Ph too high - need help!

Relieved to see people with 8.4 and 8.0 pH having success with fish. I have been having some concerns about pH just like the original author.

I need to get some liquid test- but I was a little concerned with my tank, currently being cycled reading either a 7.8 or 8.0 (stick on disk)- fresh out the tap. I was worried that my play-sand substrate, or slate rocks were buffering the water somehow.

I do plan to get a more accurate test kit when I'm about ready to add fish. I keep reading on here (on different threads) people saying don't worry about pH as long as it is stable- yet I read articles on fish and most say they prefer 6.0 to 7.0 or thereabouts.

If an online article says they prefer 6 to 7 and I have 8... how bad really is that?
 
Thanks again for the input. I do not have live plants in the tank, and all the ornaments were purchased at the pet store. I do not have shells or coral. My husband will be happy to hear the advice about not bothering with the bottled water - the folks at the pet store advised me to use it. I have no idea about the phosphate level of the bottled water, and I leave it in our boiler room for a day before I intend to use it so it's warmed up a bit. Regarding nitrates - sometimes I do see a little indication on the test strip. I assume the tank is cycled as it's been established for several months. We switched from goldfish to tropical in Sept., which was a big change, but still - that's 7 months ago.
So if I'm going to stop using bottled water, should I gradually increase the amount from the tap? Or should I just use all tap next exchange (which I plan to do Wed. 4/22)? Or maybe use all tap, but only exchange 25% instead of my usual 40-50%?

Thanks -
akg
 
Don't stress about pH. If you look at waters that have lots of plants you will find the pH to swing wildly in the course of 24 hours. I could site some lakes but the point is the pH parameter is just one parameter that needs to be thought of in a group of many. Having a pH of 7.8 and a kH of 1 would mean something totally different to your fish than a pH of 7.8 and a kH of 10.

Make sure there are no toxins in your well water. Prime will make sure of that for you. Be consistent about your change schedule and having some hard water plants could not hurt if you like to grow plants.

When you change to all well water do it a little at a time. Perhaps a 10% change each day for a little while.
 
I'm a little worried that your nitrates are 0. Like mentioned already, a cycle tank should have a nitrate reading. What's your filter maintenance?

Also, ditch the test strips. In my experience, they are inaccurate. Get yourself a liquid test kit. If you print out the online price, Petsmart, and I think Petco as well, will price match and you will save some money.
 
I have to agree with what has been said about the pH. I keep a variety of community fish with hard water without any problems. I also echo the concerns about 0 ppm nitrates. I would get some liquid tests to find out for sure.
 
Thanks again for your helpful comments. Colinsk - could you clarify your comment on a high Ph with a low kH and what that would mean to the fish? And regarding the well water - we had the well tested when we built the house, so I would assume that we don't have any toxins. I'd think we'd be getting sick if that were the case.

So starting tomorrow, I'll start doing small changes and using only well water. I'll look for liquid tests online (I don't think the Petsmart near me has any) and I'll see what happens in a week's time.

Thanks again to all for your comments and feedback!
- akg
 
What fish do you have? Any guppies? That's really what I want - make my tank safe for guppies. The people at the pet store keep telling me that 7.8 (which is what they've tested my tank water at) is too high for guppies.

akg
 
akg said:
Thanks again for your helpful comments. Colinsk - could you clarify your comment on a high Ph with a low kH and what that would mean to the fish? And regarding the well water - we had the well tested when we built the house, so I would assume that we don't have any toxins. I'd think we'd be getting sick if that were the case.
Click to expand...

I can't really without getting itno a bunch of boring chemistry. To really over simplify things, think of kH as the battery and pH as the voltage. If you have a really big battery and you make a load it will not change the voltage. If you have a small battery and try to power a city it will kill the battery.

kH is a battery that can "buffer" pH. If you have distilled water you can add the tiniest amounts of acids or bases and make very big pH swings. If you have lots of kH then a little acid or base here or there goes unnoticed by pH.

Remember your fish have to live in the water so toxins are a little different. A little heavy metal in your diet would go un-noticed but in theirs could build to a problem.

I personally don't think fish really care much about pH per say. I think TDS is a more important measure of what water they like. I have read studies of lakes that have pH swings from 6 to 8 everyday based on the CO2 levels in the water. Yet fish do just fine. I am likely a minority in this opinion.
 
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