high ph

[brittanykluss]

My ph has always been 8.8 or higher according to my master api kit.... my tank is cycled 0,0,10 . houston tap water ph is high..... is there anything i can do about it? chemicals i hear arent the way to go. and ive also heard a high stable pH is better than a fluctuating one????

suggestions?

 

[agwats]

I've heard peat moss will lower the ph but also clouds the water. This is just what I've heard and read though no personal experience.

 

[NoMoreGoldFish]

You could try using shrimp substrate from fluval or ADA. They're essentially tiny little mud balls, plants love them too.

 

[joel618]

Wood will naturally help lower the ph.

 

[brittanykluss]

Wood will naturally help lower the ph.

i have a pretty nice sized piece of driftwood in there now :/

 

[jcolon]

i have a pretty nice sized piece of driftwood in there now :/

Your high tap pH could be due to a high kH or other minerals giving you hard water. Usually pH is higher right out of the tap and lowers a bit after a day, but 8.8 is on the high side. You could look into RO/DI water ... maybe a 50/50 mix to bring down the pH.

Aside from that DW (may need to add more) and peat moss (added to your filter) are your best natural options.

 

[gabysapha]

My ph is very similar! I tried to find fish that would handle my water best, so i have some nice livebearers and super colorful snails and they are just fine. My local Petsmart has a pH of 7.6, so I tried getting common tropical fish and i havent lost any. Before buying fish online i always ask the seller what kind of water they were raised in, and sometimes the answers are surprising
Make sure you acclimate very slowly- use drip acclimation.
No RO for me- I'm not willing to pay that much or risk wasting water. My fish have adapted well, so that's all I'm asking for. I wouldnt be surprised if they lived a little shorter. If they were made got soft acidic water, i can't expect their bodies to function perfectly in mine

 

[Mogurako]

This is just a sign that you should keep African cichlids! I'd kill for 8.8 out of the tap!

I wouldn't trust or use those PH up or down chemicals they tend to make the ph very unstable which will hurt the fish.

Fluval sells little peat balls to put in your filter but I don't know how much that would Lower the ph. RO/DI water system would be the only other way.

If it were me id just get some Africans

 

[Reygan2]

This is just a sign that you should keep African cichlids! I'd kill for 8.8 out of the tap!

I wouldn't trust or use those PH up or down chemicals they tend to make the ph very unstable which will hurt the fish.

Fluval sells little peat balls to put in your filter but I don't know how much that would Lower the ph. RO/DI water system would be the only other way.

If it were me id just get some Africans

That is a fabulous idea. I've been going crazy trying to figure out what to put in my classroom tank. I just measured a ph of 8.4, one day after doing an 80% pwc. I guess I'll be shopping for Africans.