Ph Suggestions Please

[lee337]

My 71 lts tank has been running for 10 weeks now and everything seems to be settling down nicely.
The Ammonium, Nitrate and Nitrite levels are spot on but I am having problems getting the PH down. At the moment it is about 8.2 but touch wood all my fish seem to be fine. I have been using PH down for the last few days now and on the bottle the guide line tell you no to add to much over 24 hrs or the fish may take a dis-liking to a large PH drop. Since I have been adding it, it doesn't seem to be doing anything.

Has anyone got any suggestions please on how I can get it down and keeping it stable. I'm hoping to get it around 6.8- 7.0

THANKS

 

[treefella83]

try adding bogwood or filtering with peat as this will lower the ph i prefere this method to throwing chemicals in the tank but be aware if your tap water has a high ph it can cause problems with every water change and will have to be treated before adding to the tank.
sudden changes in ph will stress your fish but smaller more frequent water changes may solve this.
you could try choosing fish that require a higher ph. good luck

 

[MermaidMel]

It depends on what fish you have as to whether it even needs dropping - can you list your stocking?

 

[lee337]

Thanks for your suggestions treefella83,
I do have some bogwood in my tank but they are small pieces so probably do with getting a bigger piece. Not sure what you mean about filtering with peat ?
The tap water around my area is a very hard water do you think I should test the tap waters PH to see what it is and how can you treat the water to get the right PH before adding to the tank?

I already have a lot of fish so I hope they are going to be ok with this high PH. They seem to be fine and their colours are nice and bright.

 

[lee337]

It depends on what fish you have as to whether it even needs dropping - can you list your stocking?

The fish I have are -

x2 Honey Gouramis
x4 Cherry Barbs
x4 Neon Tetras
x2 Dalmation Mollies
x1 Red Tailed Shark

 

[drobbyb]

Your pH is fine at 8.2 for most fish. If your fish are happy and thriving in your tank with the high pH, then so be it. When you go messing around with trying to change your pH, usually it causes more problems than good.

 

[treefella83]

i always check the tap water before adding to the tank i dont know why it just costs me twice as much for test kits.
i am the the sort of person who checks that i have locked the front door at least three times before going to work i worry nutter