PH Reading of 8.

[Runningpuffingbilly]

Hi,

I've bought a test kit and tested my aquarium water last night. The reading was 8. I tried it again first thing this morning and it was still 8. Should I be worried about this? I have a large piece of bogwood in the tank and quite a few live plants.

Thanks

RPB

 

[yvez9]

what substarte do you have?
and what kind of fish do you keep?

 

[Runningpuffingbilly]

The substrate is gravel - approx. 3mm, smooth (it's labelled betta gravel). I am stocked with:

8 Zebra Danios
9 Neon tetras
6 Swordtails
6 Red Eye tetras
6 Guppies
2 Zebra Loaches
1 Clown Loach
3 Khuli Loaches
3 black spot barbs

 

[The Mohave Kid]

I'm new to fish keeping ...

So be forwarned ... BUT

I'd be more worried if the pH was dropping or increasing for some unknown reason ... the fact that you get a steady 8.0 is good news I would think ...

I've come accross different views on this issue ...

One view states that most tropical fish can acclimate to a fairly wide range of pH 7.0 to 8.0 ... pH bounce ( rapid change ) is what causes the most stress .. Not a steady pH in the high or low pH range. I've read and been told that unless you are breeding fish then it is not critical to having the pH of the fishes native habitat. ( Thats a view I keep reading not my experience per say )

This makes sense to me but I don't know myself what fish are able to acclimate to ... so i guess I'll find out my tap water is pH = 7.8 and my local aquarium shop says this is fine even 8.0 as well... my tank is at a steady 8.0.

It should be easier to maintan a pH like that of your tap water ... this would allow a steady pH to be achieved with minamal effort.

Keep a log of your pH readings ...

Does anyone have some other ideas with this issue ???

Good Day ...

 

[freddyk]

8 is fine.

The assumed theory is that if a fish is from an environment in the wild where the ph is a certain level, this is what they need. This just isn't true.

Fish are adaptable. Fish are also usually bred in aquariums or ponds, which means the ph in the wild has nothing to do with the equation anyway. In fact, ponds tend to have a very high ph.

My local water is about 8, has been as long as I can remember, and it's never caused me problems.

 

[Mr Miagi]

What evryone has told u so far is right.

PH of 8 is alright, but as long as it is steady, its fine. Fish do not take 30 minutes to adapt to ph so keeping them in a baggie for 30 minutes doesnt doo much for the fish. But it does help a little. Sudden changes are what u should keep an eye on.

Just like freddy said, most fish, and most of the ones you keep, are captoive breed. So PH is likely to be like yours.

As for the motow that fish will do better in the water they live in in the wild is true. If you keep water a the right parametres, your fish will benefit and live long. But you dont really need to worry.

Goodluck.

PS, what size tank?

 

[Runningpuffingbilly]

Thanks for all the replies. Seems my PH will be OK so long as it remains stable. I will continue to monitor it.

mr_miagi32 - my tank is 180l.

Cheers

Andy

 

[phillippa42]

My water's ph is between 8 and 8.5 and always has been. I guess location wise you're not a million miles from me. I've always put high ph down to hard tap water ?

I guess that if it is due to the local tap water then fish from your lfs should already be used to similar levels - maybe ask your lfs what their ph levels are?