Slightly high PH, what should I do?

[Iris135]

I have been maintaining a 29 gallon tank for about 4 months now. The pH has steadily been around 8.0. At first I thought that it may be caused by the large piece of driftwood in the tank, but tested dechlorinated water straight from the tap and it tested around 7.8-8.0. There are dannios, barbs, a redtail shark and a gouarmi in the tank. Of those species I believe that 8.0 is only optimal for the gourami.

Will this pH level be harmful in the long run? I really don't plan in investing in in RO unit I a get a SW system. I am weary of adding chemicals because it will cause spikes in pH levels. I am thinking that a constant high pH is better than a fluctuating one. The fish seem to be well adjusted and active, but sometimes the barbs are quite still like glass fish, other times they are busy-bodies.

I mentioned in another thread that a LPS actually recommended that we add African cichlids to our tank. They are still there, I have not seen any real issues yet, but the gouarmi likes to chase them. I still plan on removing them soon. Since our public water supply has a higher pH, will it be feasible to just have a few specimen from smaller African cichild species since they prefer the higher pH? The two that we have would still have to be removed because they will get too large.

Thx

 

[BBradbury]

pH Question

Hello Iris...

Unless you plan to keep and breed rare fish, you don't need to worry about pH, hardness or any of this. The vast majority of aquarium fish will adapt to the vast majority of public water supplies. They've been doing it for decades. A pH between 6 and even as high as 8.5 is more than tolerable for most fish, as long as the levels are constant.

So, don't try to change anything. That can cause changes in the water properties and hurt your fish. Just treat the replacement water with the standard liquid that removes the things the city puts into the tap water to make it safe to drink, like chlorine and chloramine.

B

 

[Andrewz00]

Hello Iris...

Unless you plan to keep and breed rare fish, you don't need to worry about pH, hardness or any of this. The vast majority of aquarium fish will adapt to the vast majority of public water supplies. They've been doing it for decades. A pH between 6 and even as high as 8.5 is more than tolerable for most fish, as long as the levels are constant.

So, don't try to change anything. That can cause changes in the water properties and hurt your fish. Just treat the replacement water with the standard liquid that removes the things the city puts into the tap water to make it safe to drink, like chlorine and chloramine.

B

Cant agree more... DO NOT try and change your PH unless 100% necessary for specific breeds of fish... a steady PH is way more important then a specific PH....

when introducing new fish from the LFS make sure you acclimate them properly to the PH of your tank... i usually do a 2-3 hour drip acclimation.

 

[Mebbid]

Hello Iris...

A pH between 6 and even as high as 8.5 is more than tolerable for most fish, as long as the levels are constant.
B

Well said BB. A fluxuating ph level will do more damage to your fish than having a normally high one. While the fish may potentially do better with the correct ph levels, its a huge effort to keep them steady.