More PH questions...

[Darjay]

Hi all,

Just started buying my equipment for my new tank and did my first tap water ph test and it has a value of 8.5

Is this too high?

I have seen a post suggesting that this will cause major problems with even low ammonia levels....

I have seen that wood brings levels down, would this be my best option? I don't like the sound of peat colouring the water.

Any help appreciated.

Thanks

 

[The-Wolf]

yes that is too high for most fish. Wood will bring down you ph over time but not too quickly. If you get aquatic peat from your lfs it shouldn't cloud the water, no personal experiance here, there are also chemicals likePh down and such that can be found at any good lfs.

HTH

 

[Darjay]

Thanks Danio - I'll ask at the lfs about the peat.

 

[FishDan]

Did you test your water straight from the tap? Or did you let it sit overnight? If you did it right away than you need to redo it, letting the water sit in a bowl 24 hours to get a measure of your true pH.

Unless you are keeping very delicate fish, your pH shouldn't cause trouble. My pH is about 8.2 and my fish don't have any trouble, and my tanks are doing great.

If you buy your fish locally, they will likely come from a similar pH water. If not (or even if you do get them locally) simply spend more time acclimating them, and do it slower. This will give the fish time to acclimate to your pH. Other than using something natural, like peat or bogwood, I would just leave your pH alone. Tampering with water chemistry with chemicals and such makes it more dangerous to your fish than a high pH.

\Dan

 

[clutterydrawer]

before you do anyting, ask your lfs the pH of their tanks.

 

[pnyklr3]

I have a high ph (due to the local water) and my lfs uses the local water as well so the ph is the same. When I started up my first tank, I was told to use PH DOWN. It worked at first, but then my ph skyrocketed right back up again. I have since been told that most fish (not discus) can handle a higher ph. It is more important to have a steady ph, than the perfect one. Causing big jumps in the ph either way can stress out the fish or kill them.

 

[impur]

Depending on the size of your tank, you might also consider using bottle distilled water from the grocery store. You can pick it up in 5 gal barrels and it usually only costs .30-.40 per gallon.

Just an option.

 

[yhbae]

Why don't you consider getting African lake species instead? They will be happy in that water!

I'd kill for your water as mine's at 7.2 and I need to add chemicals just to get to higher pH level...

 

[The-Wolf]

It is more important to have a steady ph, than the perfect one. Causing big jumps in the ph either way can stress out the fish or kill them.

Yes I aggree and i'm sorry that i didn't state that in my original reply.

 

[CathyG]

It is always safer to match your fish to your PH, than to adjust your PH to match your fish. That said, for the most part ,most fish are hardy if introduced slowly (by floating the bag for over an hour, and occasionally adding your own tank water to the bag)

Bearing that in mind, there are natural ways of reducing your PH, such as making sure you have no shell or coral decor, using peat in your filter, or as impur suggested, complimenting your treated tap water with softened water.

I buy RO (Reverse Osmosis) water from my LFS for £3.50 per 25 litres. Using RO water at 25% of my tank volume lowered my PH from 7.4 to 7, and my GH from 300 mg/l to 200 mg/l and my KH from 160 mg/l to 110 mg/l.

Using a Co2 diffuser (good for for live plants) also lowers PH.

There are more natural, and continually stable, ways of reducing PH than chemically. I tried for PH Down when fishless cycling - I used a whole box to little effect. Then a water change spiked the PH again, this spike would kill your fish.

Good luck!