Ph from my tap

[Melissa81407]

I have been fighting with higher PH levels in my tanks 7.4 and 7.8 and I just tested my tap water it's 8.0. How can I keep the tank PH down when tap water PH is so high? I don't want to have to buy purified water. I have 4 tanks 10, 20, 36 and two 55 gallon tanks.

 

[OnTheFly]

I have been fighting with higher PH levels in my tanks 7.4 and 7.8 and I just tested my tap water it's 8.0. How can I keep the tank PH down when tap water PH is so high? I don't want to have to buy purified water. I have 4 tanks 10, 20, 36 and two 55 gallon tanks.

I have the same. Experienced aquarists tell me not to fight it. If your PH is that high your water contains dissolved solids which will buffer it. You can throw PH adjusters at it which are basically acids. It will rebound back in a day or two. Unstable PH is far harder on fish then PH that is out of range. I am going to use driftwood decor which may naturally drop it some over time, and call it a day. There are a lot of fish that will do fine at 8.0 A lot of our fish are bred in Florida where PH is nowhere near native water acidic PH.

 

[Melissa81407]

Thank you. I'm hearing the same. I have had two pieces of drift wood in there for a while. Perhaps that is what is lowering it to 7.4 instead of 8.0 ill try not to stress over it.

 

[OnTheFly]

Thank you. I'm hearing the same. I have had two pieces of drift wood in there for a while. Perhaps that is what is lowering it to 7.4 instead of 8.0 ill try not to stress over it.

I'm not going to run out and buy a bunch of fish known to prefer very acidic water, but I will see what I can get away with and still have healthy fish. Throw a quart of water on the stove and boil it for 10 minutes. Let it cool overnight and see how much calcium deposit is laying on the bottom. I've read that is what keeps you from adjusting it very far on a permanent basis. It looks like somebody crushed a few aspirin when I do that test.

 

[Melissa81407]

Ok I'll try it. I know I'm on well water and I've been told that tends to be hard water.

 

[OnTheFly]

It depends entirely on where the well is drilled, but a lot of the US has fairly hard/alkaline water. You can test water hardness but your PH tells me you don't live near a Carolina peat bog.

 

[SherLar]

I also have well water, which comes from the tap at about 8.2 PH, and typically stays about the same in my tanks. Works great for my cichlids though, so I don't complain. Unless you're raising fish that prefer, or even need neutral or acidic water, you should be ok. If you have low PH fish, you can usually get RO water at most LFSs for a few cents per gallon, or buy your own RO unit for a couple hundred bucks.