# Changing PH levels in Pitt Meadows



## Gone Fishy (Apr 21, 2010)

Hello,

I've been running several tanks in Pitt Meadows for years now. Have always experienced ph levels in the 6.5 range. Just finished testing and i am getting readings of 7.6 - 7.8!! I've used both a low ph test and a high ph test and am getting the same reading. Is there another member here in this area who can confirm this?

Lance


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## jobber (May 14, 2010)

The increase in pH recently is from the extra rain we're getting.


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## beN (Apr 21, 2010)

i second to what lance says. the water out here is @ 7.5 its crazy blue!! be careful doing water changes i guess. my wolfish may pass over night . his face is peeling away. its pretty gross.


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## red (May 5, 2010)

hmm.. odd.. I just did a water change and noticed one of my fish not doing well.. Didn't think it could be due to that..

Interesting.. Thanks for posting. I don't have ph testers, I just assume everything is fine!

Guess I wont be doing water changes for awhile.


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## bonsai dave (Apr 21, 2010)

Is the city doing any water main work. If so they will over dose with chlorine after the work is done . I ran into this problem right before the Olympics and I lost a crap load of discus thanks to bad water..


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## Kitsune (Jul 17, 2010)

You can try calling them (the city engineers), and ask them if there has been any work going on in the area. As pitt meadows is relatively small it probably isn't a big deal to ask. Just remember that the water source is from Metro, so they will only be able to tell you things that are happening in their main. 

If they are doing any flushing as well it could be the issue (but I thought I read that they did that back in March...)


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## beN (Apr 21, 2010)

wolffish did pass last night. check your taps folks before water changes are done in PITT MEADOWS!!!


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## donjuan_corn (May 6, 2010)

Sorry to hear about your fish, how much of water change did you do?


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## beN (Apr 21, 2010)

maybe 30% .
he was in my 55G. its weird though, my Dat & my 2 other catfish seem to be fine.


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## Gone Fishy (Apr 21, 2010)

I lost my snakehead last night as well  Same problem as the wolfish ben lost, face started peeling away, not sure what has happened!


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## beN (Apr 21, 2010)

hey lance, give me a call when you can.


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## bonsai dave (Apr 21, 2010)

Kitsune said:


> You can try calling them (the city engineers), and ask them if there has been any work going on in the area. As pitt meadows is relatively small it probably isn't a big deal to ask. Just remember that the water source is from Metro, so they will only be able to tell you things that are happening in their main.
> 
> If they are doing any flushing as well it could be the issue (but I thought I read that they did that back in March...)


I think pitt gets their water from a diffrent source. I would age your water for a few days before doing a change. Plus i would do a smaller change untill the water gets better. The city will rasie the chlorine levels really high and that will kill you good bactreia in your tank. If i remeber correctly when I was going through the same problem. The chlorine levels went from 0.08 ppm to 0.20 ppm.


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## Kitsune (Jul 17, 2010)

beN, Gone Fishy,

Pitt Meadows collect samples from seven sites throughout the City weekly to test for water quality. The testing is carried out by Metro Vancouver. I have put in a call to them about this, and they said that they will look into this. Is should hear back from them, hopefully before the end of the day... 

Also there is a rechlorination station located on the Pitt River. It might be that...
I've put in a call to the operations foreman at Pitt Meadows... We'll see what he says...


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## Gone Fishy (Apr 21, 2010)

Kitsune,

I have pm'd you back. Thank you so much for your generous assistance. For you to take your own time to help out a fellow member is indeed a substantial act. It would be awesome to hear some info that may shed some light on this.


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## beN (Apr 21, 2010)

Kitsune,

Thanks so much for digging around for us. Im sure the info you aquire will help us determine what happend to our fish. Thanks again!

beN


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## donjuan_corn (May 6, 2010)

OMG, that is crazy, i wouldn't think that one day of a PH change would do that, maybe a parasite in the water?


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## taureandragon76 (Apr 21, 2010)

Very interested to hear what the city has to say to you as I know live out this way. Guess I should keep a closer eye on the tap water here. Never had any issues ever out in Surrey, but then again different source


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## Kitsune (Jul 17, 2010)

Ok, here is the deal:

Metro Vancouver has carried out water quality testing from Coquitlam lake (Pitt Meadow's water source). Here are the results for the last two months (sorry about the formatting... is from an excel spread sheet):

Sample reported name	Sampled date	pH pH units
Coquitlam #3 Main	7/5/2010 11:58	7.4
Coquitlam #3 Main	7/12/2010 12:03	7.4
Coquitlam #3 Main	7/19/2010 11:27	7.5
Coquitlam #3 Main	7/26/2010 12:30	7.5
Coquitlam #3 Main	8/3/2010 8:01	7.3
Coquitlam #3 Main	8/9/2010 11:32	7.4
Coquitlam #3 Main	8/16/2010 12:38	7.5
Coquitlam #3 Main	8/23/2010 11:35	7.5
Coquitlam #3 Main	8/30/2010 12:35	7.6
Coquitlam #3 Main	9/7/2010 11:29	7.4
Coquitlam #3 Main	9/13/2010 12:46	7.4

You'll see a peak from Aug 30.

