PH level is really high

[jehenry89]

I currently live right outside of philly and there we have tap water with a rating of about 7.2 PH. I recently set up a tank at my boyfriends house in north jersey and their tap water is outrageously hard, 8.2PH. I have never really had this issue so I am not really sure how to go about lowering it. The fish that are currently in there are adaptable however I am rather worried about the plants. Anyone have any solutions for me that I can use over the course of the next few weeks to slowly lower the PH?

 

[severum mama]

Hello and welcome to AA!

8.2 is high, but most plants should do just fine. If you aren't worried about your fish, I wouldn't bother trying to lower the pH.

 

[jehenry89]

Ya the fish are fine and are actually giving me baby fishies. We are in the process of upgrading this tank to a 55 gallon tank and I was going to look into some new species of live plants but I am new to the whole live plant scene. We started out in a smaller tank to see how well we could take care of them before we go on to a bigger and more expensive tank. We currently have a low light set up complete with Java Fern, Ozelot Sword and Anubias nana. Our new 55 gallon tank is going to be a moderate lighting set up with 110watts t5 6500k lights. However with the hard water here, are there any live plants I should stay away from? (We are not getting any PH sensitive fish)

 

[severum mama]

With the lighting you'll have, you should be good to try lots of different plant species. The ones you have now are very easy to grow and you shouldn't have any trouble with them. Sword plants are heavy root feeders and will benefit from root tabs.

 

[jehenry89]

Ya I have eco complete substrate and a root tab in their area. They are giving me about 1 new leaf a week which I read is a sign of a healthy plant.

I was using a different fish forum site but every time I google something, this forum seemed to have the most useful information so I made the switch.

 

[Rivercats]

Most plants will do fine, there are some plants that don't do well in hard water but if you research plants before you buy them you can avoid getting any that won't like that hard of water. Bolbitus along with Rotala Wallichii and Macrandra are common ones that often don't do well in hard water.

 

[severum mama]

Most plants will do fine, there are some plants that don't do well in hard water but if you research plants before you buy them you can avoid getting any that won't like that hard of water. Bolbitus along with Rotala Wallichii and Macrandra are common ones that often don't do well in hard water.

Thanks for providing some specifics!

OP- if you have not tried Cryptocorynes, I think you would like them. They are heavy root feeders like swords (so provide root tabs) , and there are a lot of species available in the hobby. When I lived in areas with a high pH, they did just as well for me as they do in my current soft water situation. Most Cryptocorynes are easy to keep.

 

[candymancan]

Get a decent sized driftwood piece for your tank... That will lower the PH down by like .6 I have one in all my tanks and our water is around 7.8PH and with the wood the tanks are around 7.0-7.2

 

[flitabout]

I would love to have 8.2 water! Right now I am fighting water that is 8.8 or higher.

 

[jehenry89]

Sorry about the late response...have been busy. I have a price of driftwood in my 20 gallon tank which I am going to put into my new 55 gallon tank. I do want to get another piece. Afterer researching plants...a lot of the ones that I fell in love with need co2 supplement, so I gave in and purchased one. Thanks for all your advice!

 

[mrvincent]

You can beat with your parameters, or you can buy fish that like PH 8.2.

To lower it, reverse osmose water will work.