New Tank, HIGH pH, help!

[reberly]

Hey all,
I've been lurking here for a while finding some great advice and friendly people. I figured it was time i registered and get some help. I have an Eclipse System 12 gallon tank and am just starting it up. I had a 10 gallon back in jr. high but I don't remember having nearly as many problems getting started! First off, after we initially setup the tank and filled it, the water looked great. A few hours later though, it began clouding up and never recovered. We tried one of those chemicals thats supposed to clump up clusters of debris but nothing helped. So we drained the tank, took everything out, washed every piece in the tank and refilled it with COLD tap water this time. This seems to have solved the cloudy water problem as it seems the hot water brought with it lots of lime. However, the biggest problem we're having is that our pH levels are off the chart (way above 7.6). Adding pH Down seems to have no effect as it appears to have got worse overnight. We're itching to get fish in our tank and are getting frustrated with these pH levels. We want to have several different kinds of very colorful peaceful fish (Neons and guppies for sure) and I know lots of fish can't handle these levels. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

Ryan

 

[loganj]

Sounds like you might be on well water? PH down won't do it. pH is relatively easy to raise, but difficult to lower. Your water probably has a very high mineral content and will absorb lots of acid without a significant drop in pH. My suggestion is to get a hardness test. Check your tap water for hardness and pH. Then mix either distilled or RO/DI water with it to achieve the hardness and pH you want. Or, use straight distilled or RO/DI and add a product like RO Right to bring it up to the required parameters. With a tank that size, it wouldn't be too much trouble. If you ever get a larger tank, African Cichlids would probably be very happy in the tap water you have...they like it hard and alkaline. JMHO.

 

[reberly]

Nope, I'm on City water here in southwestern Ohio. If I add distilled water, what kind of ratio am I looking at to bring it down to neutral? Also, do they sell hardness test kits at shops like they do for pH and Ammonia? Thanks!

 

[loganj]

Unusual for city water to be that high. I'm not sure what kind of ratio you'd need. That's why you need the hardness kit...it's going to be a trial and error type of thing at first until you find the right mixture. The hardness test should be available at any LFS. You really need to know the pH and hardness of your tap water. Although it's unlikely, you could have water that is high pH and low hardness. This type of water is unstable and will require some things before it's suitable for an aquarium.

 

[reberly]

We put in 4 zebra danios and 2 bala sharks. One of the danios was missing an eye but we think that's the wonderful treatment he must have had at Wal-Mart. At first one of our sharks was sluggish and kinda slow-looking. He instantly became Lennie, his friskier partner being George. 2 days later now, both of the balas are active and seem healthy. I think I have a pair of danios who are mating, the one without the stripes has a distended belly and the striped one is CONSTANTLY chasing it. We had to take out the danio with the missing eye today, he was doing bad this morning and by this afternoon he was stuck to the filter intake. Hopefully he enjoyed his last few days more in my tank than the walmart tanks. Everything seems to be progressing nicely, water is clear with lots of floating particles. Nitrites and Nitrates are low, ammonia non-existent, with pH and hardness still pretty high. We're still working on the correct balance of tap and distilled water. Next up on the purchase list is a few tank cleaners. Any suggestions for our rather small 12 gallon?

 

[MR294]

I would definitely slow down a bit The danios are a good choice, but I would try to find another home for the balas. They are an active schooling fish that can grow to 10-12", defintiely not a good choice for a smaller tank. I would also hold off on adding anything else for a few weeks, since your cycle is just beginning. The carbon in the filter has probably done a pretty good job of absorbing the ammonia for the first few days, but you should see a spike here pretty soon. After the starter fish have been in for a month and the ammonia and nitrite have spiked and returned to zero, I would begin slowly adding more fish every week or two until you reach your desired stocking level. Some of the smaller corydoras species as well as otocinclus cats would make great additions to your 12g, but I would hold off for a month or two HTH