tap water ph very low and hardness very high

[ehmia]

i just recently noticed there was a change in my tap water it used to be around 7.0-7.5 ph and the hardness usually around 60. ive noticed my betta tank ph being 5.5 a few days ago and i tried a water change just for it to read the exact same. then when i set up my cory tank i realized it was from my tap water. my tap water ph reads about 5.5 and the hardness is around 300-1000 but everything else is fine. i’ve been using a water softener pillow to help with the hardness and putting in extra tannins but im not sure what i can do to raise the ph. so for i’ve tried eggshells in a little media bag that i put in the filter but so far the ph is still 5.5 after about a day. i have a mystery snail in my betta tank and he’s taking it pretty hard if anyone has any tips or even something i can do just to save my snail id really appreciate it.
i don’t have access to any other type of water besides my tap and there is no way i can afford an ro machine or anything like that

 

[Naughts]

300-1000

GH in ppm? or TDS? What test are you using?
On the tap pH can you test the water after it’s been left in a glass overnight?
How often and how much water do you change?

 

[ehmia]

GH in ppm? or TDS? What test are you using?
On the tap pH can you test the water after it’s been left in a glass overnight?
How often and how much water do you change?

ppm and i normally change once a week about 25% im using the api test kit and i just tested the tank i set up with just water in it and it still reads 5.5

 

[Colin_T]

What is the carbonate hardness (KH) of your tank and tap water?
Carbonate hardness affects the pH. If you have no KH, the pH can drop rapidly.
The KH can be increased by adding a KH buffer or just add a few pieces of limestone rock, dead coral skeleton, or some shells to the tank. They are all made from calcium carbonate and will help to raise the pH and KH. Don't add too much at a time and wait a couple of weeks before adding more.

Take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test the pH, GH and KH. You should take your test kits and test the same water at the same time. Then compare the results. If you get different results then one of the test kits is faulty and needs replacing.

Corydoras and Bettas don't mind acid water (pH below 7.0) but prefer soft water (GH below 100ppm).
Snails don't mind hard water but acid water will dissolve their shells faster.

You could also contact your water company via phone or website and find out if they have changed water sources recently and what they say the pH, GH and KH are. They might or might not know it has changed or there are issues with it.

 

[Lcc86]

You may be able to get some RO water to help soften the hardness if you search for companies like spotless water. Not ideal but I have to do it this way as I live in a very hard water area. You can mix with your tap water to reduce the hardness. I'd contact the water company to see if they've done any work recently to explain the sudden change.

 

[Naughts]

. i have a mystery snail in my betta tank and he’s taking it pretty hard if anyone has any tips or even something i can do just to save my snail id really appreciate it.

Could you set up a little tank just for the snail using bottled mineral water?

 

[Naughts]

ppm and i normally change once a week about 25% im using the api test kit and i just tested the tank i set up with just water in it and it still reads 5.5

These are fascinating results. Could you post pictures of the api hardness test result and chart (if applicable).

 

[Essjay]

The API pH tester only reads down to 6.0, so how do you get 5.5?

 

[ehmia]

What is the carbonate hardness (KH) of your tank and tap water?
Carbonate hardness affects the pH. If you have no KH, the pH can drop rapidly.
The KH can be increased by adding a KH buffer or just add a few pieces of limestone rock, dead coral skeleton, or some shells to the tank. They are all made from calcium carbonate and will help to raise the pH and KH. Don't add too much at a time and wait a couple of weeks before adding more.

Take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test the pH, GH and KH. You should take your test kits and test the same water at the same time. Then compare the results. If you get different results then one of the test kits is faulty and needs replacing.

Corydoras and Bettas don't mind acid water (pH below 7.0) but prefer soft water (GH below 100ppm).
Snails don't mind hard water but acid water will dissolve their shells faster.

You could also contact your water company via phone or website and find out if they have changed water sources recently and what they say the pH, GH and KH are. They might or might not know it has changed or there are issues with it.

currently my betta tank parameters are all very low 5.5 ph 40 alkalinity and 0 hardness but the tap water tests to 5.5 ph about 120 alkalinity and again 300-1000 gh. i have to work almost this entire weekend so im gonna try and get it tested on monday. is there anything i can do just to save my snail ? he’s always either curled up at the bottom or he moves around a bit but he never moves his antennae things they are just curled up next to him.

