pH of 8.

[Danny Boy]

As I'm now testing for nitrites etc in my fishless cycle, I also decided to do a pH test.

My pH reading is 8, and all the reference books that I have bought suggest a pH of 7 for a community tank.

Having said that, high on the list of things not to do on this site is change the pH.

I am yet to decide what fish to keep, do I need to choose fish to reflect the higher pH, or do I actually need to do something to get it down?

 

[Bloo]

It depends on the type of fish you choose to keep and if you choose to breed or not. Speaking in general, community fish can happily be kept well at a PH of 8 (mine is 8.2) - it's when you decide to keep Discus etc. that you might want to consider using RO water (with buffers added etc.). I would not worry too much - if you buy your fish fairly locally, they would be kept in similar water anyway.

 

[morgan]

I have a community tank and my PH is 7.5. I have Mollies (like a PH of 8), Guppies, Yoyo Loaches, an Apple Snail, a Hillstream Loach and a Common Pleco (they are not fussy, although some catfish are very sensitive. I suppose that's why they're common!) For some reason where I have put "PH of 8" a funny face has come up!

 

[qwikimpss]

I also have a high PH, I'm talking in the 8.4-8.5 range and once the fish get acclimated to the tank water....as long as the parameters stay steady (no large fluctuations on a regular basis) then they adapt and quickly become amazingly hardy altho they may not display their full colors

 

[freddyk]

Choose fish that can handle the ph of 8 - this would include almost all of them. Messing with the PH is high on the list of things not to do because it inevitably results in fluctuating and unstable water conditions, which is much worse for the fish then a slightly high, but stable, ph. My local tapwater has always been about this level and I've never met a fish that suffered in it.

 

[Teelie]

You could try cichlids. They thrive in high pH water. Only thing is most are not community fish.

 

[freddyk]

Teelie, only some cichlids thrive in high PH water (the ones from the Rift lakes). The rest are from similar water as the average community fish.

 

[sylvia]

Don't change your pH - especaly if you've never kept fish before. My pH is also 8 and I can keep most fish in tap water without trouble. The problems only arise if you want to breed certain species. I've also seen apparently difficult fish like discus in this pH and they were thriving.

 

[@ombomb]

My LFS has a Discuss that had been raised in pH 8 water, kept in a tank away from all the others that were in 6.5 pH... Fish are far more experienced in adapting to water conditions than most of us are at chemistry.

My tank is around 8.2 (with plenty of bog wood too...) and my fish are fine. Just give them plenty of time to get used to the tank water before actually releasing them into it, I normally acclimatise mine over 2 hours.

 

[dwarfgourami]

Just chiming in with the others. My ph is 8.4, this is how the shops around here keep all their fish. Adding a bit of bogwood to one tank has brought it down to about 8; this is the safest + most stable way you can alter the ph, but it won't work miracles. Fortunately, most fish don't require miracles, but are happier with stability. Certain fish would probably not breed in my water, but then I can live with that.