# API ph up



## dwayne wade (Mar 9, 2010)

Hello, I have no fish in my tank so i can adjust ph quickly but anyone know how long it takes for the ph up raise with this product. My ph was about 6.4ish I need around 7.0. Ty


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## Bacchus (Mar 8, 2010)

throw the bottle out or take it back. i would not recommend using chemicals to raise your pH. actually, i wouldnt advise trying to adjust your pH at all. most fish will adapt very well and the most important thing is stability. if you are constantly adjusting it, your fish will not handle it well. 

if you really need to raise the pH, you can add a piece of crushed coral. that would do the trick and it is all natural and would be more stable...that is my opinion, at least. maybe other people will disagree


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## JohnnyD44 (Dec 5, 2008)

I agree....most fish can adjust to a small shift in pH....trying to alter the natural chemistry of your tank over the long haul will be expensive and more importantly, it's stressful on your fish.

I would recommend trying to find fish which will live comfortably in your natural tank water. Constantly fluxuating pH is more hurtful to fish than a one time adjustment to your level out of the tap.


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## cerianthus (Jul 13, 2008)

It all depends on what kind of fish!!! I would not keep livebearers in 6.4 for long time with expectation that they will adapt. They may adapt for quite a bit but eventually will experience problems.

*As far as quick changes in pH, Go for SLOW Changes.*

DO NOT WASTE your money on pH UP by API. USE pure BAKING SODA (BS) instead.

Rather than adding powder to tank (NEVER unless experienced), add and dissolve in new water when performing water changes. How much depends on your tank and tap water thus try small amt per specific volume of new water. For example, 1 leveled teaspoon for 5 Gal of new water???
After adding new water, wait an hour and test to see if pH improved and SO on and on. You should be able to figure out the quantity of BS for your tank thru trials

If you want or need to raise and stablize pH, try crushed corals in small nylon bag in HOB filter but just use it as needed basis.


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

Agree. Your pH depends upon the water hardness and biological actions in the aquarium. Most tap water has a certain degree of hardness (it varies from place to place) and this acts as a buffer to keep the pH as it is. Chemicals to raise or lower pH will do so immediately, then the water buffers it back, and the result is fluctuating pH. With fish in the tank this is going to cause health problems long-term, it attacks the immune system via stress for one important thing.

The question to be asked is, why do you want a pH of 7? No fish in nature lives in water with a pH of 7, it is either below (acidic soft water fish) or above (livebearers, rift lake cichlids, some others). Some advice still goes around that pH should be neutral (7.0), I assume in the mistaken belief that you can then combine all these fish together and it will suite them. When the fact is, it suits none of them so they all suffer ill health.

If you need to raise the pH and hardness, we can advise how to do it safely. But first, what fish do you want to keep? And do you know the hardness of your tap water? I'm assuming your tap water pH is around 6.4 or is it different?

Byron.


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## dwayne wade (Mar 9, 2010)

I used the watermill express water go to there website so you know what it is. I read this message too late i already put the chemicals in. Im most likely going to put 2 angels in and a rubber lip pleco and that's it. What temperature and ph level should i keep it. The pet store said there ph level is 7.4 and mine was too low to take fish from 7.4 to 6.0. Ty


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## Bacchus (Mar 8, 2010)

you can drip acclimate your fish....your water's pH is perfect for angels as is. your fish store's water is a little alkaline for angels. dont trust people that are selling you stuff..... temps can be anywhere from 74-80 thereabouts. i dont think you should worry at all about your pH, but rather how you are going to cycle your tank


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

dwayne wade said:


> I used the watermill express water go to there website so you know what it is. I read this message too late i already put the chemicals in. Im most likely going to put 2 angels in and a rubber lip pleco and that's it. What temperature and ph level should i keep it. The pet store said there ph level is 7.4 and mine was too low to take fish from 7.4 to 6.0. Ty


Ty,

Don't rush into things, there are issues here that have to be resolved. Can you provide the following please:

I'm assuming you bought water (from Watermill Express) to fill your tank. pH in your tank (and presumably the purchased water) is 6.4, any idea what the hardness is?

What is the pH of your tap water? And the hardness if you know?

I looked at their website, but there is no indication what may be in that water. It may or may not be good for fish. The fact that humans can drink water does not mean fish can live in that water, there may well be minerals in the water at acceptable levels for humans but which would kill fish. They mention 50ppm total dissolved solids, but what are those solids (hypotheetical question, unless of course you know)?

Byron.


