tinip40

I was needing to see what I need to do to bring my PH down in my tank it is way over the 8.5 mark, can I actually put like orange or lemon wedges in the
tank to bring it down naturally or is this a myth? I am trying to do everything the right way. My tank is still not ready for fish the nitrates ammonia etc is still not right.I keep feeding my empty tank flake food but still nothing any suggestions are welcom and definetly appreciated.This is like 6 7 days now.
Once again Thanks,
Theresa

tinip40

was needing to see what I need to do to bring my PH down in my tank it is way over the 8.5 mark, can I actually put like orange or lemon wedges in the
tank to bring it down naturally or is this a myth? I am trying to do everything the right way. My tank is still not ready for fish the nitrates ammonia etc is still not right.I keep feeding my empty tank flake food but still nothing any suggestions are welcom and definetly appreciated.This is like 6 7 days now.
Once again Thanks,
Theresa

FishKing

Use some P.h Neutralizer or some discus buffer to bring the p.h down, but I have never heard of this orange or lemon method. When in a fishless cycle it takes about a week and a half to two weeks for the ammonia and other parameters to be where you want. I suggest that you start all over and go with the cycle that involves fish. This is a much easier approach.

tinip40

Thanks but I don't have the heart to sacrifice fish to cycle my tank call me crazy but I am trying to go natural....if I ever get there....Thanks again..

susitna-flower

PLEASE DO NOT FOLLOW THE ABOVE ADVICE! I applaud that you are doing a fish less cycle....If you want to be sure just when the ammonia starts, find some 100 % ammonia....NOT household cleaner that might have other ingredients...I believe it is available ate ACE Hardware stores....Others here may know of other places.

The complete instructions are in the article up at the top of this page under "ARTICLES"....on the nitrogen cycle. The fishless cycle will take several weeks to complete. If you make the mistake of doing a cycle WITH fish you will be doing daily water changes for 6-8 weeks just to keep your fish alive.

As for the ph. EXACTLY what do you have in your tank? Is the ph right out of the tap the same?

Some fish thrive in this ph....you have the choice to stock with those fish, OR acclimate your fish to this ph. Most fish should be able to adjust.... I would suggest NOT trying to adjust the ph except to take anything out of the tank that might contribute, like shells, coral, or rocks and decorations that might bring it up. You can also ADD driftwood, or put Peat granules in your filter to naturally bring the ph down....IF you choose to use chemicals to artificially bring down the ph, you will stress your fish with up and down fluctuations every time you change water, and it will ultimately be much harder on your fish than a high ph would be.

Mike

I agree with susitna here. I wouldn't use fish to cycle a tank. So many better alternatives for cycling a tank nowadays than using live fish.

tinip40

I used tap water to start this tank up with, I want to know what the average tank ph should be for Platys,mollies,guppies community type fish and I am not sure what I need to do while my tank is cycling "fishless"All I have in the 55 gal.tank is a few live and fake plants and also a Castle all are safe for Fish tanks I bought through Al's online fishing equipment.
Have you ever heard of bringing down the Ph using citrus like orange or lemon since it is a natural acid? I was just curious.
Thanks for the advice

Peterpiper

I take my hat of to you for doing a fishless cycle. there is no need to cycle with fish with the knowledge we have today. And why should a fish have to suffer for our enjoyment.
The fishless cycle can and most times will do funny things to the ph during the cycle process.
IMO Stop testing the PH, and let the tank cycle, once the tank has cycled, do a 100% water change... The bacteria will be in the filter.. so keep it in water!

Shawnie

GREAT JOB!!!!! no need to hurt anything ....kudo's to you for doing it fishless...and its just a matter of time...patience is the biggest issue...trust me i know! LOL ...just shop around for different ways to decorate and to get ideas of what you want when its ready...ph isnt an issue right now...concern yourself with ammonia at 0 , nitrites at 0, and nitrates at 10-20 ....after its cycled, your tanks ph will probably work itself out...goodluck and keep up the good work!

capekate

Hi FishKing...
I have seen in your other posts as well, where you have suggested newbee's to go with using fish to cycle their tank. We do not advice or suggest this method here. Please in the future, refrain from giving out that advice, as we all feel that cycling a tank fishless is the best way to avoid harming fish.
Many folks come here for advice after they have already added fish, and we try real hard to help them with the long process of having to test the water and doing all those water changes that should not be necessary in the first place if they had gone with the fishless cycle method. I totally understand that a newbee in fish keeping may not be aware of this, and have not intentionally started a cycle with fish, so its a good idea to NOT advice them to use this method as you have done in a number of posts. It will only confuse many... and give them a sense that this is the correct method. I hope that you understand that I am not trying to come off sounding harsh but rather trying to save some fish an awful lot of stress and harm by being in a tank while it is cycling.

capekate

Hi Theresa,
I see in your aquarium info that your other tank's PH is at 7.0. If you are using the same tap water for your new tank, I would think that its possible that the PH will end up being the same after your tank cycles more. I would check the PH again over the course of your cycle and see if it doesnt change any.
Have you added anything different to the new tank that is not in your other established tank that may be causing the rise in PH?
To help cycle your tank, IMO I would add a piece of raw fish or a raw shrimp to help speed the process. Or you can take some of your filter media from the older tank, maybe cut a piece out and add it to the new tank filter as well. Also another way would be to bundle up some of the gravel in the established tank and add it to a net of some type or stocking and add that as well to your new tank. All these methods can help speed the process up for you, along with raising the temperature in the tank to above 80*.
Good luck with your cycle!

FL CommunityFans

Could add in some driftwood to assist in lowering the pH.

Faye Rod

My pH is high also - 8.2 - and I have looked for hardy species of fish that will tolerate the higher pH. Since I am brand new to the hobby I decided against African Cichlids - but you might want to try them. There are a couple that looked good to me - Yellow Lab was one. The fish I have now are Cherry Barbs, Guppies and Platys - with a too big Common Pleco They are doing well in my newly cycled tank. The Cherry Barbs just had babies!

The advice I received here was not to try to alter pH because it is so much work to keep it altered. And to acclimate the fish slowly to the higher pH and they can tolerate it. I didn't have good luck with Tetras however - and have been careful not to get fish where it specifies more acidic water.

The fish profiles on this site are good to use to see which fish are ok with more alkaline water.

Good luck with your cycling! I can't help you with that - I cycled with fish and many, many water changes! Good for you to be doing it fishless

Shawnie

I think there are two threads going on here that are the same..."help needed again" seems to be the same thing...

Faye Rod

I just saw that! The other thread has lots of good advice from CapeKate about both the pH and getting the fishless cycling going....

tinip40

Thanks to all I will continue letting the tank cycle on it's own...patiently waiting till its time to add the fish to their new home slowly like a I am sure my tank will do it's thing the only thin invested so far is
H2O and the price of that isn't worth killing the innocent..
I appreciate all the help and when the tank gets where it needs to be hopefully I can take some pictures of them in their new hopefully happy home.
Theresa

tinip40

Yes
DUMMY me
I am new on understanding how to do these threads as well.....
sorry for the repeats but Thanks for the answers

COBettaCouple

I merged the 2 threads for you. Best of luck with your tank.