You have to be kidding me!!!!

**lovleeko** · 01-14-2009, 05:54 AM

Had to start a new thread for this one to let everyone know since it is a popular brand. I use tetra aqua safe for a dechlor. And while discovering my Ph out of the tap is very low but almost immediately after changing water the ph is 7.4 to 7.6 where I would hesitate to even say my tap was 6.4. I tested water with the dechlor in there and mystery solved. Ph is 7.6! Should I switch brands? Is this normal? I use nov aqua combination for uncycled betta tanks and it doesn't do this. Can't seem to find any info saying this is normal. Why am I such a PH dummy? lol

**bushwhacker** · 01-14-2009, 06:03 AM

lov your saying that the tetra raised your ph a full point? something wrong there if so i'd stay away from the stuff

**lovleeko** · 01-14-2009, 06:19 AM

Originally Posted by bushwhacker

lov your saying that the tetra raised your ph a full point? something wrong there if so i'd stay away from the stuff

Yeah, maybe more. I am having trouble figuring out if the tap is 6.o or 6.4 and when I put tap in a cup of water and put a drop of dechlor in it the ph was instantly 7.6 which is around what my tanks have ran since I have got started with the hobby (have always used the same brand) but my tap has definitely gotten lower. Though I hadn't checked it for a while until today, a few months back a buddy of mine got started with fish and said his was really low. I was like hmm that's weird mines not low and never even checked it for change ( I trusted the water company uh oh). On the bright side, the tank has always had the same PH so it wasn't bad on the fish or anything. But I would have always liked it to be a bit lower more toward the ideal range. Anyway, I guess that wasn't what stressed my fish last night during the change. Maybe their just not used to such a large change. Did have salt in there from when I had ick that i was slowly diluting, maybe that change was what had them a bit freaked out. Guess I'll try stress coat brand. What brand do you use?

**lovleeko** · 01-14-2009, 06:21 AM

Oh no, I forgot that stress coat has aloe in it which I read can do fish harm possibly.

**JimTheBetta** · 01-14-2009, 06:23 AM

Originally Posted by lovleeko

Oh no, I forgot that stress coat has aloe in it which I read can do fish harm possibly.

Hate to butt in here, but i hope your kidding xD I used to use that back when i first got my GBR's. If that can do them harm it might very well be what killed the GBR...

Sorry, continue xD I just use TopFin dechlorinator since it seems to be the cheapest. Eh im a poor bugger and do lots of water changes.

**Dave66** · 01-14-2009, 06:25 AM

The pH jump happens because your product changes the polarity of metals in your tap, making them non-toxic, with inert chemical salts. They harden your water, making your pH rise like that.
Shame most of the water companies switch to chloramine (chlorine bound with ammonia) instead of straight chlorine, since in the old days you just had to wait 24 hours before using the water in your tank, because the chlorine would just precipate out in that 24 hours.
Since I use RO/DI units I haven't used any water conditioner like that in ages, so I can't advise you what to use instead, but there's got to be one that doesn't replace the metals by ion exchange like that.

Dave

**lobsternoob** · 01-14-2009, 07:29 AM

i miss those old days of just letting water sit for a day or two until the chlorine evaporates.

Nowadays i too use the TopFin dechlorinator/conditioner like Jim The Betta mentioned he uses. Seems to work well for me, although my tap water has really nice parameters out of the faucet. It's also a good deal cheaper than some of the alternatives. Never seen a PH jump, especially not a whole point. So i would say you should probably switch brands from the tetra aqua safe. I'm no professional, but i don't think a dechlorinating agent should affect your PH that much! If it does, it's prolly not a desirable product to use.

**fishlover49** · 01-14-2009, 01:05 PM

I hadn't heard that about Stress Coat. I use it when I do water changes, not for chlorine, (well water), but for the aloe in it.

I probably don't need any water conditioners anyway. What is the Stress Coat suppose to do to the fish?

**Northernguy** · 01-14-2009, 01:19 PM

I can't see a company that sells products like that would put aloe in it if it was not good for the fish.Unless its for a certain species that can handle it!

**terrapin24h** · 01-14-2009, 02:41 PM

I used stress coat+ for months and had no problems. I use prime now(seems to be the most liked, and it's SUPER concentrated) and it does not appear to bump the ph. I have very soft unbuffered water, so if it was going to bump anyone's it'd bump mine

--chris