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## Angel079 (Feb 14, 2007)

After what you said & done there I'd not put no fish in that tank until after your chem's / pH matter is sorted out properly anything else will likely wind up fatal so let's all help you go through this in a way that'll be better for fish. And then after that pls don't use these chems any more on your tank its just gonna do nothing but cause troubles for you long term.


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## LMychajluk (Jan 27, 2010)

Listen to these people! I started a tank in Jan that I thought I needed to get to a particular pH. A couple of doses of ph-Down and and OD on StressCoat within the first 2 weeks and I'm still having trouble with it. If I were you, since there are no fish yet, just do a 100% water change and go from there...


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## dwayne wade (Mar 9, 2010)

i only put 2 doses in the water the ph now is 6.6 im not putting the stuff in anymore. Should i check it tomorow and see how it is?


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## PaperclipGirl (Feb 7, 2010)

Using the API chemicals are only a temporary fix - and shakey at that.... 


My best piece of advice is this -

find out all you can about the water you plan on doing water changes with (tap water, bottled - whatever) - the pH, gH, kH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate levels.

Find a fish that meets that match - that is what you should buy - and NEVER TRUST THE FISH STORE!

As a beginner (which I am) using all those chemicals gets way to complicated and time consuming. Unless you are getting hard core - I say make lemonade and go with a good fit - otherwise you will be in for a world of headache. 

best of luck to you ~ cheers


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## dwayne wade (Mar 9, 2010)

all my other levels are good im leaving the ph around 6.6 if i buy fish from there fish tanks with 7.4 ph and put them in my tank wit 6.6 will anything happen?


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## PaperclipGirl (Feb 7, 2010)

Its all in how you aclimate them 

There are many ways but one - DON'T just float the bag and dump them in. 

The way that was taught to me was this (someone please add or correct me)

1. Float the bag 20 minutes, 
2. open and put water from your tank into the bag 
3. float it again 20 minutes watching for any signs of distress, 
4. put water from your tank into the bag again (might need to secure it with something at this point it might not float - I usually hold it) 
5. wait 20 minutes again - as long as there is no distress then 
6. net the fish out of the bag into the tank and discard the water in the bag (never put a fishstore's water into your tank - you are asking for lots of disease or even snails).


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## dwayne wade (Mar 9, 2010)

ok ill try the water from the tank thing. I know about putting store water in the tank.


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## Mean Harri (Dec 14, 2009)

What I do as instructed was roll the top of the bag down a couple inches making a collar. 
Float bag for 30 minutes. Every 5 minutes add about 2 oz of water from your tank into the bag.
Do this until you approx. double the original water in the bag.
Pour the water from the bag after 30-40 minutes thru a fish net over an empty container 
to net the fish and put them straight in your tank from the net. 

This keeps the pet store's water out of your tank which you don't want anyhow.
The fish are well acclimated to your water and slowly. It allows the water temp in the bag to acclimate slowly to your tank water reducing stress.

This is what was told to me and this is what I've done with success. Hope that makes sense since I have my head up my rear, so I've been told. But it works.


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## dwayne wade (Mar 9, 2010)

should i do a water change and use tap water then use amquel after?


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## 1077 (Apr 16, 2008)

dwayne wade said:


> all my other levels are good im leaving the ph around 6.6 if i buy fish from there fish tanks with 7.4 ph and put them in my tank wit 6.6 will anything happen?


 
Assuming (always a bad thing) that the aquarium has (cycled) and ammonia and nitrites are zero each day all day,and you have Nitrates around 20 ppm up to 40 ppm Then I would acclimate the fish SLOWLY to your aquarium with one of two methods.

(1) Turn the lights off on the aquarium (less stress), and float the bag holding the fish for twenty minutes in your aquarium to allow them to adjust to the temperature. Then open the bag and either roll the top of the bag down three or four times like you might do with your socks ,and this should allow the bag to float upright in the water. or you may clip the bag to the side of the aquarium with some type of clip ,perhaps a large binder clip used to hold paper files,or maybe a clip such as those used to clip a bag of potato chips closed.
Next add approx 1/2 cup of water from your aquarium to the bag every four minutes. 
Once the bag is near full,, carefully dump half the water from the bag taking care to do this over a bucket so as not to accidentally dump fish down the sink. Then ,,once again add about 1/2 cup of your aquarium water to the bag of fish every four minutes until once again, the bag is near full.
Then carefully net the fish from the bag of water and release them into your aquarium. Dump the water from the bag and or bucket down the sink .Do not add water from the bag or the bucket to your tank.

