Changing PH

[talk2mejjv]

I need some major help. I have had my aquarium for a long time but ph is a confusing thing to me. I do know that it is very important but I don't know how to change it and maintain it. My ph is at a high level right now, which I know is not good for my tropical fish. I tested it with a strip and it is between 7.8 and 8.4 but I don't know the exact pH. What do I do? I have a chemical by Jungle that is a ph decreaser, but it says not to change the ph more than .5 in 24 hours. I have to add 1 teaspoon to every 20 gallons. My tank is a 55 gallon. How should I handle this problem without harming my fish. I also have another chemical called Correct pH by Jungle. It says to add 1 tablet for every 10 gallons. It has the same rule about no more than .5 change in 24 hours. What do I do? I need some help from people who have some experience with this please. Thanks!
P.S. Some of my fish seem to have ick also. I think it is because of my weak water conditions. I was going to treat them but I don't know if I should treat the main tank or not. Will it hurt anything? Can the chemicals be mixed with the Correct pH or pH Decreaser?​

 

[Pure]

Flush your PH changing chemicals down the toilet. They are worthless and cause more harm than good. For most tropicals a stable PH is far more important than "proper PH".

Adding those chems will work, but how well and how much to use will depend on your KH. If it is high your water has more of a buffering ability and the chems will have to be dosed in higher amounts to be effective. Even then the effects don't last long and it is next to impossible to keep the PH stable like this.

Also toss those test strips and get the drop style test kit. It will give you a more accurate picture of where your PH is.

 

[talk2mejjv]

So what should I do to make sure it is stable and keep my fish healthy? And how should I treat the Ick if I don't have a separate medicine tank?

 

[Pure]

Simple. Don't do anything to it. Most trops can adapt and live perfectly healthy in any reasonable PH. Not messing with it will ensure that it remains stable.

For the ich, raise the tanks temp to 85-86 degrees, and dose with any normal med for treating ich. If you have inverts stay away from ich meds that have copper in them such as copper safe. If you have scaleless fish like clown loaches use the copper safe as they are sensitive to the other meds.