 

[ehmia]

The API pH tester only reads down to 6.0, so how do you get 5.5?

i don’t think its api then my sister gave it me, honestly it might be a ph tester for like a pool or something but it seemed accurate to me

 

[Colin_T]

currently my betta tank parameters are all very low 5.5 ph 40 alkalinity and 0 hardness but the tap water tests to 5.5 ph about 120 alkalinity and again 300-1000 gh. i have to work almost this entire weekend so im gonna try and get it tested on monday. is there anything i can do just to save my snail ? he’s always either curled up at the bottom or he moves around a bit but he never moves his antennae things they are just curled up next to him.

If you have some clean limestone rocks or shells, you could add a bit to the tank.

If you know someone who lives in another area they might have better water and you could grab 20 litres (5 gallons) and put the snail in that for a while.

You can add a very small amount of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and add that to the tank. The safest way to do this is to get a couple of litres (1/2 gallon) of tap water and add the bicarb to that in a separate bucket. Stir it up and let it dissolve. Then add a small amount of that water to the tank. Wait 30 minutes and check the pH of the tank water.
You only want to raise the pH of the aquarium water a small amount every few days otherwise you can put the fish and snail into shock with a sudden change in pH. So only a tiny amount and only raise the pH by 0.2 or 0.3 points every couple of days. (5.5 to 5.7 or 5.8) then wait 48 hours before doing it again.

 

[ehmia]

If you have some clean limestone rocks or shells, you could add a bit to the tank.

If you know someone who lives in another area they might have better water and you could grab 20 litres (5 gallons) and put the snail in that for a while.

You can add a very small amount of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and add that to the tank. The safest way to do this is to get a couple of litres (1/2 gallon) of tap water and add the bicarb to that in a separate bucket. Stir it up and let it dissolve. Then add a small amount of that water to the tank. Wait 30 minutes and check the pH of the tank water.
You only want to raise the pH of the aquarium water a small amount every few days otherwise you can put the fish and snail into shock with a sudden change in pH. So only a tiny amount and only raise the pH by 0.2 or 0.3 points every couple of days. (5.5 to 5.7 or 5.8) then wait 48 hours before doing it again.

i have an update, im not sure what i was using to test the ph i think it was for a pool but it was very off. i just bought the actual api ph test kit and it reads the betta tank at 6.6 and my tap water at 7.6 so i guess it didn’t change but im still confused as to why the ph is dropping so much in my betta tank because the cory tank reads 7.6 aswell. my betta tank i did a fish in cycle about 7 months ago and he’s been thriving. the tank is a little overloaded on plants now since they been growing a lot but i was abt to move him into a bigger tank and i use a fluval aquaclear filter also prime and stability every water change

 

[Naughts]

If the pH of 6.6 is stable, that is good for a betta. But a GH of 300+ certainly isn't. Is this measurement with a pool kit?

 

[ehmia]

If the pH of 6.6 is stable, that is good for a betta. But a GH of 300+ certainly isn't. Is this measurement with a pool kit?

for the gh i used test strips, the gh has always been pretty high in my tap but usually around 60 so im hoping the strips are wrong to, but for the ph i was using this little white eye drop looking bottle there’s not really anything on it besides the color chart so i’m guessing it’s for something else. none of the pet stores near me sell any gh test kits so i’m going to order one and see in a few days. i usually don’t have problems with the hardness because of the water softener pillow and ill boil mopani wood and put some of that water in and itll bring it down to a tolerable level usually 0-30 it just fluctuates when i do water changes. i only want the ph to be normal for my snail but i’m going to move him into the cory tank for now until it’s fixed

 

[Naughts]

A GH of 0-30 or 60ppm is very soft water, 300ppm very hard. So buying the GH test kit to clarify is a good idea. You'll then be able to check and rectify any fluctuations.
Also sounds like a fine plan for the snail.