(2) This method requires that you gently empty the bag of fish into a CLEAN bucket that has not been used with chemicals (cleaning)or soap ,and tip the bucket so that the fishes are covered with water.A small block of wood placed under the bucket works well ,or a brick . 
Then take a section of airline tubing approx three feet long, and tie a regular knot or perhaps two,, halfway down or near the middle of the tubing.
Then ,,stick one end of the tubing in your aquarium, and the other end should be in the bucket holding the fish. You then must suck on the end of the airline tubing from the bucket until water from your aquarium,begins to travel down the tube into the bucket holding fish.
You don't want a steady stream of water ,but a Dip,Drip,Drip, from your aquarium to the bucket holding the fish. If water is being drawn out too fast,,tighten the knot'(s) until you acheive the drip at approx three to four drips per second or two.
Once the water in the bucket is nearly as much as was in the bag of fish,,carefully dump about half of the water from the bucket,and once again allow the Drip,Drip,Drip.to again fill the bucket to where there is just as much water as was in the bag of fish originally. 
Then carefully net the fish from the bucket and place them in your aquarium. Then dump the bucket of water down the sink.
This method can take anywhere from forty minutes, to a couple hours and I would recommend an hour minimum. Just keep allowing the water to drip,drip,drip,and when the bucket has more water than the bag of fish held,,dump half and repeat. Might also cover the bucket with a towel during the process to help keep stress to a minimum ,and to prevent fish from jumping out depending in large part on the depth of the bucket .
Would also recommend that lights in the aquarium be left off for the first 24 to 48 hours to allow the fish to adapt, and would not feed fish for the first 24 hours. New fish ,,trying to adapt to new surroundings,often refuse food and you don't need any excess waste laying about in the tank. 
Perform weekly water changes of 25 to 50 percent,don't over feed the fish.don't overstock the tank. don't add too many fish at once,and Good Luck.8)


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

Dwayne, you have not yet answered my questions from a prior post, namely, *what is the pH and hardness of your tap water?*

This is absolutely critical. There is no point in adding fish from the store with a pH of 7.4 to your tank with a pH of 6.6 only to have your tank go up to 7.4 with the next water change. And this all depends upon what your tap water is. First you must stabilize your tank.

Please do not start adding fish to this tank until we have sorted out your water parameters. Flucutating pH and hardness is extremely stressful on most fish, and some will be killed outright.

Byron.


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## dwayne wade (Mar 9, 2010)

I cant test my hardness of the water i dont have that test my ph of the tap water is 8.2 wit high range ph and 7.6 with the regular ph chart on the api freshwater master test kit. Which one do i go buy?


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

dwayne wade said:


> I cant test my hardness of the water i dont have that test my ph of the tap water is 8.2 wit high range ph and 7.6 with the regular ph chart on the api freshwater master test kit. Which one do i go buy?


I'm guessing here, but if your store's pH is 7.4, and assuming your water is from the same source as theirs, I would expect the 7.6 test result to be closest, but this needs confirming to be sure. I recommend you take a tap water sample to the fish store; most will do tests for pH and hardness. Ask them for the actual numbers of the tests, otherwise we won't know where you stand. Another option is to check with the local water board; most will tell you the hardness of the water, or they may have this on their website.

Once we know this, we will probably know why your tank is at a pH of 6.6; the hardness is the critical factor in this.

Byron.


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## dwayne wade (Mar 9, 2010)

my ph was at 6.0 because i used water from watermill express please go to there website to see what im talking about. I added 2 danios in there it was only a dolar to build up bacteria. Someone told me to use safe start. What water should i use in my tank.


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## Angel079 (Feb 14, 2007)

I just really seem to miss why you'd not use your tap water. You get the watermill water and try treat it with pH up meanwhile you have hard tap water why not use it? 
Once a tank is cycled you will never have the same parameters within the tank then right from the tap anyway and that's the same for soft water coming from your tap then it is for hard water.
Right now you've already spent quite some $ on chems yo really do not need like the pH up, the bottle bacteria etc. Just spent the additional 7-10 bucks and get a pH and KH liquid test kit for yourself; especially if you have in mind to keep mixing your water like you do its essential to have one at home to test every day.
Alternatively get it tested one time (pH and KH) from your tap and use that water with fish that suit your water with all this mixing up of water's and chems there you're doing more harm on the fish then good. So why not use what you have and leave it alone? What are you gonna do now keep buying the water mill water and do your weekly water exchanges that way and add chems and have a permant up & down swing that'll hurt the hardiest of fish (leave alone sensitive fish).

