Perfect pH for community tank

[mala]

what's the ideal ph level for a community tank????????


Our 20 gal. community includes:
4 cories
3 zebra danios
2 black finned sharks
1 molly
1 betta

[JamisonBWolsh]

Determines what type of fish you have.... But i would say 7.0 Neutral.

so what type of fish in your "community"?

[Fishiebusiness]

The ideal pH is the one that comes out of your tap, as long as its between 6 and 8. It's a lot more stressful to fish if you mess with the pH rather than just keep it stable at one point.

[JamisonBWolsh]

Originally posted by Fishiebusiness
The ideal pH is the one that comes out of your tap, as long as its between 6 and 8. It's a lot more stressful to fish if you mess with the pH rather than just keep it stable at one point.

I tend to disagree.. Are you saying its ok to put a Lake tang cichlid that prefers 8.0-9.0 ph in tap water that comes outs as 6.0??? I dont think so. It all determines what type of fish he has...

[wetmanNY]

Aside from fish from extreme and unusual waters like Lake Tanganyika, most fish are responding primarily to the levels of total dissolved solids-- the "mineral" content of the water, rather than directly to the pH.

Fishiebusiness has the right ticket.

[JamisonBWolsh]

I always agree to that. Look at my first statement. However we do need to know what type of fish he is going to get and what his tap Ph water is...Then we can say if his tap water Ph is good for it.

[Richer]

Whats the ideal pH? It depends on quite a few factors. What kind of fish do you want to keep? Will they be locally bred? Or wild caught? What are the water conditions at your LFS? etc.

I've kept "soft water" fish in my tanks quite successfully. I have a few angels, neons, blackskirts, and various other tetras in my tanks for quite awhile. My blackskirts even attempted to breed one time (though it was unsuccessful... they did it in a community tank =\). My water is extemely hard... I haven't actively measured my GH, but I know its on the high end. The calcium deposits on my facuets, showerheads, etc. speak for themselves.

Just a note, it is much easier to raise the hardness of your water than to lower it. In the case of a Lake Tang setup, adjusting your tank to accomodate the fish would be much easier than to lower your water's hardness to accomodate wild caught soft water fish.

HTH
-Richer

[slipknottin]

most of your fish come from neutral to acidic soft water enviroments.

However, your molly comes from brackish and full SW enviroments, and should have a high Ph, and very hard water.