Is my PH a problem?

J

j_sinclair

AC Members
Mar 20, 2006
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I'm new to the hobby and I need some advice as to what to do.

Here is the histoy. Got a 20 gal high tank Feb 18(becuase the kids wanted fish). I filled it with distilled water when I got it and let it sit for a week, then got 3 zebra danios. 2 weeks later I got a pleco, the LFS said my water was fine, and i got a testing kit also, which I have been using every other day. I did my first water change (25%) shrotly after that (using tap water which I dechlorinated). After testing it my PH was 7.2 ish everything else was zero. A week later the LFS said it was o.k. to start stocking my tank so I got 2 pearl Gourami's and a Dwarf Gourami. Did another water change (25%) last Saturday. My PH was at around 7.5 ish. Amonia has been between 0 and .25(I think that's the first step on the card). Nitrates have never gone more than the first step above 0 on the card either(don't remember the number). I Did a 50% water change last night becuase I tried to really vacume the gravel good and after I filled the tank my PH has risen to 7.8.

I haven't tested my tap water, but I think that is my problem. I think I am nearing the end of my cycle because my nitrates are finaly moving (read 5 last night), but I am worried about my PH. The fish are all acting fine, so I'm not panicing. I was thinking of changing out a gallon tonight and using distilled instead of tap. My question is...
First off, should I worry, or should I just do nothing. Second is there anything that will bring my PH down naturally. If my tap is in the high 7's what should I do to lower it. I would think my target is low 7"s (7.2 ideally). I don't want to use chemicals, and I don't want my PH bouncing all over the place either. Is my PH going up because I am nearing the end the my cycle? Any suggestions would surley be appreciated. I'm a newbie and can use any help I can get....
Thanks
Jim
 
Welcome Jim.

First, please go to the article index section and read, EVERYTHING! There is an enormous amount of information to be found there.

Next is you r PH. DO NOT try to adjust ph. Your fish don't care, unless you are trying to breed, which I hope you aren't. Your fish care about ph stability, not numbers. Why are you using distilled water? Please use tap water for water changes.

Now you stocking of the tank. I can tell you from 1st hand experience that you are going to have problems with the 2 pearl gourami's and the dwarf gourami. Gourami's tend to be territorial fish and aggressive with other gouramis, not with other species. I would suggest returning the 2 pearls to the store. Yes, most stores will accept returns, although you may not get a refund. i would suggest keeping the dwarf gourami, adding 5 more zebra danios, and adding 4-5 small corys.

Now lets talk about the pleco......Let me preface this by saying I think plecos are great fish. I have 1 and I love him, but...he's 16 inches long. You probable have a common sail-fin, like mine. You need to return him asap! In my opinion, plecos should not be sold in pet stores.

Now for a lot of questions. I'm just trying to establish what you level of fish keeping knowledge is so we can help you further.
Do you understand cycling and when the cycle is complete?
What are you exact water parameters? ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph
What is you water temp?
Do you understand the need for weekly water changes?

Thats enough for now
JB
 
there's nothing wrong with your ph. the rise in your pH value has to do with the fact that you started with distilled water (which has a ph of about 6.5) and then started replacing it with tap water (yours evidently has a higher pH). wherever the ph ends up (it should be the same as your tap water) your fish will acclimate to it as long as it's stable.
 
also keep in mind that sometimes the water Ph will rise by itself as it sits and the CO2 in it gasses off. my water straight out of the tap is about 7.1 and after sitting overnight it rises to 8.0. and from what iv'e heard this is pretty common. the other guys are right though: as long as you ph is stable your fish will adjust :)
 
budrecki said:
Why are you using distilled water? Please use tap water for water changes.
Click to expand...

I started with distilled water because that is what the fish store told me to do. They said it didn't have any chlorine and that is the purest water for the fish.

As you can tell (or maybe not) I have 0 experience with fish. This was a kids induced impulse purchase. After the fish store sold me the pleco to reduce the alge that was building up in the tank, I decided to start researching things and that is when I stumbled on this sight. I read alot in the newbie section and that is why I got my test kit and I am doing regular (almost) water changes.

The pleco I got is about 4" long and the fish guy told me that he would do just fine in my 20 gal tank. I will not be going back there anytime soon after what I have been reading about plecos. I am hooked into this hobby, having so much fun that I am entertaining gettting a bigger tank (55 gal) in the not so distant future and putting the 20 gal in my bedroom (for relaxation purposes). So I will address the pleco issue in the not so distant future.

budrecki said:
I can tell you from 1st hand experience that you are going to have problems with the 2 pearl gourami's and the dwarf gourami.
Click to expand...

