JRunyon21

I was forced to use distilled water to bring down my pH and GH for my dwarf cichlids. My pH was around 8.0 and the owner kept his at 6.8-7.0 so I thought that was too big of a change for them. Also, my water is around 10-15 GH which is fairly high. I got the pH to come down right between 6.8-7.0 and the GH to 4GH. The distilled water also brought my KH down to about 1 or 2 KH. This means that my tank will be very very very very susceptible to pH fluctuation. A fluctuating pH is actually worse than a stable higher pH.

If I add Baking Soda to my tank to bring up the KH will the pH go back up?
I know baking soda will not affect GH but I am unsure about the pH. I have read many places that it is harmless to the fish(which are not even in the tank yet, so don't worry).

steveangela1

I would not add baking soda to the fish tank.

Honestly I would let the ph stay, its better to leave the ph alone than to mess with it. The fish will adjust to the ph. Changing the ph will cause them to be more likely to get sick.

JRunyon21

The fish are not in the tank yet. That is why I am asking now before they go in.

steveangela1

Are you going to be using distilled water for all your water changes? If so then I would keep using it to cycle your tank properly, then ad something like driftwood or put peat in the filter to the tank to lower the ph naturally to suit the fish you are putting in.
If the dwarf cichlids are africans and require the higher ph, put something like crushed coral in the tank to keep the water harder and w/ the higher ph.

griffin

yes - baking soda is basic, so it'll increase the pH

however, if you acclimate your fish slowly, they should be fine, even though the conditions of the two tanks are different.