Ridiculously high ph

[SteelersFan]

I have never tested my tap before and only my tank. My tank has always had ph a little on the high side at 7.4-7.5. I decided to test tap and wow, 8.6 ph. I tested it just how i test my tank and even did it twice because i didn't believe it. Anyone else get that high ph in their tap?

 

[Fishfur]

I've heard of pH that high, though it's not that common on city treated water. Well water can be like liquid rock, depending where you are. I'm on city water from Lake Ontario and it's 8 or slightly more when it first exits the tap.

But there are still fish you can keep.. African lake cichlids are an obvious one.

 

[Rivercats]

When you test tap water you have to put some in a container and either aerate it or stir it off and on over a 24 hour period in order for it to gass off. Then you can test it at the 24 hour mark and this will give you the true ph of your tap water.

 

[Fishfur]

As Rivercats mentioned, though my tap water comes out at 8 or a bit more, a day later it's down to about 7.6 - 7.8.

 

[Coyne]

Ive never let mine aerate in a bucket for 24 hrs before testing, but Ive tested it after its been in the aquarium for 24 hrs. Is that the same thing, or am I being less than scientific in my methodology?
At any rate, its 8.2 - 8.4 straight from the tap and the same after being in the aquarium.

 

[Rivercats]

You should try aerating it for the 24 hours and see if there is a difference. Sometimes the results are surprising. Your not really measuring the true ph of the tap water without letting it gass off. All water is different and some doesn't have a lot to gass off.

 

[SteelersFan]

This would explain why my tank is all the way down to 7.4

 

[Fishfur]

Sure would.

 

[SteelersFan]

Right now im just running a planted 38 gallon with some bn plecos and an angelfish. I also want to start a 3 gallon planted tank with shrimp. Could they handle this ph?

 

[bshenanagins]

Right now im just running a planted 38 gallon with some bn plecos and an angelfish. I also want to start a 3 gallon planted tank with shrimp. Could they handle this ph?

Unless your real ph is in the 8's idt it's something to worry about. Most fish in the hobby now are raised in neutral ph so 7's is ok but always acclimate properly, preferably the drip method

 

[Rivercats]

I'm not a shrimp person but IMO Gh and Kh are more important to monitor than Ph.

 

[TheCommunityCichlid]

My ph comes out at 7.6 now but I had 8.0 before I moved. My girlfriend had well water that came out at 8.2 ph and 20ppm trates lol

 

[Fishfur]

I keep Ghosts, Fan shrimp of 3 species and cherry shrimp, stone shrimp and so called orange bee shrimp [ caridian propinqua].. all in water that comes from tap of around 8, which levels out to about 7.5 most of the time.

Crystal shrimp would not do well in this water, but most Neos would do ok, most likely. Drip acclimation makes a big difference, you might invest in a TDS meter.. Total Dissolved Solids.. which can help you measure not only the TDS of your own water, but that of the water new animals come in. Gives you a good idea how great the differences are.

Many shrimp keepers believe is it TDS that makes the major difference to survival of newly acquired shrimp.

 

[Pezzep]

I live in a small village, we have well water and my PH is around 8.5, my GH is over 400.

 

[Catfish Lover]

I have never tested my tap before and only my tank. My tank has always had ph a little on the high side at 7.4-7.5. I decided to test tap and wow, 8.6 ph. I tested it just how i test my tank and even did it twice because i didn't believe it. Anyone else get that high ph in their tap?

My ph is 8 out the tap, and rises to 8.4 in the tank 2 days later

 

[flitabout]

I have the opposite issues with off gassed tap out of the tap my water is 7.6 and after 24hr it has read as high as 8.8 I do have liquid rock! our city water faces many issues. our water comes from a limestone aquapher, and I live in farm country. So with all of the ferts added to the tillable land my nitrates can be as high as 40ppm. The way I am dealing with the water quality issue is I am using reverse osmosis bottled water that I am remineralizing. This is the only way I can keep the water stable enough for my tastes.