pH questions

[JoeFreshnSalt]

I have a few questions about pH in relationship to adding fish and plants.* My pH is at 8 out of the tap and also conditioned with Prime and sitting for at least 24 hrs. The same pH in my tank as well.


My kh is 5

* * * GH is 8


I have tried the Api pH down and I get it to 7.8 then I check it 24 hours later and it is back up to 8. Should I use a water softner pillow?


My goal is that I would like to add plants but I'm afraid that if my pH is so high I would just be setting myself up for dead plants.


I also don't want to keep messing around with chemicals in fear of harming the fish. If I am stuck with this high pH and after adding plants I want to add fish how do I properly acclimate them if the LFS has a pH that is more than a .2 difference?


Not sure what to do here.* Thanks ahead for any ideas or suggestions.

 

[coralbandit]

It is the kH that holds your pH steady.
You need to cut your water with ro or distilled if you want to consistently and accurately lower your ph.
Drip acclimating is the only way to go unless the fish are shipped to you ,then this may vary.

 

[Khuligirl93]

pH of 8 is fine. Don't worry about pH. Your plants will be fine. Messing with the pH and changing it with chemicals will do more harm than good. Plants and fish need a consistent pH more than they need any specific value (with the exception of breeding sensitive fish like discus). There are other more important chemical levels to worry about for plants and fish such as ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and phosphate.
Did the LFS tell you their pH, or did you test it yourself? If you live in the same city as the LFS, I would think your pH should be very similar. It's rare that a LFS uses RODI water in their freshwater tanks.

Drip acclimating is a good way to acclimate fish very slowly.

 

[JoeFreshnSalt]

I will check with my LFS on their pH , I just assumed they would have better parameters. I haven't checked phosphate yet, all others are excellent. I looked up the drip acclimation, I like that process and will incorporate it into my fish keeping. Thanks for you time and info.

 

[Khuligirl93]

Never assume a LFS has good water quality (but there's nothing wrong with a pH of 8). I worked at a very high end aquarium store for 2 years and I will say from experience, it's nearly impossible to keep low nitrates with the high volume of fish that come in and out weekly.
I was doing water changes for 4+ hours every day and couldn't get them below 40. With the huge amount of incoming fish and the stress of shipping and acclimating, it's also very common for LFSs to have diseases. Look at the tank and fish very carefully to make sure everything in the tank looks healthy. The store I worked at would refuse to sell from a sick tank, but most LFSs are not knowledgeable enough to identify a disease or they just don't care unfortunately.