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ok when ever i do a water change the pH o the tap water is around 8 wich is way to high for the tank cause the tank pH is 7-7.2 and is fairly stable so every time i do a water change i add sodium biphosphate to lower the pH to the disired level but is this a good idea to be constantly adding pH down to the tap water i mean will it harm the fish?
thanx
declan

The general rule is that fish prefer a stable pH to one that is fluctuating a lot. So, unless you're breeding fish or have some specific reason why the fish absolutely need a low pH, it's usually better to avoid pH-altering products. I have a high pH like yours: it's 7.8 out of the tap and settles in at 8.0 after all the gasses dissolve. I have lots of low pH loving fish like angels and rummynoses. All are happy and colourful. The angels even spawn regularly. The rummynoses have bright red noses and are very active. So, I'd recommend slowly moving your pH to match the tap water. It's a whole lot easier.

I agree with the above. You don't need to mess with your pH, as fish do prefer a stable pH to one that has to be corrected through the use of products or whatever. My South American fish tank (tetras, pencilfish, Corydoras catfish, and a bristlenose) has a pH of 7.8, and the fish don't care.

Try just letting your pH slowly rise, until it finally matches that of your tap water. Your fish will probably not mind at all, and then you will save yourself some money by not having to use a product anymore.

---

And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

as what the rest said..i too agree...just to add..if u eventually decided to raise ur pH... i suggest 0.3 increment a day not to shock ur fish. gud luck

It's too much of a pain to adjust ph and usually your not accurate enough so you don't have a stable ph. My tanks are at 8.0 average but it depends on the season as to what my well water is exactly. I've had otos spawn in my water and kept several softwater fish. The only problem I've found with keeping fish in higher ph water is fewer eggs hatch but if you aren't breeding that isn't a problem.

Victa,

Of course, you will ask the question, "If I add water with a pH of 8.0 to my aquarium, then I won't I be changing the pH of the tank?"

The answer is yes, you will be altering the pH of the tank, but it probably won't matter unless you decide to do a 100% water change! An increase in pH is not as significant to your fish as a decrease in pH. In fact, your fish won't even notice the increase of less than 0.2 pH if you do a 25% weekly water change or less.

Last edited by Bob Wesolowski at 25-Jun-2005 16:06

__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

ok cool thats a great idea to just raise the pH and it would indeed be alot easier i guess i'm just beeing a bit fussy for the fishies sake but it sounds like it ain'tworth the effort of addin a precise amount o that powder every time i do a water chang when the fish don't even care about pH
anyway thanx guys!

Im glad that I found this thread, I have a SA fishtank and its ph is low around 6.2-6.4. I am one of those people who avoid adding chemicals if at all possible should I try to get the ph up and if so how? or should I leave it be since my fish are happy eventhough my plants dont seem to be...

Blaze,

If you have SA cichlids they probably appreciate your pH. I would test the water from your tap after aerating it and heating it for 24 hours. Aerating and heating the water will help it to de-gas and give you a true pH reading. Once you have that baseline, you will know how much you are changing the pH of your water when you do water changes.

If your tap water is more alkaline, higher pH, than your tank, then you can simply increase the frequency of your weater changes to increase the tank pH. Say that your tap pH is 7.2 with a tank pH of 6.2, then a 25% water change will raise your tank pH to 6.4. A water change on day two would raise your pH to 6.6 and a water change on the next day would raise your pH to 6.7.

If your tank is mature, the pH may narurally decline and more frequent water changes as well as gravel vacuuming will help increase the pH.

__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

thanks for your help!!
/:'

My water also has a pH of 8 as it comes out of the tap, and I'm trying to decided A) whether I need to lower it for the fish, and B) how to lower it. I'm new at fishkeeping, and I have a 15 gallon tank that's had two panda corys for two weeks now. I bought four, but two died within the first week.

I want to get some cardinal tetras and a betta, or else glowlight tetras and a betta, or as a third choice, some gold barbs and cherry barbs. The staff person at the fish store told me that pH 8 is too high for all their fish. We speculated that the high pH was what killed the two panda corys, since my ammonia and nitrite levels were both 0.

He advised me to buy a buffer to add to the water -- a jar of powder -- rather than peat moss. He said I'd need to get a second filter to put the peat moss in (I have a Penguin Mini, which doesn't have a place to put the peat).

The staff person also suggested I buy special reverse-osmosis filtered water from the store, at $0.85/gal. He told me the store uses water with pH 5, which I thought is awfully low.

Hi,
"THE" most important thing about pH is that it is stable.
Not necessarily around some text book number such as
6.6 to 6.8, but stable around "some" number. Rapid changes
in pH will stress the fish and its metabolism.
Sometimes the change is great enough to kill
it outright, and sometimes the change merely weakens
its systems so that it becomes susceptible to disease
and parasites (such as Ich).

Copper, there are a variety of reasons why your cories
may have died. These range from a new, uncycled tank, to
them not being healthy when purchased.

As far as your LFS keeping their tank water at a pH of 5,
I absolutely cannot believe that.
I know that many used to try to maintain a pH
around neutral (7.0), but I have never, ever, heard
of 5.0!

Speak to a different clerk, or ask them to
test the water from the tank of THE fish that you are
buying. Tell them that you want to see how much difference
there is between your tank and theirs as you don't want to
stress the fish on transfer. I would not just tell them
your values, but rather see what theirs are, and then get
into a conversation.

You should have a test kit of FRESH strips or reagents.
Depending upon what you use, strips or chemicals,
they go bad over a period of time, as heat, light, and
humidity break down the strips or chemicals.
Depending upon where you live and with or with out Air
Conditioning, they will need to be replaced annually.

You can purchase a gallon of distilled water at the
grocery store for less and use it to dilute your water.
Or, if you really get into fishkeeping, you can install an
RO filter in your home and do it yourself.

Frank


Last edited by FRANK at 10-Jul-2005 11:00

Last edited by FRANK at 10-Jul-2005 11:01

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