pH help Needed!!

Kali

Kali

Plagued by the "Tank Nazi"!!
Jun 8, 2009
72
0
0
Michigan
Okay, the "Tank Nazi" dared to go away from home. I just checked all the levels in my new tank and my pH is high. I wanted to know what to do about it?? If it is something I need to fix right now?? Should I worry?? Can someone give me a clue??

55 gallon, newly planted, 4 male guppies inhabiting it. Waiting to add the 3 albino longfin bristlenose plecos I just got from Meli

Ammonia 0

Nitrate 0

Nitrite 0

Hardness 300ppm

Chlorine 0

Alkalinity 180ppm

pH 8.4
 
Last edited:
swinneyw said:
p h looks good to me
Click to expand...



I thought that it was supposed to be lower than that??

What should be the normal parameters for deciding what is "good"??
 
pH is generally not an issue, most freshwater critters can acclimate to just about any pH. Some species have specific requirements, but it isn't like a reef tank :)

You are going to want a higher pH for your snails anyway, to combat erosion issues :)

Tank Nazi says....

Kristina
 
Constant pH is much better for your fish. Changing your pH will give you a headache every time you do a water change since you have to adjust the new water's pH.
 
good advice from all
 
pH really isn't important. Fish can, contrary to popular belief, cope perfectly well with a fluctuating pH. Anecdotal evidence points to fish being pretty much pH insensitive. Keeping the TDS (which is best approximated via KH and GH) constant is all that matters. Keep pH out of the corrosive ranges (below 4.5 or above 9) and 99% of your fish will be fine, even if the pH swings around as CO2 concentrations change through the day (as generally happens in planted tanks).
 
i agree, a stable yet high ph is better than you mucking with the levels and potentially spelling disaster for your tank. use a longer acclimation process (drip acclimation) so that the new fish are not shocked going into the higher/different ph level in the tank.

if you are not showing nitrates in a new tank, it is most likely not cycled. the only way an established tank would show zero nitrates is if it was planted heavily enough for the plants to 'use up' all the nitrates. i would not add any more fish to the tank yet, continue monitoring all three parameters (ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate) until your tank is cycled, then you can add more fish.
 
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