There has been no operational modifications at Coquitlam Lake treatment facility (no changes in chlorine dosing).

I am still trying to find the sample results from the 7 Pitt Meadow sites...


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## Gone Fishy (Apr 21, 2010)

Kitsune, 

Thanks again for spending your time to help out others, that's what makes this forum so awesome . I looked online last night and could only find a 2008 report from the pitt meadows stations....maybe you will be able to find something more current.


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

hmmm im going to test my main tank now.... i know the ph is 7.0 right out of the tap where i am, but it may go up as it ages.


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## Kitsune (Jul 17, 2010)

Gone Fishy said:


> Kitsune,
> 
> Thanks again for spending your time to help out others, that's what makes this forum so awesome . I looked online last night and could only find a 2008 report from the pitt meadows stations....maybe you will be able to find something more current.


No worries. I do this kind of thing in my 'real' job so I know who to talk to and the lingo.

Attached are the two sample results (August 31 and September 7).. Never mind I can't attach the files! (site restrictions)... I'll have to upload it later.
Anyway the chlorine information is as follows:

AUG 31
Sample Description	Chlorine Free
-	mg/L
19192 McMynn Ave.	0.70
Wildwood Place	0.52
Woolridge Rd.	0.83
McNeil/Sheridan Hill	0.58
16651 Rannie Road	0.21
McKechnie Road	0.46
Opposite 18993 120B Ave.	0.60
18074 Old Dewdney Trunk Road	0.93

SEPT 7
Sample Description	Chlorine Free
-	mg/L
19192 McMynn Ave.	0.93
Wildwood Place	0.55
Woolridge Rd.	0.61
McNeil/Sheridan Hill	0.63
16651 Rannie Road	0.19
McKechnie Road	0.54
Opposite 18993 120B Ave.	0.58
18074 Old Dewdney Trunk Road	1.0

They seem... "Normal" ... I don't have a clue what normal levels are.

Looks like the Sept 14 results are not in yet. It looks like it takes a full week to deliver the results. I'll try to get it next week.
They only have Chlorine Free, Ecoli, HPC, Temperature, Total Coliform, and Turbidity. No pH.

I still need to talk to the Water Operations Foreman. He went home sick (coincidence? ). I'll call him tomorrow


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## Kitsune (Jul 17, 2010)

Sorry guys, I can't seem to get any more information right now. Pitt Meadow's Water Operations foreman is still off today. 

The conclusion I have right now is:
- No changes in the Coquitlam treatment plant over the last few weeks.
- Chlorine levels in the water appear to be well below the amount that a dechlorinator can treat (Seachem prime can treat up to 5 mg/L of chlorine) for Aug 31 and Sept 7. No results for this week yet.


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## Gone Fishy (Apr 21, 2010)

Kitsune,

No worries, you've certainly done more than expected. Checked the water coming out of the tap last night and still getting a reading of ph 7.6-7.8. A little high, but manageable....my fear is that this will not remain consistent and will drop to 'normal' ph levels for the area again soon. Hesitant on putting a new fish in the six footer and going through a huge swing once more and losing another fish. I will keep monitoring ph over the next few days and take it from there.


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## Kitsune (Jul 17, 2010)

Ok... this isn't getting any better...
I talked to the Water Operations Foreman in Pitt Meadows. Here are his comments
- the re chlorination station belongs to Metro Vancouver (i.e. Pitt Meadows does not re-chlorinate)
- There is no main flushing going on right now. They do it in the spring before the water restrictions (except at the golf course).
- There has been no change to operations, so he's not sure what the source of the water problem is.

This week's (Sept 13's) water sampling results will be coming in early next week. I'll post them when I get it...


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## Gone Fishy (Apr 21, 2010)

Thanks again Kitsune for your continued efforts to try and find some answers....could end up being just one of those things we will never know. I will check water param's out of the tap again tonight and see what i get.


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## Kitsune (Jul 17, 2010)

Ok, here is Sept 14 results (the day that you had the problem?):

Sample Description Chlorine Free
-	mg/L
19192 McMynn Ave. 1.0
Wildwood Place 0.45
Woolridge Rd. 0.65
McNeil/Sheridan Hill 0.50
16651 Rannie Road 0.13
McKechnie Road 0.26
Opposite 18993 120B Ave. 0.62
18074 Old Dewdney Trunk Road 1.1

Again I don't see anything too high. I understand from my coworkers that 'typical' values are around 1.0 mg/L. When discharging water to fish streams, the limit is 0.12 mg/L though, so obviously most of these water are to high in chlorine levels for fish.

If anyone wants the original excel files of the last three sampling results pls pm me your e-mail address and I will send them to you.

Sorry guys, I'm at my wits end!


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