pH question

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malonbl

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Jan 11, 2014
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168
Location
Nashville, TN
I am a newbie and have a question regarding the importance of pH. I have a 29 gallon, planted, low-light tank. Tank is recently cycled. My plants are java fern, java moss, and various anubias. Currently, I have 12 neons and 9 cory habrosus. I plan to add 2 more schools. I am consider chili rasboras versus ember tetras and I am consider green rasboras versus jelly bean tetras.

Now to my question. Just today, out of curiosity, I tested pH for the first time. I measured at 7.8. This was surprising as I assumed the "high pH bottle" was for outliers. I thought for sure that my water supply would fall more in standard ranges.

So, is this a problem? I know some species like African cichlids have pretty specific pH needs, but what about the tetras, corys and rasboras that I am wanting to keep?
 
Having a stable ph is much more important than trying to adjust/lower it. I have 2 large tanks that are nano fish only and one has a ph of 6.8 and the other 7.6 with a higher kh and gh due to some rocks in it. Both tanks of nano fish do equally well. Most all fish can adjust and acclimate to a high ph without any problems.
 
I am a newbie and have a question regarding the importance of pH. I have a 29 gallon, planted, low-light tank. Tank is recently cycled. My plants are java fern, java moss, and various anubias. Currently, I have 12 neons and 9 cory habrosus. I plan to add 2 more schools. I am consider chili rasboras versus ember tetras and I am consider green rasboras versus jelly bean tetras.



Now to my question. Just today, out of curiosity, I tested pH for the first time. I measured at 7.8. This was surprising as I assumed the "high pH bottle" was for outliers. I thought for sure that my water supply would fall more in standard ranges.



So, is this a problem? I know some species like African cichlids have pretty specific pH needs, but what about the tetras, corys and rasboras that I am wanting to keep?


Fish are very adaptable to water ph. Your tap water is well within the normal range for the average aquarist. Some fish are raised on breeding farms where the ph we be that of the farms local supply as most farms are in the business to turn a profit it wouldn't be cost effective to use ph altering chemicals or large amounts of ph altering rocks or wood. Couple that with the fact that as stated fish are highly adaptable to a stable ph anyway.

That being said, there are some fish that require a certain ph as opposed to prefer and research must be done on the fish in question in order to be certain of there adaptable ph range.

Given that ph is a logarithmic scale ie a ph of 6 is 10 times more acidic than 7 and 100 times more acidic than 8 so again highlights the importance of a stable ph.

If you are unfamiliar with the importance of ph it is unlikely that you are familiar the abbreviations kh and gh. A quick google search should help you to understand the difference between ph kh and gh. Although this value usually go hand in hand they do not represent the same things.

In short, kh (carbonate hardness/alkalinity) is the amount of acids your water can absorb before ph is lowered so a higher kh will help to keep ph stable.

Gh (General hardness) is the mineral content of your water such as calcium and magnesium. If you here water being referred as hard or soft this is your gh.and there are preferences for some fish.

Hope this helps.
 
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