# high ph



## Bear (Jun 8, 2006)

ok, yesterday i got most of the stuff needed to start my new tank, i just need gravel fake plants fish and food. I tested my tap water and found that it has a ph of 8.4, how can i bring that down to 7?


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## book_em_danio (Jun 12, 2006)

http://www.aquariumpharm.com/en_us/productCategory.asp?categoryname=WaterConditioners
There's a downside... it's best not to chemically alter pH. In many cases, it bounces right back up. This fluctuation is more of a problem than the actual pH. 
8.4 is *really* high. I'd check it again. I'd also let the sample sit for 24 hours before testing, before I jumped to any conclusions.
While 8.4 is something Angelfish probably could never get used to, if it is indeed 8.4, many African Cichlids would be delighted. Most live bearers wouldn't freak out either. Perhaps you want to keep fish more in line with the water you have.
Just a thought... did you test with the low or hi range kit? My water at home runs about 6.8-7.0 pH. I test with a low range kit. I'm off the bottom of the scale with the high range kit. Conversely, if your water was 8.4 and you tested with a low range kit, you'd be over the top with that kit. 
8.4 just seems too extreme. I know people with 7.5-8, which is high,but nobody with tap water over 8. That must be rare. Is the water so hard it doesn't lather in the washer or tub? Do you have hard water stains? I'd bet if the pH was that high, the hardness would be to.


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## mrmoby (Jan 18, 2005)

Bear it sounds like you are taking the water out of my well*lol*

It sounds like you likely have very hard water, which is tough to remedy unless you add a water softener. And if you did add the softener(which isn't easy or cheap) it will increase your water's instability (meaning you will be more prone to ph swings). Your water, if nothing else, should be very stable, which in the big picture is most important.

Perhaps you could try adding a piece of driftwood, or some peat to the filter, but I really doubt it will do much. Don't even waste your time with the chemical treatments.

A lot of people focus on ph, and I did too when I started, but now I don't even test it. You might want to research what fish do better in high ph, but even then, I wouldn't get too hung up on it. I have cichlids, which have done very well as the other poster stated. I also keep another community tank with mostly a variety of tetras that have done very well.


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## Bear (Jun 8, 2006)

hmmm, ok well alot of the cichlids are very pretty as well, so perhaps i will go that route. I am going to set up the test again and this time i will let it sit. and yes i did use a high range test. thanks for the help guys, please if there is nething else ne one wants to add, post it.


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

There are only 2 safe ways to bring ph down, and none of them involve adding chemicals to a tank.

1. Mix your water with R.O. water.

2. Add Co2

You need to find out what your KH is as this is important to know when altering water PH.


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## Bear (Jun 8, 2006)

ok well for some reason the water from outside of my house is only 7.4, so i guess i will haul the water from outside


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## CaysE (May 21, 2006)

So the water from say your kitchen sink is 8.4... but the faucet outside is 7.4? Contamination in the line maybe?


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## harif87 (Jun 5, 2006)

pH shouldnt be your main concern. Fish can live and tolerate pH ranges outside of their perferred ones. People say mylasian drift wood will do the trick, personally i think its a fairy tale as ive had it in my tank for a while now (but hey thats just me. 

Also if you want you could try a buffer that will bring your pH down and keep it there. But if your tap water is of pH 8 then i dont suggest that. RO water isnt the best since it lacks certain nutrients needed by your fish but since you have no options i would go with that. 

CO2 Injection is also another alternative to lower pH as it increase the amount of Carbonic Acid in your water. But it would be needed to be kept constant because the moment you stop the in-flow of CO2 that will be the moment that your pH sky rockets, which is far more dangerous to the fish than simply having the pH remain at a higher range.


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## northfacehiker (May 31, 2006)

My pH is 8.6 out of my tap. I have to use the high pH test to get an accurate reading on it. By filling a 5 gallon bucket and putting in an airstone in overnight, the pH drops down to about 7.6 after 12-14 hours. As I don't have CO2 in my tank, I use pH down to get it down to 7.0 or so. Not everyone would use that method, but it works for me and I haven't seen any adverse effects from it.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

You use pH down in the bucket? Don't put it in the tank.


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## SkipT (Jun 15, 2006)

Simpte said:


> There are only 2 safe ways to bring ph down, and none of them involve adding chemicals to a tank.
> 
> 1. Mix your water with R.O. water.
> 
> ...


I agree these are the only 2 safe ways of doing it but keep in mind if you stop injecting Co2 the PH WILL crash on you. 

I myself when I first started keeping fish worried about PH alot but I could not tell you what any of my tanks are running on PH at this very moment. 

I don know chilads can stand a very wide range as long as you slowly change it. I think if you took a fish from low of 7 to a 8.4 all at once the fish would more then likly get to big of a shock. The way I do my new fish is as follows.

I take the fish and the weter from the bag it comes with and put that in a plastic bucket with an air stone. I then have a water container ( bought at wal-mart the kind that will set on its side in a fridge with a spout on it.) with tank water from what ever tank this fish is going to go into. I then set it so it drops 1 drop of water every 15 sec. I let this run till the amout of water is 2/3 higher then when it started. 

I can tell you I have never had a problem doing it this way.


Good luck to you


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## harif87 (Jun 5, 2006)

SkipT said:


> I agree these are the only 2 safe ways of doing it but keep in mind if you stop injecting Co2 the PH WILL crash on you.


I hope by "crash" you mean "crash upwards"............


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## SkipT (Jun 15, 2006)

harif87 said:


> I hope by "crash" you mean "crash upwards"............



Hehehe yes , I can see where crash would imply down tho . 

But yes the PH would jump up


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## northfacehiker (May 31, 2006)

emc7 said:


> You use pH down in the bucket? Don't put it in the tank.


Yes. Any "artifical" water condition adjustments are made outside the tank. When I do a water change of 2 gallons or more (it's usually 5 gallons in my 29), I add the water back over several hours to make sure there are no radical swings in the tank.


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## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

Why change your pH? Your pH is perfect for african rift lake cichlids.


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## northfacehiker (May 31, 2006)

Cichlid Man said:


> Why change your pH? Your pH is perfect for african rift lake cichlids.



Because I keep rams, rainbows, and will have apistogrammas and cardinal tetras in my new 55 gallon. None of them like pH above 7.0 with the exception of the rainbows.

If I had a cichlid tank I wouldn't touch the pH, but they aren't what I wanted to keep.


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## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

well isn't that just the way! you don't want cichlids and neither do I! i also have perfect water for them-- but I want cories. Can't keep em alive tho with out a lot of trouble.
i stick with some tetras and livebearers.


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