That I will also address in the future because the pearl and dwarf gourami's are my kids favorites. Right now they are not bothering each other, except when there is food. I will keep an eye on it though...

budrecki said:
Now for a lot of questions. I'm just trying to establish what you level of fish keeping knowledge is so we can help you further.
Do you understand cycling and when the cycle is complete?
What are you exact water parameters? ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph
What is you water temp?
Do you understand the need for weekly water changes?
Click to expand...

Again, like I said before, I have 0 experience, except what I have been reading. I seem to understand the cycle thing, and I was hoping, with the increase in my nitrate numbers over the past week, I would be seeing an end to my cycle in the next week or so. Whether the cycle is complete or not I do understand that I must keep my ammonia and nitrites as close to 0 as possible and my nitrates no higher than 20. I test everyday and if I do miss a day, I have never let the second day go by without testing, so I feel if I do get a spike I will be on top of it and the fish will not be exposed to high levels of toxins for very long.

Here are my exact numbers as I read them yesterday after my water change. ph: 7.8 / ammonia: 0 or just a hair above, not quite .25 / nitrite: same as ammonia just a hair above 0 (the color is in between 0 and .25) / nitrate is smack dab on 5. My temp is between 76 and 78 at anygiven time(my heater is set to 76)

Also, more about the tank: 3 plastic plants a couple of fish decorations (bridge, and rock formation thing) and the substrate is rock/gravel (but not little pieces, this was the next size up, I don't know if it is river rock or polished rock or whatever. Sorry to be so vauge on this, but I threw the bag away).

Again thanks for all you help (from both me and my fish)
Jim
 
Last edited:
sounds like you're doing your homework :thm:

if you do end up getting the 55 then your pleco might have a good home after all :)

your numbers look pretty good but I would think that your cycle isn't completely done yet since you're still seeing small amounts of nitrite and ammonia. eventually both of those will be 0 and your nitrates will move up into the 10-20 ppm range and stay there which will be about the end of the cycling.

the weekly changes are good cause a clean tank makes for happy fish ;)

glad you like the hobby, and hope to see you around more :)
 
Ok Jim. We have established that your PH is best left alone, use tap water not distilled, and until you have more fish experience DONT TRUST THE LFS! They want to sell fish and products.

I'm glad you're thinking of upgrading to a larger tank in the future.

More water = more water stable = happy fish

As for your pleco....If you intend to keep him, and if he is a common sail-fin?, the minimum tank size you should look at is a 120g. This is the smallest standard size that will give you 24" front to back. (48x24x24) I bought my pleco when he was barely 2" and I didn't know better. He has grown on close to 1 " per month. You cannot imagine how much waste, fish poop, a pleco this size can produce. I had a 55g and it was not large enough for a 16" fish.

Also, plecos are not very good at keeping algae at bay. As they get older they need a more protein heavy diet. Oh, and did I mention how much they need to eat? Algae/spirluna/sinking wafers every morning. Fresh veggies every evening.

As I said, I love my pleco Rufus, but it is a huge commitment. The bigger a fish gets the longer it lives.
 
budrecki said:
the minimum tank size you should look at is a 120g. This is the smallest standard size that will give you 24" front to back. (48x24x24) I bought my pleco when he was barely 2" and I didn't know better. He has grown on close to 1 " per month. You cannot imagine how much waste, fish poop, a pleco this size can produce. I had a 55g and it was not large enough for a 16" fish.
Click to expand...

WOW!!!

I may have to rethink the pleco. I do belive he is a sail-fin. I don't have the money for a tank that size (unless I can find on to be given away ha ha ha).

Thanks for the info
 
if you want a smaller algae eater, look into either the chinese, siamese, or even ottos. I have three ottos in my 55 gallon, and they are great. The actually do a good job of keeping everything clean, they are super gentle on my plants (i have a live planted tank), and the best part is that they do not get over 2" long. Perfect for community tanks, and from what i have read (if someone knows better, please correct me) they will always eat algae, but only soft algae (which is thankfully the only kind i have right now)
 
Look into rubber plecos, clown plecos, and bristlenose plecos, and siamensis (siamese algea eaters). they stay quiet a bit smaller and do a better job on algea. Snails will work also (the little ones you get free with plants). some people complain that they get out of control, but then again some people over feed and underclean. For me they do a great job.

Welcome to the hobby, your goose is cooked now.

ps keeping the front glass clean is your job, let the algea eaters concentrate on the hard to reach places :)
 
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