Just figure out what these 2 numbers from your tap are. Then let's discuss options here. Then after all this is settled buy fish (and we can all help there as well) that suit your water and then simply enjoy your tank w/out headache.


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

Slowly we're clearing up the mystery. Most of us would recommend using our tap water in aquaria. First, it is readily available, and second it is probably less expensive than buying water.

It is easier to acquire fish that will manage with the water you have than trying to adjust water to accomodate sensitive fish. But it can be done, with varying degrees of success.

The question you need to answer, is what fish do you want in your aquarium? Back in the first post, you mention wanting a pH around 7. Is this for a particular fish? Further on you mention angels and a pleco. If these are in the store at 7.4 they would be better going into your tank at 7.4-7.6 which I assume would occur with your tap water. You can mix in some of the water you bought, though long term this may be expensive. We can pursue this idea more if you like.

Byron.


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## dwayne wade (Mar 9, 2010)

Angel079 said:


> I just really seem to miss why you'd not use your tap water. You get the watermill water and try treat it with pH up meanwhile you have hard tap water why not use it?
> Once a tank is cycled you will never have the same parameters within the tank then right from the tap anyway and that's the same for soft water coming from your tap then it is for hard water.
> Right now you've already spent quite some $ on chems yo really do not need like the pH up, the bottle bacteria etc. Just spent the additional 7-10 bucks and get a pH and KH liquid test kit for yourself; especially if you have in mind to keep mixing your water like you do its essential to have one at home to test every day.
> Alternatively get it tested one time (pH and KH) from your tap and use that water with fish that suit your water with all this mixing up of water's and chems there you're doing more harm on the fish then good. So why not use what you have and leave it alone? What are you gonna do now keep buying the water mill water and do your weekly water exchanges that way and add chems and have a permant up & down swing that'll hurt the hardiest of fish (leave alone sensitive fish).
> ...


ok, so just empty the watermill water out and fill with straight tap water and add amquel+? Also should i buy the tetra safestart?


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## Angel079 (Feb 14, 2007)

If you're open minded about a variety fish that will suit your tap water there then yes or at least mix 50/50.
Still that leaves open the question what your hardness from the tap water is? And what fish do you have in mind to house there?
There's no need to add any starer chem's for one your tank has been running a lil while and the needed bacteria does establish itself within gravel & the filter 2) you have fish in there already as it is 3) you can read the sticky note here for fish-less or fish cycle and how it works in details; chems are not needed.


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

I have no problem recommending SafeStart, it is live bacteria that will seed a tank. The original Bio-Spira formula is now owned by Tetra (or whomever owns Tetra) and Safe Start is the successor to Bio-Spira which is scientifically proven. In this case, it can't hurt and should help; if I recall correctly, there are no fish in this tank yet.


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## dwayne wade (Mar 9, 2010)

i actually added 2 danios in there they were only a dollar. how do i know what stage im at and also my water is cloudy should i do a water change or check my water wit the test kit first? I have hard water from the faucet


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## dwayne wade (Mar 9, 2010)

Btw I can always move the fish to a fish bowl or something else if I have too.


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## Angel079 (Feb 14, 2007)

There again for determining a cycle status you'd need a liquid test kit that contains NO2, NO3, Ammonia. Really your best bet long term is just to invest a few dollars in a combo test kit such as offered by Tetra or API so you can test all matters necessary at home any time. Otherwise anything will be plain guess work for you from here on out.


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## dwayne wade (Mar 9, 2010)

Angel079 said:


> There again for determining a cycle status you'd need a liquid test kit that contains NO2, NO3, Ammonia. Really your best bet long term is just to invest a few dollars in a combo test kit such as offered by Tetra or API so you can test all matters necessary at home any time. Otherwise anything will be plain guess work for you from here on out.



I have the api master test kti for freshwater.

I just checked everything here are the results.

6.4 ph
0.25 ammonia.
0 nitrates
0 nitrites


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## Angel079 (Feb 14, 2007)

.25 Ammonia and no no's you're starting your cycle. If you wanna help your existing fish check the ammonia every day don't let it rise past .25 if it does to a good sized water exchange with a good water conditioner.


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

Agree with above, but if the pH remains acidic (6.4) you can let it sit. In acidic water, ammonia changes to ammonium which is harmless to fish. Bacteria still use it either way, so the tank will still cycle properly, only without stress to the fish. An advantage here to having acidic water.

If you don't add more fish, and use the biological supplement mentioned earlier, you should see the tank cycle without problems.


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