# Ph in fresh water tank is 8.4



## wapaksentra

my ph is 8.4 showing alkaline how do i change the ph if all my nitrites and my total alkalinity is ideal according to my test chart?


----------



## Fiki

U could try with the following: water softeners (ion exchange or RO) or CO2 injections. Both could decreases pH value of water in the tank.

fiki


----------



## wapaksentra

i guess my real question is do i need to be concerned with the ph level since everything else is in range?


----------



## kath

*you may not need to change it*

it depends on several things,

#1 what type of fish do you have in the tank?(most important ?)
#2 have you tested ur tap water for several weeks in a row to see what the normal ph is in ur area?
#3 what is the ph of your tap water after it has sat for 48 hrs?
#4 where did you get the fish?
#5 can you find out if the fish are breed locally?

living in the state of liquid rock (texas) i deal with high ph all the time tap water here it can even be as high as 8.9 sometimes


----------



## Fiki

It depends on what species U keep in your tank... Alkaline water of pH 8.4 can be suitable for many aquarium speacies.

fiki


----------



## wapaksentra

well i had 3 pictus catfish now 2 are dead and 6 swordtails 2 male 4 female now im down to 1 pictus and the swordtails are dieing also. I have no clue what is wrong the water is not cloudy there is no noticable diseases such as ick, my test strip read the ph is the only problem i havent tested the ph levels in the area i just started the aquarium last week and ive lost 4 fish sofar. And now my swordtails are starting to act the same way as the catfish other than my greenswordtails there still lively. But my orange ones are all at the bottom just breathing not moving. I got the fish from wal-mart.


----------



## Jolly Mon

You might want to get the water in check before putting in fish next time. Also, the Wal-Mart in my area is not a good source for fish - you would probably be better served by finding a LFS that you have a little trust in and buying the fish based on your research.


----------



## wapaksentra

ok ive got one more thing i forgot my girlfriend has a beta she uses the same water as i do but her fish is ok is the beta more tolerant to water levels then most fish? plus do you think that one or 2 of the fish were diseased and it spread to the rest?


----------



## ron v

wapaksentra said:


> my ph is 8.4 showing alkaline how do i change the ph if all my nitrites and my total alkalinity is ideal according to my test chart?


Have you checked ammonia? How long has the tank been set up?


----------



## wapaksentra

been up for about a week and half ammonia came out good.


----------



## ron v

What is "half ammonia"?? If your tank has been running for only a week, it is likely not cycled. I suspect that your tests results are faulty and your fish are dying from high levels of ammonia and/ or nitrite.


----------



## emc7

unless you just dump the fish into much hgher pH water, Swordtails should be ok in 8.4. Even if ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are ok, If fish are dying, the first thing I do is change water (it dilutes everything, poisons, parasites, bacteria, etc.). Lots of diseases are invisible, if you didn't quanantine your new fish, one could easily kill everything in the tank.


> I suspect that your tests results are faulty


 This is more likely, in a new tank, Ammonia should be spiking at about this time, unless you've changed a lot of water or used a high does of ammonia "detoxifying" water conditioner, you should be seeing some now. Also check temp. and that your filters are running. Does your pH kit go higher than 8.4. I don't 8.4 is too bad, but if its off the scale, it could be much higher.


----------



## wapaksentra

the tests i bought dont go higher than 8.4 but i went to the local pet store to there aquarium area and had them test my tap water the guy said it turned out good nothing wrong with water. He said from the sounds of it i have a high ammonia content and should change the water and add ammonia detox. And feed the fish less he said you want them hungry but not starving.


----------



## Guest

What size tank do you have?

I would invest in a good liquid test kit. Aquarium Pharmaceuticals makes a good master kit.

When you have water checked at the pet store...ask for the exact values...not good or bad. Write them down and then post them on here. People on this site know alot more than some pet store employees..IMO.

Feeding once a day is ok. Feed only what the fish will eat in about 2 minutes.

I'm thinking the cycle is killing your fish. Either that or the place where you are getting the fish has alot lower pH then yours and the shock is killing them.


----------



## wapaksentra

k ill get a new kit i had them check the water yesterday after i did the water change that night when i came back my fish are doing alot better i noticed and im only feeding them once a day the guy at the store gave me some sample bottles of ammonia reducer and told me to watch the water and come back in 5 days with a sample from the aquarium again. I bought the fish at wal-mart i know i know bad store to start with. the aquarium is a 10gal


----------



## Guest

Pictus cats really don't belong in a 10g tank. They get a little less than 5 inches, so IMO a 40g tank or bigger is what you should keep them in. Some sites I have looked on say 50g is the minimum....and some say 55g is minimum. I would either return them to the pet store and get some fish appropriate for that tank size, or look at upgrading to a larger tank really soon.

Walmart can be an ok fish store, you just have to look very carefully and make sure there is no disease present. Also, I wouldn't buy fish from a tank where there are more than a couple dead ones. I bought my panda cories from Walmart and they are doing great. I used good judgement and since I couldn't find them anywhere else, I bought them from Walmart.

In a 10g you should only keep:
~male betta and a school of smaller tetras (neons, glowlights) or Harlequin rasboras
~trio of female bettas
~endlers
~group of male guppies
~2 male platies
~single school of tetras or rasboras (glowlights, neons, cardinals, von rios, lemons are the smaller ones) and a couple ottos

**Only one of these scenarios...not all of them...

I could be forgetting something...but that's just a quick list of fish appropriate for a 10g tank. 10g's are very small and stock is limited. They can be unstable, having ammonia and nitrite swings. Beware that a pet store employee will sell you everything under the sun to put in your small 10g tank, you should research before-hand to know exactly what will fit and what won't.


----------



## wapaksentra

so my trio of swordtails are to big for the tank? 1male 2 female? i really like swordtails and want to do more of them but if its the tank then ill upgrade within the next week to either a 29-55gal depending on money.


----------



## Guest

The 3 swordtails alone would be ok in a 10g. But the problem is that there are 2 females and a male. The tank would soon be overstocked when you get alot of fry from them. I think swordtails actually get too big for a 10g...but I would worry more about overpopulation from the fry.

I would upgrade. Get the biggest tank you can afford...your pictus cats will appreciate it.

When you get a larger tank, you could add a couple more swords. The cats should help with fry control.


----------



## wapaksentra

i dont have live plants i figured that would help with fry control plus i was going to get a different tank for the fry to grow up in and take to the pet store, or sell.


----------

