Need ideas on why my PH will not go down.
- Thread starter TJParker
- Start date
Umm well yes and no
Take a discus who has lived its entire life in a low PH tank and acclimate it to 7.8 over the course of a few hrs. This fish will not live long. You have to raise the PH over the course of weeks. I normally do not offer this bit of advice simply because reading something on the net can not teach someone how to do this in a manner that the fish doesn't die. It all has to do with their immune system and being vulnerable because of the quick change in peramiter. you have to give the soft water fish time to adjust. Even then there are still newer species of fish like some plecos that are pretty recent to the hobby and have not been bred enough to be able to cope. Keeping them in anything less than what they had in their natural habitat the fish can developer sores and on top of other things just stop eating, all leading to it's death.
No most fish are not home bred. There are HUGE farms in South Florida and Thailand that breeds the vast majority of FW fish you see at your LFS, and yes Discus are included in this list now.
I did not give a reason for the 24 hrs thing and why he should do it or ask what was in his tank for a very specific reason. And as planned I will discuss it tomorrow after he has done as I have asked. Lesson over for the night..Gnight all.
Take a discus who has lived its entire life in a low PH tank and acclimate it to 7.8 over the course of a few hrs. This fish will not live long. You have to raise the PH over the course of weeks. I normally do not offer this bit of advice simply because reading something on the net can not teach someone how to do this in a manner that the fish doesn't die. It all has to do with their immune system and being vulnerable because of the quick change in peramiter. you have to give the soft water fish time to adjust. Even then there are still newer species of fish like some plecos that are pretty recent to the hobby and have not been bred enough to be able to cope. Keeping them in anything less than what they had in their natural habitat the fish can developer sores and on top of other things just stop eating, all leading to it's death.
No most fish are not home bred. There are HUGE farms in South Florida and Thailand that breeds the vast majority of FW fish you see at your LFS, and yes Discus are included in this list now.
I did not give a reason for the 24 hrs thing and why he should do it or ask what was in his tank for a very specific reason. And as planned I will discuss it tomorrow after he has done as I have asked. Lesson over for the night..Gnight all.
I'm not a big fan of adding things to the tank to lower the pH, as stable pH is more important than a specific pH value.
However, I'm curious how your tank water gets to 8.4 when the tap water is 7. Seems like it would be best to figure out why this is happening, rather than figure out how to lower the pH after it rises.
I've read some people say to test the tap water with dechlorinator added. I didn't think that dechlor would alter the pH, but I suppose it's possible.
Looking forward to the results of TJ's "homework assignment".
However, I'm curious how your tank water gets to 8.4 when the tap water is 7. Seems like it would be best to figure out why this is happening, rather than figure out how to lower the pH after it rises.
I've read some people say to test the tap water with dechlorinator added. I didn't think that dechlor would alter the pH, but I suppose it's possible.
Looking forward to the results of TJ's "homework assignment".
Right lets get to the nub of this.. The pH from the tap is different to the pH in the tank..... ergo,, something is changing it...(with me so far?...) it is poss that there is something like lime/ calcium in the sustrate in which case the acid in the tap water is disolving it and making it more alkaline. The first thing anyone should do with any problems is to do regular water changes. 20 to 30 % at least once better twice a week. and most problems will simply go away...... For those which don't if you have good water quality and do regular changes then the pH won't rise too far and your fish will aclimatise. as has been mentioned already stable pH is the main thing. If you can stablise at about pH7 then good for you but in my experience 8.5 should not cause any problems with most community fish. and with regular water changes (have I mentioned that?) it should be fine...
Don't over feed (although that would tend to reduce the pH), change water regularly (twice a week is 10 times better than once). and once the tank is set up and stable ,,,, leave it.
Don't over feed (although that would tend to reduce the pH), change water regularly (twice a week is 10 times better than once). and once the tank is set up and stable ,,,, leave it.
Mr. Pure,
I tested my water last night from the tap and it was a 7 ph. I do have a water softner with potassium pellets I will check the PH after I let it sit for 24 hrs. like you suggested and post my results here.
So if the ph goes up after sitting for 24 hrs what does that mean?
Also to let everyone know I am trying to drop the ph natually and very slowly I would love to have discus that is why I'm trying to achieve the lower PH.
TJ
I tested my water last night from the tap and it was a 7 ph. I do have a water softner with potassium pellets I will check the PH after I let it sit for 24 hrs. like you suggested and post my results here.
So if the ph goes up after sitting for 24 hrs what does that mean?
