Ph Leval

[srwilliamson25]

Was wondering what your guys thoughts are on this. I am almost done with my fishless cycle and i have noticed all my readings are good except for my ph reading. Out of the tap the readings are 8.6 if i let the water sit for a couple days they drop down to around 8.4. But the readings in my tank which is almost done cycling are still around 8.2 I feel that is high i would like to keep barbs and tetras in this tank most likley or even some clown loaches.

My question is should i try and add something to lower the leval or let the fish adjust. If the readings were around 7.8 i might not be so worried but i just feel 8.2 is real high what are your thoughts or ideas any would be appreciated....

 

[Harlock]

Stable pH is more important than the "right" pH. If you start looking at breeding, then pH may become an issue, but additves are expensive and don't keep things stable, so it can stress the fish worse. If you are looking into breeding, then usually the suggestion is to mix RO and tap water until you find the right mix and then keep up the water changes to keep it stable.

 

[benedictj]

I agree with Harlock. A small bit of info worth adding is that your pH is probably dropping due to the dissapation of disolved gasses out of the tap (which can take up to 24 hours). Additionally, cycling consumes a bunch of oxygen and produces acids which will lower your pH. (Just to explain the dropping numbers).