# What the. .??!! Why these crazy ph swings?



## cookiedoughcreations (Feb 24, 2015)

I'm definitely a betta fanatic, and fairly new to having a planted, cycled tank which I'm absolutely loving - so much easier and better for the fish. 
Things have been very stable until recently. We have softened (ro) water due to our extremely hard well water. Ph has always run a bit high, maybe it's a lot high, usually around 7.4 to 7.8, zero ammonia, nitrites and nitrates on the high but doable end - I always attributed that to our property being right in the middle of acres and acres of farmland. 

I have a 5 gal, heated, with a hood mounted filter. The only change that I know of is that I've added a couple plants to the tank this week, water wisteria (a few small sprigs) and a couple moss balls. Plus one tiny Nerite snail. Ph was still doing it's normal slightly high thing until I added Flourish (the regular stuff, not Excel) yesterday for the first time. I halfed the recommended dose so as not to shock or harm Clark (the fish). This morning I checked Ph and it was way high, off the chart. . .help!!! I did another 20% water change and checked it an hour later and it was back down to normal which is 7.4ish. 

Any ideas would be so appreciated! The last thing I want to do is harm the fish for the sake of plants if that's what's happening.


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## cookiedoughcreations (Feb 24, 2015)

anybody. . .help?


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

I don't know if Comprehensive raises pH but I do know my fish, inverts and plants all live in 8.0 pH with no issues. What's important about pH is that it remain stable and not do a lot of fluctuating. 

Somewhere in the last week there was a thread on a problem similar to yours but I can't seem to find it. I Googled "Will Seachem Comprehensive raise pH?" but got no hits. Wish I could be of more help.

Are you mineralizing your RO water? If not, that's important as RO, distilled and spring water do not have the necessary trace minerals fish need for optimum health. There are a lot of products to add minerals to fish tanks. Most shrimpers use RO water and have to use those supplements.


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## cookiedoughcreations (Feb 24, 2015)

Thanks for your reply! It's nice to know that it's okay to have a higher ph, I'll look for the earlier thread. I don't add minerals but always top off (about 10%) of the ro water with tap water. I wonder if that's enough? I will look into adding minerals.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

You're more than welcome!

Try this link. 
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/fish-...lizing-water-conditioners/ps/c/3578/4395/4410

You could do half RO and half tap and not need the minerals. Check the tap water as you might have to adjust proportions to keep parameters stable. 

A five gallon tank, by the time you factor in substrate, equipment and decor, only holds about four gallons so there's no need to change out 2.5. Actually, when I had five-gallon, cycled tanks I did a gallon a week (25%). Smaller changes are much safer than large ones. Most experienced aquarists recommend 10%-25% per week in a cycled, healthy aquarium.

This is an excellent article:
http://www.firsttankguide.net/smallwaterchange.php


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## cookiedoughcreations (Feb 24, 2015)

So good to know, and thank you for the very helpful info and for the links, I'm off to visit!


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