ph questions

A

attiladahun

AC Members
Mar 11, 2005
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ok, i got a ph test kit (as recommended) and i tested the ph of my 10gal with one fish in it- i got a reading of 7.6 or over. holy cow. either this is wrong, or i got weird things going on in my tank. if the ph was this high, how did my danios, tetras and barbs survive in the alkaline water, while the swords and other livebearers died so quick? is there something else that killed them, or could the ph have been different back then?
i have city water- could that have been treated with chemicals that raise the ph or chemicals that are killing the fish?

any similar problems and testimonies shared would also be appreciated.:)
 
the problem is, it could be higher than 7.6.

also, most of the fish books i have say a community tank should have a neutral ph.
 
pH is a measure of acidity. 0 is very, very acidic, and fish would just disintigrate, not to mention the tank, and the floor it happens to be on. 7 is neutral, and gets more alkaline up to 14. 7.6 is neutral enough. Many fish prefer slightly alkaline water.
 
attiladahun said:
i have city water- could that have been treated with chemicals that raise the ph or chemicals that are killing the fish?
Click to expand...

Yes, tap water is treated with chlorine or chloramine, and can be lethal to aquariums. Chlorine can be treated either chemically or by aging the water (storing it under agitation at least 6 hours), while chloramines must be treated chemically both to break the ammonia-chloramine bond as well as to bind the ammonia into a non-toxic form.

At this point, I wouldn't worry about the pH. Poor acclimation may have killed the fish on introduction, but at this point, changing what's in the tank will just be stressful to the current residents.
 
atilla, the fish probably died before because the tank was not cycled. Were you able to get a nitrite and amonia test as well? those two are the really important ones so you can tell how much water to change and when the tank is finally cycled.
 
i started the tank with a fishy cycle with 6 zebra danios and did not get any more fish for a few months (i had read and heard that it only takes a month to cycle with a fishy cycle). the rest of the time, i expected that the tank would be cycled the whole time, and the lfs told me that my nitrate and ammonia were fine, although i only did 25% water changes once a month, leaving me feeling like, what the heck :huh:
 
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