Lowering pH concerns

[Tigernewbie]

Hi all!
I have a 29 gallon tank and the PH test has been coming back super high at 8.5 on the high range test. I have only one aggressive tiger Barb left as 12 have died off. I don't know how to fix this issue without killing my survivor. Please help! I read changing the PH too quickly can also kill the fish.

 

[Chief Brody]

Throw some DECAF tea bags in there. Within a week you should have results. At least a dozen or so

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[Chief Brody]

.... probably quicker than ordering catapa off the internet. You can get teabags anywhere. If it were fall you could use oak leaves and a few others if their available in your area but be careful about pesticides etc if you're in the city

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[Demeter32]

Lowing pH is much harder than increases it. Organic material such as driftwood, Indian almond leaves, peat moss etc will leach tannin and naturally lower pH. This won't lower it very much, but it will to some extend.

Seeing as you have the one barb left, it might be a better idea to rehome the lone barb and pick new fish that can do well in your pH and hardness. This eliminates the possibility of pH swings when doing water changes. Fish such as most livebeares or smaller species of non-mouth brooding African cichlids may work well.

 

[Colin_T]

how hard is the water?
If you have very hard water you will struggle to lower the pH.

Do you have any shells, limestone, coral skeletons, or white rocks in the tank? These are calcium based and will raise the pH.

As suggested by Demeter, perhaps rehome the remaining tiger bard and keep fish that like alkaline water.

Regarding the tiger barbs, what symptoms did they have when they died and how long ago did they die?

 

[Tigernewbie]

how hard is the water?
If you have very hard water you will struggle to lower the pH.

Do you have any shells, limestone, coral skeletons, or white rocks in the tank? These are calcium based and will raise the pH.

As suggested by Demeter, perhaps rehome the remaining tiger bard and keep fish that like alkaline water.

Regarding the tiger barbs, what symptoms did they have when they died and how long ago did they die?

 

[Tigernewbie]

I've had the survivor since October 2017. All others after that died. They would get behind the filter and swim rapidly in the current. Or the survivor would rip their fins on the tail off. And they would just have a nub and eventually pass on. It was horrible to see that happen so I stopped buying more. He's been alone for probably 4 months. Minus a new snail and algae eater. I had an ammonia issue when the tank was new but everything has been zero for months. Except a new nitrate spike which is a whole nother problem.

 

[Colin_T]

check your tap water for nitrates. If the tap water has high nitrates then depending on how high, you might need to get a reverse osmosis unit or something else to remove nitrates. There's a thread currently running about nitrates in tap water and how to remove them. It might interest you
http://www.fishforums.net/threads/t...s-using-a-pozzani-filter.448001/#post-3787330

Live plants also use nitrates, especially floating plants.

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If you don't have nitrates in the tap water then just do 75% water changes and a complete gravel clean each day for a week.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

 

[Tigernewbie]

.... probably quicker than ordering catapa off the internet. You can get teabags anywhere. If it were fall you could use oak leaves and a few others if their available in your area but be careful about pesticides etc if you're in the city

Sent from my SM-G730V using Tapatalk

 

[Tigernewbie]

What kind of tea?

 

[Byron]

Before you start making things worse, you need to assess the problem(s).

First, the death of the Tiger Barbs...this is likely not connected tp the pH at all. The aggressive barb could be the cause, or it could have been ammonia or nitrite or both. Or something else entirely.

As for the pH, without knowing the GH, KH and pH of your source water, you are not going to be able to discern the issue (if there is one), and you certainly will not have much luck lowering the pH. So provide us with the numbers for the GH (general or total hardness), KH (carbonate hardness, also known as Alkalinity) and pH of your source water (presumably tap water) on its own, not from the aquarium. If you are on municipal water, you may be able to ascertain the numbers from the water authority, check their website. You/we must know these numbers before anyone can even begin to suggest methods of lowering the pH because they are closely connected.

Knowing what décor is in the tank is important too, as someone mentioned. What is the substrate material, are there any rocks, wood, shells, etc.

Organics (fish excrement, wood, dried leaves, peat) will work to acidify water (lowering the pH) but only if there is not something working counter, such as calcareous substances or a naturally hard water source.

 

[Chief Brody]

Any tea works but "roobios" is popular these days.

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[seangee]

Don't use anything that contains caffeine. I do use rooibos for the tannin but it doesn't touch pH. (I do have hard water and kh is 18-20 degrees though)

 

[Tigernewbie]

I do

Before you start making things worse, you need to assess the problem(s).

First, the death of the Tiger Barbs...this is likely not connected tp the pH at all. The aggressive barb could be the cause, or it could have been ammonia or nitrite or both. Or something else entirely.

As for the pH, without knowing the GH, KH and pH of your source water, you are not going to be able to discern the issue (if there is one), and you certainly will not have much luck lowering the pH. So provide us with the numbers for the GH (general or total hardness), KH (carbonate hardness, also known as Alkalinity) and pH of your source water (presumably tap water) on its own, not from the aquarium. If you are on municipal water, you may be able to ascertain the numbers from the water authority, check their website. You/we must know these numbers before anyone can even begin to suggest methods of lowering the pH because they are closely connected.

Knowing what décor is in the tank is important too, as someone mentioned. What is the substrate material, are there any rocks, wood, shells, etc.

Organics (fish excrement, wood, dried leaves, peat) will work to acidify water (lowering the pH) but only if there is not something working counter, such as calcareous substances or a naturally hard water source.

I do not know numbers for how hard my water is. I only have the API water testing kit. Decor is stones and plastic plants. I got a snail and algae eater yesterday and both have already died. This issue is breaking my heart. I did another 90% water change to help since the nitrate was slightly elevated

 

[seangee]

I would suggest that right now you do need the actual numbers for all of the tests (including hardness). Is there any way a toxin could have been introduced. This could be an air freshener, decorating the room, the soap you use to wash your hands etc. We recently had a member who unknowingly used a scrubber that was treated with Lysol.
Something sounds seriously wrong but without more info the best anyone can do is guess.