Low KH and High PH

ExtraHannah

ExtraHannah

Learning as fast as I can!
Dec 6, 2009
139
0
16
Central NC
OK, I've read in the article section and on a few threads, that PH is not as big a deal as people often make it. Basically, the most important thing is that it remains stable. Correct?

Out of my tap, after sitting 24 hours:
My KH is about 4 (71.6 ppm)
My PH is maxing out my test at 7.6. I'm going to pick up a High PH test to get more specific.
(It's 6.8 out of the tap before "aging". I didn't realize initially that it would increase as it settled. Thanks to this board for giving me the heads up there.)

Two teaspoons of Baking Soda in my 27 tank brings the KH up to 6.

So, should I really not worry much about my PH?
And, should I continue to add the BS to keep the KH a little higher? If so, how often? Every water change? Just test and add more if/when it drops to 3 or 4?

Thank you!
 
Doesn't even matter in and of itself whether it's stable.

A pH of 7.6 with a KH of 4 sounds about normal. It implies a CO2 level of around 3ppm which is bang on the sort of equilibrium level we'd expect. I don't see a need to change KH or pH in this case. Water changes should be perfectly adequate.
 
Awesome guys! Thank you so much! Where's the "WHEW" smilie?? I did find an old high PH test kit in all my mess. It was missing the card though. However, I found a sample of the card online. So, if the cards/colors haven't changed in the last 5+ years and my chemical is still good, then 7.6 is right about spot on for my PH. I was concerned it could be much higher since that's as high as my regular test card went.

I was also a bit worried about the angels, as I had read that they prefer 6.5-7. But they should be able to adapt OK?
 
ExtraHannah said:
Awesome guys! Thank you so much! Where's the "WHEW" smilie?? I did find an old high PH test kit in all my mess. It was missing the card though. However, I found a sample of the card online. So, if the cards/colors haven't changed in the last 5+ years and my chemical is still good, then 7.6 is right about spot on for my PH. I was concerned it could be much higher since that's as high as my regular test card went.

I was also a bit worried about the angels, as I had read that they prefer 6.5-7. But they should be able to adapt OK?
Click to expand...

As I said earlier, very little adaptation is required. External pH is not particularly significant physiologically.

Whether angelfish are ideally suited to your water depends on the GH, not the pH.
 
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