# Can't get ph up



## oh1vette (Aug 16, 2011)

Hi all, new to the forum, but been keeping freshwater fish my whole life....

This is kinda weird, I use API ph up to increase ph after water changes. Problem is, the ph is not increasing, it consistently stays at 6.0; I usually aim for a 6.4.

I've added 4 doeses now so far, over a few days, but still at 6.0...

Any thoughts?

Thanks


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## aussieant32 (Aug 23, 2011)

whats in your tank? Any wood? Well planted? Co2?


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## oh1vette (Aug 16, 2011)

Sorry, 

no wood, no live plants.....yeah I know, but I've never had problems raising the ph with the additives.... ammonia is 0

Fish seem healthy, but just don't understand why the ph won't raise.

Maybe I should leave well enough alone if the fish are happy(???)


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## aussieant32 (Aug 23, 2011)

id suggest testing your tap water first, that will give you a good base reading to start. Also im not a fan of adding chemicals etc to raise PH. Try adding some crushed coral or some coral sand (available at any decent aquatic shop) these will natually raise your PH levels. But like you said, if the fish seem fine with it, dont touch it


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## ladayen (Jun 21, 2011)

Why would you want to raise the PH is the fish are happy? Your PH is great for many fish, with the exception of Livebearers and some african cichlids notably.


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## BarbH (May 23, 2011)

Hello and welcome to TFK :-D What are the fish that you are keeping in your tank, and what is the reason for wanting to raise your ph? As stated most of the fish that is commonly kept are from soft acidic water, some of the exceptions are livebearers, africian rift cichlids, and central american cichlids are a few off the top of my head that come from waters that are harder and more basic in nature. Using chemicals like ph up or ph down can lead to having sudden shifts in the ph in your tank, which is actually more harmful to the fish, than having a steady ph even if a little lower. Most tank raised fish are able to handle having larger range in ph and hardness than wild caught which tend to need to be kept in more similar conditions from where they came from.


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## amberjade (May 28, 2010)

Yep, what they said. 

Stay off the ph up - too unstable. Crushed coral in your filter is much better. Makes for a fantastic buffer.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

+1 on the crushed coral. using slow dissolving buffers like the coral, seashells, etc will be much safer and easier to control than PH Up.


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## oh1vette (Aug 16, 2011)

Thanks for all the replies...

Reason for looking to increase was the 6.0 is the low end of the scale for these fish, so I just thought I'd bump it up a bit....didn't think it would hurt.

Was really curious as to why or what would prevent the ph up from working....thought maybe that might lead to an as yet unknown problem...

Thanks again all...


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## BarbH (May 23, 2011)

My guess would be that the kh in your water is low which would mean that it does not have much buffering capability. With a low kh the ph will naturally lower in the aquarium. Even by adding ph up to the water because the kh is low the ph will naturally lower back down. There is a good article here written by Byron that explains this http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/freshwater-articles/water-hardness-ph-freshwater-aquarium-73276/


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

Just to add my agreement with what has been suggested. The article (mine) that Barb linked will explain how hardness and pH are connected, and that is the issue here. However, raising pH via chemicals is always bad, and the methods others mentioned using mineral (calcareous gravel, coral, etc) is far safer. But as also was mentioned, this may not be necessary.

You haven't told us the fish species, but assuming they are soft acidic water fish they will be just as happy in pH 6 as in pH 6.4. We can offer more when we know the fish species, and your tap water hardness.

And welcome to Tropical Fish Keeping forum.:wave:

Byron.


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## oh1vette (Aug 16, 2011)

Thanks Barb/Byron,

Current fish kept: 4 Silver Dollars, 3 Angels, 8 Serpe Tetras and 2 Albino Corrys...

I've tried to add bala sharks, red tailed sharks but they don't seem to last long......


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## BarbH (May 23, 2011)

oh1vette said:


> Thanks Barb/Byron,
> 
> Current fish kept: 4 Silver Dollars, 3 Angels, 8 Serpe Tetras and 2 Albino Corrys...
> 
> I've tried to add bala sharks, red tailed sharks but they don't seem to last long......


 
The current fish that you have right now will all be fine kept at the ph that is in the tank. They all come from soft acidic waters of South America.


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

The slightly acidic pH is fine for the fish mentioned, but assuming they are all in the same tank you have stocking problems waiting to occur.

Scalare Angelfish and Silver Dollar should not be together; mainly, angelfish like to have plants, and SD do too except the latter eat them. Also, as these fish mature, they may not view each other so friendly.

The Serpae Tetra are notorious fin nippers, and long fin and sedate fish like angels should never be in the same tank. Things may "appear" OK now, but the Serpae are inherently "nasty" and angelfish can pick up the chemical signals, and that causes stress even if no actual physical interaction occurs. I would not keep these together for the sake of the angelfish.

Corys are shoaling fish that need a group; five is a good number when you have space. No mention is made of the tank size. And on that note, with angelfish and SD you need at least a 4-foot tank as they mature.

Bala shark and Red Tailed Shark are not community fish in the normal sense. The latter can be downright nasty as it attains its mature size of 5 inches, and other substrate fish that are similar in shape are best avoided. Bala shark need a very large tank, 8-feet in length, as they attain 14-16 inches and must be in a group. Obviously other fish in the tank will be appropriate.

You can read more on these fish in our profiles, second tab from the left in the blue bar across the top; if the name is used exactly the same in posts as it appears in the profile, it will shade and you can click on it to see that profile. Please have a read for these fish.

Byron.


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## oh1vette (Aug 16, 2011)

Hear ya, but its odd, I've had the SDs for years, never any live plants.

Angels I've had since about nickle body size and their quite large now.

The Serpes (recent addition) seem to stay away from the Angels, maybe due to size(?)

Balas I had 6 at one time, but lost em (more or less thru neglect - traveled alot for a period of time)

I know, behavior goes against the book, but thats what I'm seeing - - maybe the low ph keeps em all mellow:-D

Had a 55 gal, now have a 45 bowfront acrylic...



Tonite, I'll try to post a few pics of the fish...


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## oh1vette (Aug 16, 2011)

Just read Byrons article, very informative....and understandable

Thanks for taking the time....


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## oh1vette (Aug 16, 2011)

Hear ya, but its odd, I've had the SDs for years, never any live plants.

Angels I've had since about nickle body size and their quite large now.

The Serpes (recent addition) seem to stay away from the Angels, maybe due to size(?)

Balas I had 6 at one time, but lost em (more or less thru neglect - traveled alot for a period of time)

I know, behavior goes against the book, but thats what I'm seeing - - maybe the low ph keeps em all mellow:-D

Had a 55 gal, now have a 45 bowfront acrylic...



Tonite, I'll try to post a few pics of the fish...


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## AquaChief (Aug 29, 2011)

One final thought on all the good advice so far. Is your testing solution/strips for pH out of date? You could be getting a consistently false reading because it's past its expiration date. Just a thought.


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## oh1vette (Aug 16, 2011)

AquaCheif, thanks, yeah I thought the same and bought a new kit - same result...

I need to get a kh kit, I'm thinking now from all the above that may be it....


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

oh1vette said:


> AquaCheif, thanks, yeah I thought the same and bought a new kit - same result...
> 
> I need to get a kh kit, I'm thinking now from all the above that may be it....


Unless you plan to adjust the hardness, I wouldn't waste the money for a KH test. Your water supply people can provide the GH and KH of the tap water, and that will not change in the aquarium unless you deliberately do so. Once you know the hardness, the pH shift will be somewhat predictable.


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