water ph

I am 14 years old and have recently began taking care of a 175 gallon tank. I have consulted my science teacher and he agrees its a big task. but i took a pH test with the paper sticks and it was 7.5 this was in the morning. then at night i was just curious and used the pH drops this came out to a nine. should I be worried? or is this okay? btw i have 2 angelfish a big catfish
a red tail shark and two silver dollars and a betta i have no more papers to see if im going crazy or not im just wondering if this kinda stuff is normal

A fluctuation in PH is normal, but really not that much of a change. Is the tank new? or newer? Also, are there any live plants?

got any pics and i turned 15 in december so were close in age what type of betta?

well its an old tank.. i tried to upload some pictures i'll have em up before the end of the night but the betta was just a betta like it wasnt a crown tail or halfmoon.. there arent any living plants at the moment i do plan to get some in the near future...

Okay, next thing... is there surface tension? Like, do you have a filter that hangs on the back, or do you have a canister filter. Do you have an air pump.

Without really knowing what you tank is setup like, I am thinking that the c02 gases are not escaping from the fish, which should lower it. Like you said during the day it is 7.0, obviously the fish are more active and expire more c02. But at night when they are slow/sleeping, the ph starts to creep up because of possible the water you are using is a high ph?

Maybe the different measuring methods are responsible for the different results. The paper strips could have been exposed to humidity, or the test strips and/or chemical reagents could be too old. In any case, try using the same test setup at the same time of day for a few days, and see if anything changes. A large aquarium like the one you have will not change water parameters very quickly, especially since it's not over crowded. Make sure you feed the fish only once or twice a day, and give them no more than they can eat in a couple of minutes. Over feeding is one thing that will produce quick changes in water parameters. If that's the problem, you'll need to do a series of partial water changes for several days. Please keep us posted, and ask all the questions you want.

As a side note, the fish in your aquarium do not necessarily get along well with each other. Different species need different water parameters, and many species become aggressive when they mature.

John, as I take what he is saying, he used the strip both times? I see that maybe they could be old or damaged. But if this does not hold true what are other possibilities? Yeah over feeding, but again for a 125 gallon tank that would take some time...yeah? Maybe hes pumping c02 in there? That is the only thing that comes to mind with such a ph fluctuation, assuming the sticks are not faulty. I dont know if I trust those sticks anyway. I thought about them, but the old fashioned way sounds much more convincing.

You're probably right. I would be more worried about rapid changes in pH more than the actual values.

Yeah me too. I would hope that he invests in the liquid and re tries it.

i have two hanging filters on each side in the back and i don't have the air pump set up currently. but i did try testing the pH with the bromothymol blue liquid ph test and is was a 9

actually i tested it about 2 minutes ago and its an 8/8.5 i think im doing this ph test wrong

Be confident. What I would do is go to the store and spend maybe 10 dollars and buy another test kit. Just to be safe. Or spend 25 and buy the tetra master test kit which I have and its nice. But that all you do is add 14 drops to 5 ml of aquarium water and the color appears. Match it to the chart and you have your reading. For the test that you said I have never heard of it. Maybe John has and he could help you more.

Could you post a picture of your tank. And something else I would do would be to test your tank everyday, at the same time. Maybe, once when you wake up, and once later in the evening? Set a schedule and just see what it does. The picture will better help to see what is going on in there and if maybe there is something you are over looking?

Alright I've tried posting pictures several times all have failed me but i'll do it one way or another.

If you do indeed have a very high pH, you should try to lower it gradually to avoid shocking the fish. A couple of natural ways to lower pH are decorating with Malaysian driftwood and adding Indian almond (catappa) leaves. Probably the spelling is wrong, but you can find both on Aquabid or Ebay. I think an old time under gravel filter also helps lower pH.

PS: Having no water/air circulation in the tank could affect pH, which could be different in different parts of the aquarium. For now, you could just get a cheap air pump at Walmart or a pet store.