This is a 20 gallon tub with airation that I am using to cultivate green water. Its my first time attempting this so Im not entirely sure this is normal, but....

Well, let me start by listing all my params since I started this tub. Tell me if anything strikes you as odd.

6/10/06
Ammonia- 0
Nitrite- 0
Nitrate- 10
ph- 7.8
kh- 107.4

6/11/06
Ammonia- 0-.5
Nitrite- 0
Nitrate- 0
ph- 8.2
kh- 161.1

6/14/06
Ammonia- .5 - 1
Nitrite- 0
Nitrate- 0
ph- 8.2
kh- 143.2

6/15/06
Ammonia- .5 - 1
Nitrite- 0
Nitrate- 0
ph- 8.8
kh- 89.5


Ok. now the pH has been rising. Im a little concerned because now the test reads 8.8 and that is as high as the test goes. I have read that fish cant live if it gets above 9.0. Should I take steps to lower the pH?

What is up with the kh jumping around like it is? I tested kh twice each day just to make sure it was right because it keeps changing. I wanted to make sure it wasnt an error in the testing.

What about the sudden drop in kh? Should I worry about a ph crash even though the ph is incredibly high right now?

Also I had been testing for gh just because it came with the kit but I could never get the solution to turn colors no matter how much I put in the test tube! Could it be my gh is REALLY high or that the solution is bad? I nearly filled up a test tube with solution just to see if it would change and it didnt.

Just a little confused as far as this stuff is concerned, so I thought Id ask.

OH OH! And I got some pics just for fun.

Here is a photo of the bucket Im using. The red one has the green water and the other one is just holding my plants and my teeny red cap until the greenwater tub is stable and established I guess.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a327/gia...ndgarden057.jpg

Here is what the water looked like today.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a327/gia...ndgarden053.jpg

I'm far from a "green water" expert, but you've got something weird going on. Unless your water source contains phosphate based buffers, I can't think of anything else in the PH, kH, CO2 relationship that can cause the PH to rise while the kH falls.

What are the Ph and kH readings of your "aged" source water?

I will try and test that later today. I need to go to the store but I will post the readings as soon as I can. See I thought it was weird, too. Glad Im not alone.

Ok now Im a bit worried. Tested my water again today as well as the tap...here are the results and the params since I last posted...

Tap water:
Ammonia-0
Nitrite-0
Nitrate-10
ph-7.4
kh-125


I tested the water today and the params were as follows...
Ammonia-0 (down from 1)
Nitrite-0
Nitrate-20 (up from 10)
ph-8.8 + the color purple was deeper than the chart went. I assume it was more than 9.0
kh-71.6 (down from 89.5. It had been falling the last few days)

This scared me a bit since the kh is dropping so much and the pH is rising incredibly high so I did a 75% water change and tested it again. Here are the new results.

Ammonia-0
Nitrite-0
Nitrate-10 (down from earlier)
ph- 8.8+ (no change which REALLY scares me since tap pH is so much lower)
kh- 107.4 (up from what it was, which is good)

Ok guys Im REALLY worried about the pH! I have a product to lower it, should I do that? Im really worried that it is much higher than 9.0 since my tests cant even go that high but the color purple that it turns is even deeper than the chart goes.

Please help? Im worried now. Should I take my fish out? I put the teeny red cap and Jellybean in there last night.

I'd take the fish out til you figure whats going on, you dont wanna risk their lives for something you can always start over

I took my fish out. I hope to hear back from someone soon. I really dont know what the best thing to do is.

Should I buy a buffer? Should I attempt to lower the pH?

Will it affect the greenwater?

argh, so frustrating.

From the looks of it in the picture, u got very nice greenwater there. pH of greenwater is always high, but not as high as ur test results are. As with the kH, I don't really know anything about it and what does it do to the pH. But if u've done a 75% water change and the pH is still that high, I'm a bit inclined to say that ur test kit (or maybe the pH test) maybe expired. Any chance of that happening, gia?

I dont think its expired, Riz. Although I could be wrong. I will look for the date.

I checked my tap water and it tested fine. When I first started the tub I checked the water and it wasnt that high...so I dont think its expired because its still giving me readings.

kH worries me because that is the buffering capability of the water. I dont want it to get too low because then you risk a pH crash. Id rather have a high kh and I just dont get why its jumping all over the place. Doesnt make sense to me.

Ive got to go to work to water plants for a few hours then when I come home I will test again. If the pH is too high still I will change more water and test again. I will post back with the results. Jellybean and the red cap are in the plant tub for right now until I get this figured out.

What will a high pH do to fish? Just curious....

It's good that u have a spare tub to put the fish in. I'll wait for the test results when ur back home.

Hmm I never know that. I just know that pH too high/too fluctuating will kill the fish

Ok, I changed 75% of the water again.

The new params are as follows:

Ammonia-0
Nitrite-0
Nitrate-0
ph-7.8
kh-98.5


The plant tub with Jellybean and the redcap had a pH of 7.8 also so I went ahead and moved them back into the greenwater tub. I figured it would be a good time since there would be no chance of pH shock. Ill test again tomorrow and see if anything changes. Still worried about the kh. Im going to Lowes later today, maybe I can swing by petsmart and grab something to buffer the water with.

What is a good product to use? They have crushed coral but will that affect the pH as well? The only other products I think they have are not just straight buffers, they adjust pH also. One of them adjusts it to 7.0 and the other one adjusts it to 8.4 or something like that. Ill look and see if they have whatever you suggest.

Help?