Also to let everyone know I am trying to drop the ph natually and very slowly I would love to have discus that is why I'm trying to achieve the lower PH.
TJ
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Okay to let everyone know my substrate is just normal small gravel that you buy from Petco. I am hoping it is quartz so it dont up my PH.
I am stunned on why my PH is as high as it is but it is stable. This tank has been set up for about 3 months and I try to do a water change once a week but sometimes its every other week.
tj
I am stunned on why my PH is as high as it is but it is stable. This tank has been set up for about 3 months and I try to do a water change once a week but sometimes its every other week.
tj
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TJParker said:
Ok everyone my results are in from Mr. Pure's tap water test. After the 24 hrs the test has came back with a 8.5 ph. Now WTH does this mean????
Not really sure what to do about this. I guess you could let water sit out overnight before adding it to the tank, but that might be a pain in the ***.
Or maybe an RO unit would help? Not sure about this.
It means you have hard water that is very well buffered and thus thwarting your efforts at adjusting the pH. Presuming you understand buffering (& if not, google it, please), I'll leave it at that.
If you're that determined to lower the pH, take the plunge, invest in distilled or RO water and adjust the pH via conventional, chemical means. Ideally, you'd do this without fish being involved in the process.
Can't figure why the PWS (public water supply) would add CO2 except to prevent calcerous buildup in the distribution pipes.
If you're that determined to lower the pH, take the plunge, invest in distilled or RO water and adjust the pH via conventional, chemical means. Ideally, you'd do this without fish being involved in the process.
Can't figure why the PWS (public water supply) would add CO2 except to prevent calcerous buildup in the distribution pipes.
I'm not sure what is up with the municipal water either Etheostoma. Mine does about the same thing, altho doesn't go as high as his/hers. I do know that some acids do get into well water naturally and the PH will often go up as it out gases. Yeah have no clue tho what is up with city water doing this.
Honestly if it ain't broke don't fix it. 8.5 is a tad bit on the high side, but if you fish are doing ok in it then I see no reason to change it. PH stress doesn't kill slowly or cause the fish not to live as long as it should. If the PH stressed the fish they wouldn't last more than a couple of days if that.
Now the only thing you do need to worry about with this water is keeping fish that are very sensitive to PH. I wouldn't put discus or any other soft water fish in there. But the normal bred and butter fish should be fine.
This thread died because he/she PMed me.
And like I said in PM do be careful when doing waterchanges with non aged water. Dropping the PH too much too fast will certainly kill fish. When it raises the effects are not has harsh and they normally do ok. This is one of the reasons people with DIY CO2 don't kill their fish when the mix stops working. The PH raises very fast when the bottle is unhooked. But when hooked back up it lowers slowly as the yeast takes time to start producing it's CO2.
Honestly if it ain't broke don't fix it. 8.5 is a tad bit on the high side, but if you fish are doing ok in it then I see no reason to change it. PH stress doesn't kill slowly or cause the fish not to live as long as it should. If the PH stressed the fish they wouldn't last more than a couple of days if that.
Now the only thing you do need to worry about with this water is keeping fish that are very sensitive to PH. I wouldn't put discus or any other soft water fish in there. But the normal bred and butter fish should be fine.
This thread died because he/she PMed me.
And like I said in PM do be careful when doing waterchanges with non aged water. Dropping the PH too much too fast will certainly kill fish. When it raises the effects are not has harsh and they normally do ok. This is one of the reasons people with DIY CO2 don't kill their fish when the mix stops working. The PH raises very fast when the bottle is unhooked. But when hooked back up it lowers slowly as the yeast takes time to start producing it's CO2.
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Only thing I can figure, Pure, is that the water source is a deep, soft rock (carbonate) aquifer of which the surface land use is largely forestland and the acidic rainwater percolating through the leaves and other detritus results in a higher concentration of carbonic acid being maintained in the ground water. Probably karst geology dominates the immediate recharge area.
Usually means cleaner water that is extremely hard, low in dissolved oxygen, cold, and oh-so good on a hot summer's day, straight from the tap and containing more calcium per glass than milk! Also means that one should age or rest their water overnight, with an aerator, before adding to a populated tank.
[edit]
Gotta say it today....I love this place (the forum)!@!
Usually means cleaner water that is extremely hard, low in dissolved oxygen, cold, and oh-so good on a hot summer's day, straight from the tap and containing more calcium per glass than milk! Also means that one should age or rest their water overnight, with an aerator, before adding to a populated tank.
[edit]
Gotta say it today....I love this place (the forum)!@!