PH and plants

[Yellowfire]

Hi, so currently I have pretty moderate light level (138w cfl) and no co2 in my 40g tank. My ph is about 8.3 and I have no rocks or anything in there that would be raising it to take out. From most of the things I have read online it says plants typically like ph lower (max about 7.8).

Would my ph be safe for plants once them take some time to acclimate to it, or would I have to take steps to lower it if I want most plants to do well in my tank? Thanks.

 

[Old Scales]

You don't say what plants you have. Many will do OK at that Ph and some won't. Look at online sites and research info. There are plenty of options that will make a beautiful planted tank at that Ph. I personally would try small amounts of what you like. If they grow well log them as good. Many plants I've read do best at neutral Ph will surprise you as to how well they will acclimate. Anubias, Wisteria and many ferns do well at that Ph. Good luck. OS.

 

[Yellowfire]

You don't say what plants you have. Many will do OK at that Ph and some won't. Look at online sites and research info. There are plenty of options that will make a beautiful planted tank at that Ph. I personally would try small amounts of what you like. If they grow well log them as good. Many plants I've read do best at neutral Ph will surprise you as to how well they will acclimate. Anubias, Wisteria and many ferns do well at that Ph. Good luck. OS.

Right now I just have a couple java ferns, but I was looking at some taller plants I could use for a background plant. Pretty much all I saw was 6.5-7.5 ph.

 

[gravereaper0]

You can lower it with driftwood. Or if you plan on doing co2 that will also lower it

 

[Yellowfire]

You can lower it with driftwood. Or if you plan on doing co2 that will also lower it

I've read that driftwood doesn't really lower it that much (~.2 ph if I recall right). Not sure if that is correct or not. I would prefer to not bother trying to adjust the ph, I'm just not sure if that is practical or not if I want healthy plants.

Right now I don't really have the funds to get a co2 system, but I will probably end up investing in one sometime down the road.

 

[Rivercats]

Have you tested the ph of your tap water? In order to get a correct reading you need either aerate a glass of water or stir it off and on over a 24 hour period. This allows the water to gas off. The test it after 24 hours and this will give you the correct ph of your tap water.

The reason for doing this is you can then see if your high ph is indeed from your tap water or if something in your tank is causing it. Not long ago someone posted with this problem in a newly set up tank. When I asked what substrate they had they gave me the exact name of it. I looked it up and sure enough it gave a warning on the page that due to some minerals that could be in the gravel ph can be elevated. They also had a ph of 8 something. So rule out your tap water.

You can safely and easily soften water buy cutting your tap water with RO water. I do this in some of my tanks.

Now as for plants many can acclimate to higher ph. Some plants like Rotala's Wallichii, Rotala Macrandra, and Bolbitus just to name a few will not flourish and might actually die. So as already suggested research all the plants you are considering using in the tank. And remember the ph range given for plants is usually their "preferred" ph range but doesn't mean they can't necessarily tolerate higher ph.

 

[aqua_chem]

I would go so far as to say that the majority of plants commonly used are easily adapted to high pH/KH/GH environments, with a number actually preferring it (eg vallisneria). I've grown Rotala wallichii and macrandra, bolbitis fern, and some more blasé erio species in very hard water before. In the end, plants can overcome a inconvenience as long as your other fundamentals are solid.


That's not to say there aren't plants that can't be kept in super hard water. There are, but they are generally uncommon in the hobby.

 

[Yellowfire]

Have you tested the ph of your tap water? In order to get a correct reading you need either aerate a glass of water or stir it off and on over a 24 hour period. This allows the water to gas off. The test it after 24 hours and this will give you the correct ph of your tap water.

The reason for doing this is you can then see if your high ph is indeed from your tap water or if something in your tank is causing it. Not long ago someone posted with this problem in a newly set up tank. When I asked what substrate they had they gave me the exact name of it. I looked it up and sure enough it gave a warning on the page that due to some minerals that could be in the gravel ph can be elevated. They also had a ph of 8 something. So rule out your tap water.

You can safely and easily soften water buy cutting your tap water with RO water. I do this in some of my tanks.

Now as for plants many can acclimate to higher ph. Some plants like Rotala's Wallichii, Rotala Macrandra, and Bolbitus just to name a few will not flourish and might actually die. So as already suggested research all the plants you are considering using in the tank. And remember the ph range given for plants is usually their "preferred" ph range but doesn't mean they can't necessarily tolerate higher ph.

I let some water sit out and put an airstone in it; the ph of that water and my tank were identical, couldn't tell the two apart when I did a ph test looking at them right next to each other, so I'm pretty sure it's just my tap water.

I was thinking I might do some wisteria and maybe trying to do some diy root tabs with osmocote. Do you have any experience with that? All the info I could find seemed to all be from 2011 or before on the subject. Was it a fad thing to do a couple years or is it tried and tested now and shown to be at least somewhat effective?

 

[Rivercats]

Wisteria is fine to get. A lot of people still make and use Osmocote DIY tabs. I personally don't but if you start a thread asking how others make them I'm sure you'll get a lot of responses.