PH related questions...

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Mazdaman

Aquarium Advice FINatic
Joined
Jan 15, 2005
Messages
750
Location
Edmotnon, AB
My 75gal has now been running for just under 2 weeks.
I tested my PH this morning and it was running around 8.0-8.2. In my 20gal it always tested at 7.6-7.8. I haven't tested my tap water lately and will be doing that tonight. My question is could it be because it is a new tank and doesn't have the proper buffering capacity yet? I also added 5 small pieces of a rock from Big Als they called "red jasper", could that have caused the PH tro rise. The fish aren't showing any signs of stress I just thought I'd ask.

If i test my tap water and it comes out at around 8 are there any options to lower the ph. I know about a constant ph is better than.... but 8+ is too high I think. Don't want to use peat cause it colors the water, I don't have real plants either. If I knew I could use driftwood that would NOT color the water then that would be the way to go.

Lastly if the ph truly is that high am I better off to consider cichlids? Or am I just getting ahead of myself cause the tank isn't "mature" yet. Thanks for any input....
 
cichlids would be nice i think! However IMO don't settle for second best when you know you could have first preference.
 
I do like cichlids, don't get me wrong. But I am a bigger fan of scholling fish. I want to have several schools that would also loosely shoal together. I haven't done alot of research on cichlids but I don't remeber them to be the scholling type.

One other question is wether or not a fish would show more color at an ideal ph?
 
I just looked it up on the net. Jasper is an igneous rock so it shouldn't be releasing CaCO3 into the water its supposed to be inert. I know my pH jumped around a bunch when I first set up my tank so I wouldn't be suprised if its just the newness.

Another option for decreasing pH if it is a permanent mater is to add CO2 (you need live plants for this though) or use bottled drinking water (which is RO) from the grocery store during water changes.
 
Driftwood works, I put mine in a bucket with water for however long it takes for it to stop coloring the water yellow and to stop the small pieces of wood coming off. My smaller pieces took a few days-a week or so, while my larger one took a few weeks. I changed the water in the bucket every 1-2 days.
If you do these things the wood should not color the water. The pH my 20 gal is about 6.8 and I currently have 2 small pieces of driftwood in there. My tetras seem to love the slighty acidic water. The pH in my 75 gal is at about 6.9-7.0 with a somewhat large piece of DW.
 
oscars can be quite messy...
a large group of showy or unusual coloured angels would look fantastic. They shoal loosely i think ... :?
 
Just a quick lesson on tap water and pH:

Water out of the tap may have abnormally high levels of CO2 which will out-gas within 24-48 hours of sitting in a stable environment. CO2 dissolved in tap water will cause the pH to be abnormally low compared to water that has 'rested' for 24 hours or more in a bucket or a tank. To judge/compensate for this out-gassing, sample a portion (1-5 gallons in a bucket) of tap water with your pH kit and your KH kit; let it sit for 24-48 hours in the same bucket and sample it again with your pH and KH kits. pH levels will likely have dropped considerably while KH levels should have remained the same. HTH :)
 
thanks for the info guys, I have to admit that I tested my tap water and it showed a ph of 7.8. I then went and re-tested my tank and it looks like I can chaulk it up to human error. Thanks for the replies anyways. My tank water showed a ph of roughly 7.6 or so. My gh read at somewhere between 10 and 11 degrees. (10 drops-slighgtly green, 11 drops-green)

I have been looking into getting a brita "on tap" filtration system which another member said drops the ph from 8.0 down to around 7-7.2. I think I might try that, or the driftwood.
 
brita brita brita!!!!!! did you know that i made cordial with brita and cordial with tap water... guess which was terribly cloudy and guess which was crystal clear? ;) Really all you people shouldn't drink tap water.... its a bit like drinking swimming pool dilute!
 
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