ph

[caz27]

i have had a problem with my ph in my tropical tank and it is at 8.2....so i am going to use bottled water.....what i wanted to know is how shall i do it, shall i do it as water changes as i know if you change there ph sudden it could shock them.any advice would be gr8

 

[dolphin]

Hi caz27

Do you know the pH of your tap water, and the bottled water. There may be somthing in you tank that is making the pH rise.

If you do go down the bottled water route, just do it as normal water changes. With a pH of 8.2 the water in your tank should have a high alkalinity, and it may take a lot of water changes to bring the pH down, so you should not have a problem with suden pH drops.

 

[CFC]

What type of "bottled water" are you going to use? If youre thinking of using bottled mineral water then you need to be aware that most of them have a high PH as well.

 

[cool_jool]

Hi
I would be really careful with bottled water. catfishcrazy is correct. Mineral water is 'hard water' it has a high pH because of the calcium and magnesium compounds in it. If your tap water is hard you need distilled water. Another idea is to put your tap water through a water filter to soften it - then test the pH. cool_jool

 

[Squimps]

Using driftwood in your tank will naturally lower your PH over time.

 

[teknikz]

anno ppl dont like using chemicals n that but u can get stuff that lowers ur pH......either in a bottle or theres some stuff in a sachet......u can get it to lower ur pH to 6.8....7.0....7.2...and 7.4 i think.....nearly every lfs ive been to has sold it

Tek

 

[CFC]

The pH lowering chemicals do work but if the problem is the tapwater then you will need to re-treat the tank every time you do a water change as the fresh "hard" water will just buffer the pH back up.
I know a lot of people disagree but i think the best way to raise or lower the pH in your tank is to use RO water,also has the benifit of being free of nitrates phosphates and metals which are present in tapwater.
Or the other solution is to only keep fish that enjoy your tapwater,with a pH of 8.2 it would be ideal for tanganykian cichlids.

 

[daveP]

hi sorry but this has nothing to do with pH but why have u used a picture of a injected dyed glass fish as your ID. This is a cruel treatment of fish they are injected with dye, one article i read in practical fishkeeping stated its like an adult being injected with a pencil sized needle multiple times.

Dont buy them its cruel and inhumane.

Ok im off my soap box now

dave

 

[snotirl]

u can buy this stufff that brings down the ph level its called ph level down i think

 

[caz27]

To DaveP

I know about the injection method, but when i got a tank off ebay, the person gave me the fish. I did not know about the colouring method until I done some research into the type of fish I had been given. I was really disturbed to find out the process involved, and I certainly don't condone it. However, the dye has already been injected and unless I had given him this home, he would definately be dead by now.

I'll get off my soapbox now !!

 

[caz27]

i don't mean to be dim....what is RO water? :stupid:

 

[CFC]

Reverse osmosis (RO) water is water that has been pushed through a special membrane that removes all impurities.The result is the closest thing you can get to pure water,it is so pure that you have to put the trace elements back in to the desired level,failure to do this will cause massive swings in pH to the extreemities of the scale.
It is available from most good fish shops and usually costs around 12 pence a litre,i have been using it for a while now and swear by it,never again will i use tapwater in any of my tanks,since changing over to it the colours on my fish have improved my plants grow better and i get less of a algea problem.

 

[dolphin]

Hi caz27

Like CFC I use RO water, and would recomend it. As your tap water is full of minerals. You can mix Ro and tap water, (75% RO TO 25% TAP) to get a good mix for your tank.

 

[caz27]

how do i go about replacing the water?

 

[CFC]

Do weekly 20% water changes replacing the water you remove with the RO water,this way you wont send your fish into shock by altering the pH too quickly.