pH and alkalinity too low; how to bring up?

[Atarius]

Hello

I've just done a set of test crica. 30 mins after a 10% water change, and plan to do one every day until my next change (1 week) to see if there's anything I can spot that could be causing my algae issues, as well as try to find out why my Duncan is sulking (has been for about 2 weeks).

Ammonia - 0

Nitrate - 20

Nitrite 0

pH - 7.6

Alkalinity - 9

As you can see, my nitrate levels are slightly high, which could be causing my algae issues. I will try to stick to feeding every other day, and skimming slightly wetter to see if that helps.

The main issue however is my pH and alkalinity. These are clearly slightly lower than would be considered ideal. How might I go about bringing them up a touch?

I'll continue to test for a week and see if instability could be the cause of my Duncan issues.

Any advice I'd be grateful of!

[Sjadet]

Alk is good but your pH is very low. Usually algae growth will lead to higher pH levels.. you test during day right? Maybe you need more aeriation, either the tank, or the room the tank is in.

 

 

[RayWhisperer]

Your alkalinity is fine.

 Your ph issues are most likely because it’s winter. The next warm day, open up some windows and measure the ph a few hours after that.

i see nitrates are a bit high, nothing to be alarmed about, though. An improved maintenance schedule would bring that back to  better levels in no time.

i do not see phosphate. This is more likely fueling your algae problems.

[Atarius]

25 minutes ago, Sjadet said:

Alk is good but your pH is very low. Usually algae growth will lead to higher pH levels.. you test during day right? Maybe you need more aeriation, either the tank, or the room the tank is in.

 

 

Thanks Sjadet. I have tested during the day, and I will continue to for the next week or so. I could point my return pump outlet slightly more at the water's surface to increase aeration. I'll give it a go and see what happens!

[Atarius]

14 minutes ago, RayWhisperer said:

Your alkalinity is fine.

 Your ph issues are most likely because it’s winter. The next warm day, open up some windows and measure the ph a few hours after that.

i see nitrates are a bit high, nothing to be alarmed about, though. An improved maintenance schedule would bring that back to  better levels in no time.

i do not see phosphate. This is more likely fueling your algae problems.

Thanks for the advice. I think my main issue is that I always think that my fish are hungry! I need to be careful and just cut feeding to every other day, that way I shouldn't have any issues.

 

You're right about phosphates though, I don't have a test kit for it. I'll grab one as i think it's likely to help get a clearer picture!

[Clown79]

Alk is fine. 7-11 is the range for alk to be in.

 

As @RayWhisperer mentioned, ph often drops during winter.

 

Lack of water movement at the surface can cause issues as well.

 

Ph fluctuates all day, photosynthesis effects ph as well so it's best to test it after the lights have been on for awhile.