the water. It seems the solution to that is to increase aeration.

I just measured my KH, it's 5. The KH from newly mixed SW is 14. So something is using up all the alkalinity as well...


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