What Do You Think About These Water Parameters?

[Just Another Fish Guy]

I've had my tank up and running with fish for a few months now. Currently Ammonia is at .25ppm because I added 10 Neon Tetras and 2 Agassizi Cory's yesterday so the tank is going through a mini cycle, but outside of that Ammonia and Nitrites are always at 0ppm and Nitrates are under 10ppm.

What has me a bit concerned is my pH which has always been 8.2 (that's what it is out of the tap). You guys think this is too high?

Temp is 79.5 and that's without the heaters being turned on lol.

Current stock are Tetras and Cory's.

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[dalto]

There is really no set appropriate value for pH.

It is also very hard to advise on an appropriate pH without knowing exactly where your fish came from. If those tetra's were raised in a pH of 5 than acclimating them to 8.2 will probably shorten their life considerably. On the other hand if they were raised at 7.5 it may be OK. With all the farm raised fish out there and the variability in the water at those farms it makes it really hard to provide good advice on an appropriate pH. That being said, neon tetras, especially farm raised neons are pretty fragile so high pH may be a bigger issue for them than it would your average fish.

 

[Angela1108]

Also something to consider- when you mess around with ph it is worse than keeping it constantly. The fluxes in it will stress a fish more than its high or it's low. Fish will adjust eventually. Is it the most ideal? Maybe not but I think a constant ph is better than one always fluctuating.


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[BBradbury]

Your Tank

I've had my tank up and running with fish for a few months now. Currently Ammonia is at .25ppm because I added 10 Neon Tetras and 2 Agassizi Cory's yesterday so the tank is going through a mini cycle, but outside of that Ammonia and Nitrites are always at 0ppm and Nitrates are under 10ppm.

What has me a bit concerned is my pH which has always been 8.2 (that's what it is out of the tap). You guys think this is too high?

Temp is 79.5 and that's without the heaters being turned on lol.

Current stock are Tetras and Cory's.

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Hello Just...

I recommend a lot of water changes to maintain a steady water chemistry. Weekly water changes of half the tank's volume will keep the tank water free of the more toxic forms of nitrogen, like ammonia and nitrite. If you keep the tank water warmer, you'll need more oxygen mixed into the tank water. Another small filter or an airstone attached to an air pump will help.

The pH, hardness and such isn't very important to a healthy tank. Most fish you get at the pet store will tolerate most public water supplies. A pH between 6 and 8.5 is fine, as long as it's constant. An aggressive water change routine will guarantee this.

Add some floating plants to the tank. I like Hornwort. It will readily use all the forms of nitrogen and keep the tank water cleaner between water changes.

B

 

[Just Another Fish Guy]

I do weekly water changes of at least 50%...the Ammonia is just a bit high now because I added 12 fish on Saturday. Once the mini cycle is over it'll be back down to 0ppm.

I was just more concerned with the pH. I know it's better to keep it stable; plus I drip acclimate everything.

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[Laird-and-Dad]

Hi! In my tank I have a pH of 8.4 with neons, so they should be fine. Also, I would ask your LFS what pH they keep their tanks at. Mine happens to keep theirs at the same because that's the pH of the local water. Chances are, your LFS just uses local water like you put in your tank, so it should be fine.

 

[Just Another Fish Guy]

That's good to hear!! Now I just need thus bacteria bloom to go away. Also lost another Neon today so I'm down to 8.

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[Laird-and-Dad]

That's normal. The guy at my LFS said that he usually gets more neons than necessary because a couple always well....

The bloom should go away on its own eventually. You should go back to seeing 0 ammo/trItes again when the bloom starts to die down.

 

[Just Another Fish Guy]

That's what I'm looking forward to. Next time I go to the store, I'll have to pick up few more Neons to replace the ones that died. Hopefully I don't lose anymore.

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