High pH & GH

[ADW76]

Hey friends, so here's my first dilemma, or is it a dilemma at all?? The scenario is this:

So my tap water is considered hard GH and is consistently above a pH of 8 out of the tap.. (8.2 - 8.4 to be precise). I've been doing some research and trying to mess with GH and pH seems like a never-ending pain in the *** that doesn't even seem to produce effective results.

I was going to try and find a source for Catappa Leaves which I've heard, putting it in my filter can get the pH down a few points, but I'm not sure it will be enough. I've also heard that peat moss is good, but a rust-colored tint to the water isn't something I want either!

My plans are to have a planted aquarium with community fish - everything I've read says 8.0 is the high end for what they will thrive in -- I'm worried as it approaches 8.5 that this will pose a real problem to my plans.

And I'm aware of RO/DI systems, and I really can't go into that kind of investment right now -- is there any other way to help control the pH and keep it in the 7's? Or is it even a problem at all and I should just run with it??

Any advice would be great. Thanks.

Andrew

 

[Aiken Drum]

Catappa leaves, peat moss, driftwood. These will all lower pH by releasing tannins into the water and giving your tank a blackwater look. It would probably bring your pH down to high 7s, and would need replacing once the tannins have leeched out. These wont do much for hardness though.

If a blackwater look isnt what you are after, then the best option would be to mix in either RO or spring water with your tap water to bring pH and hardness down to where you want it. You can buy RO from a lot of fish stores, but really getting your own system and making your own water is going to be more cost effective long run.

The other option would be to go for fish that prefer your water parameters.

Fish are adaptable, and can adjust to a wide range of pH and hardness. If you are buying fish locally they will likely have been bred and raised in tap water similar to whats coming out of your tap. Above 8 for pH is high though. Maybe speak to your local fish store and ask them what their water parameters are and if they do anything to adjust the parameters.

 

[Colin_T]

What is the GH (general hardness) and KH (carbonate hardness) of your water supply?
This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

Depending on what the GH of your water is, will determine what fish you should keep.

Angelfish, discus, most tetras, most barbs, Bettas, gouramis, rasbora, Corydoras and small species of suckermouth catfish all occur in soft water (GH below 150ppm) and a pH below 7.0.

Livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies), rainbowfish and goldfish occur in medium hard water with a GH around 200-250ppm and a pH above 7.0.

If you have very hard water (GH above 300ppm) then look at African Rift Lake cichlids, or use distilled or reverse osmosis water to reduce the GH and keep fishes from softer water.

----------

If you have a high KH, you can add all the peat and leaves you want and it won't make any difference to the pH. You need to know exactly what level the KH and GH are and if they are over 200ppm, the only way to drop the pH will be to use reverse osmosis or distilled water.

If you have tannin stained water, it will reduce the light getting to any plants in the tank.

Most aquarium plants will be fine in water with a pH of 8.5.

If you have hard water with a high pH, rainbowfish, livebearers or Rift Lake cichlids are good options. Plants can be kept with rainbows if the fish get fed a vege based diet, otherwise they will eat soft leaf plants. Livebearers are fine with plants. Some of the Rift Lake cichlids are fine with plants but anything that digs will be an issue.

 

[ADW76]

Thank you!

Thanks for the advice. I'll be hitting up my LFS next week, so I'll ask them what they do as they are on the same water supply as I am.

Also thanks for the list of fish species and the water they need - this is extremely helpful!!

And to answer the GH/KH question - I have test strips that test those parameters and they came back as:

GH - 200+ ppm
kH - 90 ppm

I found a website from my water supplier with their daily stats, it didn't give my GH/KH directly, but here's what they gave me:

Total Hardness (mg/L as CaCO2): 163
pH: 8.1
Temperature (C): 2.3
Total Chlorine Residual (mg/L): 2.04
Alkalinity (mL/L as CaCO2): 119
Conductivity (uS/cm): 342
Caustic Soda (mg/L): 0.00

I'd love an interpretation of what that means?? LOL
I am a fair distance from the treatment plant - so I'm sure my parameters will be slightly different -- and I hate my test strips - so they probably are inaccurate.

Thanks again my friends -- appreciate the advice.

Andrew

 

[Colin_T]

And to answer the GH/KH question - I have test strips that test those parameters and they came back as:

GH - 200+ ppm
kH - 90 ppm

I found a website from my water supplier with their daily stats, it didn't give my GH/KH directly, but here's what they gave me:

Total Hardness (mg/L as CaCO2): 163
pH: 8.1
Temperature (C): 2.3
Total Chlorine Residual (mg/L): 2.04
Alkalinity (mL/L as CaCO2): 119
Conductivity (uS/cm): 342
Caustic Soda (mg/L): 0.00

I'd love an interpretation of what that means?? LOL
I am a fair distance from the treatment plant - so I'm sure my parameters will be slightly different -- and I hate my test strips - so they probably are inaccurate.

mg/L is milligrams per liter and is the same as ppm (parts per million).

Total Hardness is normally the GH. They say it is about 163 (probably ppm), which is the top end of soft and just below medium hardness. Fine for tetras and a bit low for livebearers.

The temperature is the water temperature when they test it. Some things will read higher or lower depending on temp but it's not normally much difference.

You have chlorine in the water supply, not chloramine. Chlorine is easier to remove. The world health organisation and health departments suggest a maximum chlorine level of 2ppm. Yours is 2.04ppm so that is normal.

Alkalinity is normally KH and yours is 119ppm so that is at the lower end. The alkalinity (KH) helps stop the pH from dropping. It's not that high so you should be able to lower it with peat moss of something that is acidic. The acids will be neutralised by the KH and as the KH comes down, the pH should start to drop. You will have to be careful doing this in the aquarium and it is safer to make up the water and adjust the pH a couple of days before the water is added to the tank.

Conductivity is the amount of electrical current that can pass through water. It's normally a combination of the minerals (KH, GH and anything else that is mineral based) in the water. It's nothing to worry about.

Caustic Soda, none so nothing to worry about.

------------

Basically you have soft water with a low KH and should be able to drop the pH easily. Your water is fine for tetras and probably even guppies, but livebearers do prefer it to be a bit harder (200ppm +). A GH of 160ppm is borderline for guppies. It's at the top end for tetras and Corydoras, but bottom end for guppies.

Your water won't change much even if you live 200 miles from the water supply plant. The water is treated before going into the pipes and is not exposed to much, if anything in the pipes that will affect it.

 

[ADW76]

Colin,

Thanks so much for the interpretation! You've made this so clear for me.

I really appreciate the fish recommendations too -- I was hoping to put in some platties -- but as they are livebearers -- I think I'll stick to tetras.

Means a lot that you took the time - thank you.

Andrew