Are SW fish just as adaptable to different ph readings as FW fish are? I have pretty high ph, upper 8-lower 9. I'm assuming this becuase I can't really tell with the test kits I've used (as well most I've seen only go up to 8.8 anyway). I have well water. I don't think I really want to mess with trying to bring down the ph becuase my alk. is 300+ ppm. and that would probably mean dumping a lot of acid into the tank before I see a change... who knows how stable of a change.
SW Fish ph Adaptability
- Thread starter Lazersniper
- Start date
SW fish are not that adaptable, unfortunately. More importantly, such high pH and alkalinity values indicate a problem that really needs to be addressed before the tank is safe for livestock.
Marine salt mixes have a buffering system to keep the pH about 8.1-8.2. For your pH and alkakinity to be as high as they are, there must be something wrong. The possibilities I can think of are:
1. Your source water is incredibly hard and alkaline. What are the pH and alkalinity of the water from your tap?
2. You are adding something like a buffer or kalkwasser that is driving the pH up. Any additives?
3. There's a huge amount of photosynthetic activity in the tank. Unlikely, but maybe you have an algae bloom. The pH would be much higher in the day than at night if this were the case.
4. You have a bad batch of salt. What are you using?
5. Something else that maybe another person can think of.
Under most circumstances, pH tends to decrease as the buffers are used up and acids are produced by the organisms in the tank. If you can't find the immediate cause of the problem, it may decrease on its own.
Marine salt mixes have a buffering system to keep the pH about 8.1-8.2. For your pH and alkakinity to be as high as they are, there must be something wrong. The possibilities I can think of are:
1. Your source water is incredibly hard and alkaline. What are the pH and alkalinity of the water from your tap?
2. You are adding something like a buffer or kalkwasser that is driving the pH up. Any additives?
3. There's a huge amount of photosynthetic activity in the tank. Unlikely, but maybe you have an algae bloom. The pH would be much higher in the day than at night if this were the case.
4. You have a bad batch of salt. What are you using?
5. Something else that maybe another person can think of.
Under most circumstances, pH tends to decrease as the buffers are used up and acids are produced by the organisms in the tank. If you can't find the immediate cause of the problem, it may decrease on its own.
"I have pretty high ph, upper 8-lower 9. I'm assuming this becuase I can't really tell with the test kits I've used"
The first thing that I would do is take a sample of your water to a good LFS and have them test it with a high range PH tester. Also take a sample of your water source (tap) to see what it is.
The first thing that I would do is take a sample of your water to a good LFS and have them test it with a high range PH tester. Also take a sample of your water source (tap) to see what it is.
As I indicated above, the water is well water, which is naturally hard, and alk. My tap water is about the same. These readings are the same in my fw tanks as well. My sw tank is currently cycling right now. I'm currently testing a lot of the things for this purpose. I am not adding anything to the tanks that would help buffer or increase the ph. It's a newly set up tank so there is no algae. It's been cycling for about 2 weeks right now with two peices of shrimp. I am using 'Red Sea' salt. I'm assuming any organinisms in my tank would have to produce a lot of acid before anything changes in my tank concerning ph.