What ph

[EthanBeltramo]

I just ordered a ph testing kit for my ten gallon with a male betta, 3cory cats, 2 platies, and a snail. What do you recommend that I keep my ph at. It is currently at a 7.3


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[dalto]

I would not try to alter your pH unless you have fish which require a special pH which none of those do. Your current pH is very close to neutral.

So....leave it alone, it is fine the way it is.

 

[EthanBeltramo]

Thanks. Should I keep testing it. I added ph down to lower it to 7.3. Before, it was around 8


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[trennamw]

I would not try to alter your pH unless you have fish which require a special pH which none of those do. Your current pH is very close to neutral.

So....leave it alone, it is fine the way it is.

Definitely.

UNLESS ... And this is quite rare ... Unless you have extremely soft water.

I find test strips to be accurate on this one. You could ask your local store to test your water, or buy 5-in-1 strips that check GH and KH. If the result is at the bottom, it's one unusual instance when you might need something to keep pH stable.

Fish need stable pH, and water without a lot of additives, more than they need a specific pH.

Crudely put, GH measures the overall mineral content of your water while KH measures the specific minerals that prevent pH crashes.


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[dalto]

Thanks. Should I keep testing it. I added ph down to lower it to 7.3. Before, it was around 8

You should keep measuring it because if you used pH down to lower it and your KH is high, which it probably is than what will happen is it going to rise again fairly quickly. pH down drops will almost always cause pH swings unless KH is very low. I would let your pH settle at wherever it naturally wants to since none of your fish are likely to be extremely sensitive to pH.