going to war!!!

[donle]

So after being such a noob...I decided to call my water company and get the specs on my water. Now being that i'm such a noob this print out makes no sense to me. maybe you guys can figure it out. I asked him the ph out of the tap and it is a huge 9.5 out of the tap. the hardness is 110 prts per million. which he said is actually pretty soft...So here's another couple of noob questions. Once tank is done cycling and fish are added will this come down and stable? With the exception of chemicals is there anything I can do drop the ph to a comfy ph and keep it stable. Are there (my luck, I doubt it) fish that enjoy a ph this high? Or am I just going to war with ph.

 

[ryanoh]

You can add wood to lower pH.

 

[donle]

unless I put a giant piece of wood in I don't think it's going to make a difference. I read the with ph this high..the wood wouldn't even make a dent in the levels. damn I'm getting annoyed. I don't think the chemical would make it stable..sure it'll bring it down..then when it sweeps..BAM I got dead fish. I don't have the money to buy an RO system. I thought about one of those filter you put on your sink faucet, but they'll only do up too like 200 gallons...so with a 55 gallon tank...that gives me a couple water changes before i'm out buying more filters..not trying to sound lazy or cheap..but geeze!!!

 

[OrangeCones]

I asked him the ph out of the tap and it is a huge 9.5 out of the tap.

My tap water started out Friday (Saturday is big water change day at my house) at 9.7. After setting out overnight, then dechloriniating it, it was 7.8. My tank's driftwood bring it to 7.1 to 7.3 normally.

Test your water after its aged a bit and then dechlorinated, see what values you are really working with.

Acidic water will cause your waterpipes to fail over time, which is why the water departments pump it up with additives to keep it over 7. Once a decent dechlor is used (one that takes care of chlorine, ammonia, and heavy metals), you should have halfway descent water to deal with.

 

[OrangeCones]

I thought about one of those filter you put on your sink faucet, but they'll only do up too like 200 gallons...so with a 55 gallon tank...that gives me a couple water changes before i'm out buying more filters..not trying to sound lazy or cheap..but geeze!!!

We tried the sink filtering system route, and it made very very little difference in the water quality. It took some of the TDS (Total Disolved Solids) out, but a good charcoal pouch in a filter does more.

 

[Meleemaker]

Aging your water is probably the best way to go about lowering your PH level.....My water sits in 5 gallon collapables. And I age 25 gallons worth of water at a time(5 containers) and it takes up a lot of room in my room, but it allows my water to age a week before I change water in my 55, and 4, 10 gallons and have a little bit left over to mix with the new stuff. If you want to try that, get the blue jugs you see with water dispensers are offices. They are like 10 dollars a bottle(5 gal) and you can changing 10-20% of your water a week.

Drift wood I know helps, and ive heard that peat moss is also somthing that helps with water hardness and Ph. Too much Ph lower will be bad for your fish too. Your dumping acid into the water trying to make it neutral

 

[donle]

i had no idea that letting the water sit would lower the ph. I always add the dechlorinator...but had no idea it made a difference on the ph.