How important is Ph?

[Joetoyc]

Reading through the forum I’ve noticed that many have Ph levels that, compared to some of the books I’ve read, are much higher than recommended. How important is Ph level, and are recommended levels more for breeding? I have a Dwarf Gourami and 6 Neon Tetras. Everything I read about the Dwarf said ideal Ph levels are between 7.5 and 6. For the Tetras I’ve read they need soft, acidic water with a Ph of 6-7. My city tap water Ph is 7.6, I’ve been working on getting below 7; I added some peat moss. Is this all unnecessary? I really want a German Blue Ram; I’ve read they need a Ph of 6-7, any GBR owners out there who say this is bogus?

 

[Joetoyc]

Sorry all, I meant to put this in the general area.

 

[WhiteDevil]

I was told my Ph which is 8.2 was fine for rams, I have two angels a betta, neons, other hodgepodge tetras, 3 kuhlis and 2 cats and no death at all, they arent stressed either in the least bit.

 

[jsoong]

As long as you take care to acclimatize the fish to your water, you should be able to keep fish out of the "ideal" range. Stability of the pH is far more important.

Also, most tank bred fish had been kept in artificial environment for so many generations that talking about their "native" natural water conditions is fairly meaningless. You are better off asking what water the breeder keep the fish in .....

7.6 is fine for the fish you want to keep. Our water is 7.8 and the lfs keep DG & neons in unaltered water. <You will only need to mess with the pH if you want to breed certain sensitive fish .... and that is not even an absolute, as people are having success spawning finicky fish like discus in hard water.>

 

[mgamer20o0]

As long as you take care to acclimatize the fish to your water, you should be able to keep fish out of the "ideal" range. Stability of the pH is far more important.

Also, most tank bred fish had been kept in artificial environment for so many generations that talking about their "native" natural water conditions is fairly meaningless. You are better off asking what water the breeder keep the fish in .....

7.6 is fine for the fish you want to keep. Our water is 7.8 and the lfs keep DG & neons in unaltered water. <You will only need to mess with the pH if you want to breed certain sensitive fish .... and that is not even an absolute, as people are having success spawning finicky fish like discus in hard water.>

right on.

 

[An t-iasg]

Moved to the General Discussion forum.

 

[drillsar2]

Basically the way to lower PH is to use driftwood, to raise ph you will need crushed coral or Calcium Sand, never use PH up or Down or any buffers this will make PH swing which is far worse.

As long as ph is stable it's fine.

 

[Joetoyc]

The peat moss I added seems to have worked, my Ph is down to 6.8-7, which is what I was aiming for.

 

[miniflea84]

When I bought my very first fish, the guy at the store was very insistent that my pH absolutely needed to be 7. He went and grabbed a (very large) thing of pH powder, "proper pH" I believe the brand name was. I'm convinced that my constant fiddling with it was a major factor in the deaths of all my first fish. Poor tiger barbs, I wish I'd known better.

The moral of the story is, STABLE is the name of the game. Stability is far more important than getting it exactly to the "ideal" value. My constantly adding the stuff, and then adding some more when I noticed the pH bounced back (I've got fairly hard water) stressed the fish way more than if I had just left it alone.