Well...

[Derek015]

hello

I recently joined the site and i am in dire need of help

can anyone help me here? I have a 55g tank and i recently had it as a "pond" tank
and i have well water here at my house and the pH is around 8.0-8.4
i use Myriatik acid to buffer the pH to 7.0
i was just at Petco and they used a strip tester and my pH was supposedly at 8.4 again after i buffered it to 7 and i tested their water with my testing kit and it had their water off the charts and i dont know what to do
i have 10 neon tetras floating in my tank waiting to be released the goldfish all died cause the pH had an abrupt change from acidic to neutral
the pH tester box says "Delux pH test kit" "fast easy and accurate" manufactured by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals, INC. reads pH from 6.0-7.6 do you think this is a good one the tetras are still alive from my water
so i dont know what to think
this place is my last resort

i hope someone can help me asap

Thanks for you help

*EDIT*

to clarify

My water from the tap is 8.0-8.2 very alkaline
the water from the store(i tested it) said it was very alkaline
my water tested as a nuetral 7 but the store tested it as an 8.4+ but i had added enough acid for my test kit to say 7

im so confused hopefully you guys can help me

 

[rubysoho]

sorry for your losses

first and foremost, stop using those chemicals, they are the cause to your problems. It is much better to have a steady pH than try to use chemicals to achieve the "perfect" pH. Those chemicals end up causing swings in the pH which is very detrimental. Most fish these days (aside from wild caught and more sensative fish) are able to adjust to a variety of pH's so long as you take the time to slowly introduce them.

Now, if you still want to have a pH of 7.0 and have the money, you'll need to get an RO/DI machine. Or you can buy the water at your LFS. Your other option is to use peat moss and driftwood, but depending on the hardness and natural buffers of your water, it may not go down much.

Try going without changing the pH for a while and see how your fish do. It may be that you'll never be able to keep the more sensative tetras BUT there is hope. Many beautiful fish thrive in a higher pH. Check out African Cichlids. They are pretty cool with loads of personality.

Last but not least, welcome to AA!

 

[Derek015]

thanks for the welcome and there is a water softener in my basement so africans is out of the question and they cost alot

I am supposed to be getting hired this december and i want to get a RO/DI machine cause before i moved from St. Louis, Missouri i had a pH of 6.8-7.0 out of the tap but really hard water so i got water softeners and i had 5 discus in my 55 gal but had to sell them anyways back to now i have such troubles with my water

my water straight from the faucet gives a reading of high alkalinity so the acid buffer works well its very concentrated the mass death i had was of my own fault and i made it too acidic it wasnt an on purpose deal its just that we have such stubborn water chemistry here and its hard to work with

hoplefully this new info helps

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Also, if you want to naturally bring the ph down some and keep it steady, try adding driftwood. My tap is around 8.1, and my tanks are 7.1-7.2. And I add no chemicals, not even to the PWC. I'll definitely have driftwood in my 55G when I set it up Monday. That's when my filter is due to arrive via UPS.

 

[megladonsharky]

How about cichlids many of them would love that ph and this keeps me from haveing tham as my ph is 6.8

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I've got a Bolivian Ram, and he does absolutely great.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Now I don't know if driftwood would raise the ph from 6.8, but I know that my tap is about 8.1, and my tank maintains 7.1 on average, sometimes I get a reading of 7.2, and I add no chemicals. I got 4 pieces of driftwood in the tank, each 8-12 inches. 3 are Malaysian, and 1 is African. The Malaysians I got from Petco. I soaked them for 3 weeks, then added to the tank. No boiling or bleach treatment.

 

[megladonsharky]

Driftwood lowers not raisies... in my tank it was a small tank and small piece and lower to 6.5... bigger peice bigger drop but it should be temporary..

 

[Derek015]

well still i want to do africans

but my water is too soft! i have a water softener in the basement

 

[BillD]

Use the unsoftened water.

 

[Guest]

you can add stuff like crushed coral to the tank to make the water harder for africans. But the best thing to do is to not try to mess with the pH with the chemicals becuase you will constantly have swings in the pH.
For example you can use peat moss in the filter to lower the pH naturally, or as was said Driftwood. These naturally lower the pH and usually don't have the drastic pH swings. The chemicals cuase the swings in the pH and then when you do water changes it just swings again and you can never get it "just right" which is why the fish die.
For most fish you can just leave the pH alone adn they will adapt to it.

 

[Derek015]

well yea but i mean they cant adapt to the pH when the come home from the store

 

[Guest]

well yea but i mean they cant adapt to the pH when the come home from the store

yes they can. Especially if you drip accimilate them. Just float the bags in your aquarium like you usually do.. but about every 5 minutes add a few drops of your aquarium water to the bag. Then after an hour or so you can net the fish out of the bag and into your aquarium.

And 9 times out of 10 the fish store is going to have water very similar to your water.

 

[Derek015]

i thought you meant that my water out of the tap(which is around 8.0) is the pH they can adjust to not a nuetral pH around 7 :?

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Did you say you use a water softener that's in the basement? Is there a faucet or valve on the water line prior to the water softener? Or could you do that as a project, add a splitter that goes to a faucet so you can get water prior to the water conditioner? Just an idea. The water there may be what you need.

 

[Zagz]

Another thing you can do with water softners, is a lot of softners have a bi-pass switch or lever. The day you plan on doing the water changes, bi-pass the water softner and after the water changes turn it back on again. I do that and it works well. Just remember to do it early enough before the water change so as to use up any water already softened.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

That's cool, thanks for that info Zags. I didn't know some had a bypass. I don't have a softener here, but I know people who do.

 

[Guest]

i thought you meant that my water out of the tap(which is around 8.0) is the pH they can adjust to not a nuetral pH around 7 :?

They CAN adjust to a pH of around 8... I keep angel fish in my water that is usually 7.6-7.8. It is better to LEAVE IT ALONE than add chemicals
your other alternative is to get a RO system... but they can and will live just fine in the water you have.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Most hardy fish can adapt. 8.4 (which you said is often what your tap tests) is a bit high though IMO and I personally don't think many fish can adapt to something higher than 8.0 (unless you have fish that specifically like that kind of water). A neon tetra would not fare well in that water. Didn't you say you had a bag waiting to go in? How are they doing? Like was said already, bypass the muriatic acid and get fish that can adapt to the pH that you have out of your tap. I know it limits your selection, but it's also a lot easier to deal with then buffering with chemicals and having many fish losses.

Peat moss and driftwood are the best ways to go to lower pH naturally.

HTH

 

[Derek015]

Thanks for the advice

I have only lost 2 tetras so im at 10 now and i believe it was from teperature change it was at 82 yesterday ya i know but its down to 78 right now took forever to change the temp