"Animal" wrote in message
...
I have a problem,(I guess if I didn't I wouldn't be asking a
question!),anyways,I have a 90 gall heavily planted freshwater community
tank that's been set up for 10 years.Because I've always had a mild amount
of algae,I was doing large (70 %)water changes weekly to try to eliminate
the algae, but in the last 6 months it's gotten worse.(I think it's
cyanobacteria)I don't think I over feed or the tanks over populated.
I started adding KNO3(potassium nitrate)to increase the nitrate and have
reduced the water change to 5 gallons a week and it seems to work but now
I've noticed the ph has risen to above 8!.The tap water is about 7+/- .To
confuse matters even more,I also have a well established 50 gall that I
haven't changed my normal routine(water change,feeding ,fishload,ect...all
the same as usual)and the ph in that tank is also over 8.


So my questions are would KNO3 raise the ph?
If it's not the KNO3 what could it be?
What is the best way to lower it and keep it down safely?
============================
Using chemicals to lower it causes "bounce" and that's not good for your
fish. If you're fish are healthy and doing well I wouldn't mess with the
PH. It's a lot harder to lower it than raise it. The plants may be raising
it in their need for carbon. Are you using Flourish Excel or a CO2
diffuser? You could call your water company and ask if they changed
anything.

You haven't added decorative shells or something else that can raise the PH
have you?
--
Koi-Lo.... frugal ponding since 1995...
Aquariums since 1952
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Aquarium FAQ are at: http://faq.thekrib.com/
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