A Newbie's Jump Into Aquaria! 29G Journal

[KieranBoyne]

Fair enough. Some people would probably say that you should buy a treatment o bring down the ph, but like you said, a stable ph is better than a changing ph. So long as there is no real problems with them, like jumping out, or lethargic behaviour etc, then you should be fine in my opinion.

 

[FlakeyBiscuit3.14]

Thanks so much for the advice Kieran! This struggle with my pH has been a constant stressor since day one of this hobby. I'll be sure to watch out for odd behavior, though they are new to me, so I hope I will know what I'm looking for...

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Generally speaking, pH is far less important many are led to believe.
 
But, I think its important to get a handle on things.  First, I think that its important that you know what the tap water pH is.  Get a jar of water and leave the water from the tap to sit there for 24 hours.  Then test that.  If that's the same as your tank, that's good information to have.  Your water being 8.3 is a bit surprising, but not shocking.  It can happen.  Bloodfins can handle a variety of pH allow 8.3 is a bit higher than they prefer.
 
Good news though is that the wood will release tannins and that will work to lower the pH, as will the nitrates as they build up a bit.
 
 
 
Here's the REALLY important part about your pH though.  It sounds as though you are in the midst of a fish-in cycle.  Which means that ammonia and nitrite will start to rise.  And at higher pH like this, the concentration of the ammonia that is toxic to the fish will be higher.  So, you need to keep a very close eye on the ammonia.  VERY close.

WELL WATER!!! Of course.  That explains why the pH is so high.  I am dense sometimes!
 
 
There are ways to deal with lowering the hardness and the pH if you want.  Just let me know.  Its a bit more complicated, but not much.

 

[FlakeyBiscuit3.14]

I may be wrong, but I thought I had finished cycling....? I was adding a full dose (I think) of ammonia towards the end and within 24 hours it was almost down to zero (though at that time I was using test strips not the liquid test). Nitrite too. And my hardness is very low, since we have a water softener. And as for the driftwood and tannins, wouldn't that effect the pH by now already if it were going to? They've been in the water for over a week...
 
I don't know lol Maybe I did do something wrong...? It seemed really odd to me that it would finish cycling so quickly. I will continue to monitor everything closely and everyone's continued advice is much appreciated

 
Edit: I will set out some water right now to test tomorrow.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Can you share more information about your water?
 
gH?
kH?
pH?
TDS?

 

[FlakeyBiscuit3.14]

I'm not sure about the TDS... how would I find that?
 
gh- between 0-25ppm
kh- about 300ppm
ph- looked pretty evenly between 8.2 and 8.4 from my liquid test
 
gh and kh are from the test strips though

 

[FlakeyBiscuit3.14]

So here is a confusing update on my water's pH.... Basically, my water out of my tap is about 7.4, but when it sits out over night it is 8.2, and then my tank water is 8.3.
 
Does anyone have any info on why this might be? I've looked it up a bit and found that CO2 in my water may be the cause of the low/normal pH value, but when that settles out it shows my true pH. Don't know if the photos would be helpful, but I did take photos of my results if anyone would like me to post those.
 
Oh, also I tested ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate for this tank again, which are all the same as they were a few days ago (0, 0, and about 2.5ppm respectively).

 

[KieranBoyne]

hmm.. There is also a massive gap between the gh and kh values, that's odd as well as mine are very close together. When its sitting overnight, is the water the same temp as your tank? And just to clarify, the ph us being tested with a liquid kit, yes? I'm actually kinda stuck now

 

[FlakeyBiscuit3.14]

Yeah I have no idea what is going on with my water. The temp for the water sitting out is slightly cooler (house is kept at about 72 and fish tank is at 74-75F) and yes this is with my new liquid test kit.

 

[KieranBoyne]

Perhaps the temp makes a difference?? OOOHh i have an idea!! What are you putting the water in when you test the ph? Is it something that could contain chemicals that are chemical/alkali?? Possibly altering the ph levels??

 

[FlakeyBiscuit3.14]

I just used a glass cup from the cupboard....
 
I didn't know temp could make a difference though! Should I try and lower my tank temp?
 
Maybe I should just make a thread about it? See if anyone has had this happen before? I mean, all of my fish so far seem to be doing fine, but I would still prefer knowing what is going on 

 

[KieranBoyne]

i don't know if temp made a difference either lol. Just firing suggestions. And your tank temp is low enough already.. 74-75?? What fish are in there again?? I forgot...

 

[FlakeyBiscuit3.14]

Bloodfin tetra right now. And I plan to add corydoras.
 
Thanks for the help btw lol But going back to what you said about the gh and kh, you said those are normally close? Do you think that maybe that could be the issue? Maybe something with my water softener is altering it....

 

[fm1978]

I find the best natural way to decrease ph is the addition of wood. In your case it sounds like your bogwood is very low in tannins or they were already pre-soaked and pre-leached (if that's even a word), if purchased from an aquatics store. 
 
ph is pretty important, in my opinion, although lots of types of aquatic life can live and thrive within have a huge range. I think something that most people don't realise is that ph isn't just a straight line scale, ph of 6 isn't just 1 point more acidic than ph 7. It's 10 times more acidic as the ph scale is a log 10 scale. Don't let that worry you, though. If your fish are doing well then they must be coping with the conditions. 
 
Having said that and if it were me, I'd still try to get it down a wee bit, if at all possible. And yes, the carbonic acid produced by the CO2 in the water straight from the tap is gassing out of the water over a short time and increasing the ph back to your 8.3 result. 
 
The downside of using wood to reduce the ph is that it will discolour your water and it will only last a certain length of time - a few months perhaps. A couple of other ways that are also natural would be maybe some almond leaves or peat moss in your filter or directly into your tank - again, expect some discolouration. Or you could try RO water.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

So here is a confusing update on my water's pH.... Basically, my water out of my tap is about 7.4, but when it sits out over night it is 8.2, and then my tank water is 8.3.
 
Does anyone have any info on why this might be? I've looked it up a bit and found that CO2 in my water may be the cause of the low/normal pH value, but when that settles out it shows my true pH. Don't know if the photos would be helpful, but I did take photos of my results if anyone would like me to post those.
 
Oh, also I tested ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate for this tank again, which are all the same as they were a few days ago (0, 0, and about 2.5ppm respectively).

That is correct.

Lowering pH can be done several ways, but none are really overly 'easy'. The easiest way is to complete water changes witha mix of RO water mixed with your tap. This will lower the hardness and help to keep the water a little more in line with yourfish's needs. But, honestly, the 8.3 isn't terribly high. This can get a bit costly.

Another way is the addition of some tannins, this can be done through wood leaching it into the water, but the amount leached slowly drops off. Another solution is by adding a mesh bag of peat to the filter. This can be replaced monthly to keep the levels fairly constant. This will darken the water, which I personally like, but some don't. Your call.