Chase Ph Or Keep It Stable?

I’m at the very end of my fish-less cycle and will stock my tank fully with fish in the next few days. These are the fish I want to keep in my 20 gallon high aquarium. The pH range they should be kept at is shown:

6x Neon tetras - pH of 5 to 7.5
6x harlequin rasborras - ph of 5 to 7.5
3x fancy guppy - pH of 6.8 to 7.8
6x Panda corys - pH of 6 to 7
1x dwarf gourami - pH of 6.8 to 7.8
1x molly - pH of 7 to 8
1x Platy pH of 6.8 to 8

I usedand it says I need a pH of around 7.0 to 7.5 for these fish. The pH of my tap water is around 8.0 which means the pH of my aquarium is around 7.8 to 8.0. Should I try to chase the ideal pH range and lower it with stuff such as chemicals, driftwood, etc, or should I just keep it constant at 8.0? Will these species of fish do fine if I keep the pH constant at 8.0 even if they are not in their ideal range? I heard that it’s better to keep the pH stable than to chase a certain pH number with chemicals, driftwood, etc. because flunctuations in pH can be bad for fish and they can just adapt to the pH they are in. But I still want to know what the people from this forum say about it. Specially for my case.

Extra info:
Since Panda corys have a Max pH of 7 and my aquarium has a pH of 7.8 to 8, I might not keep them after all. But I’m still thinking about it. Would it be better if I don’t?

 

Use r/o water. Or don't keep the cories. But r/o water would be in a range for all the fish.

 

Use r/o water. Or don't keep the cories. But r/o water would be in a range for all the fish.

I can’t use RO water because it’s way too expensive and I’m not able to afford that. So leave the pH as is at 7.8 to 8.0, exclude the panda corys from my stocking and everything will be fine, correct?

 

I'm not an expert but most corys are farm raised and pretty flexible. Having said that I would avoid the panda. I have them and I like them but the problem is they prefer colder water. The rest of your fishes prefer warmer water. Well the livebearers you listed are pretty adaptable but the gourami would prefer warmer water. I keep my tank at 76-78 which is the low end for cardinal and similar. The city water here is also around 8 but it is soft and in the tank it has fallen into the 7's. What I read is that fishes prefer stable environment more than exact prefer range but high temp is a problem for panda. For me personally I'll keep my remaining panda but all new corys will be Sterbai.

 

I'm not an expert but most corys are farm raised and pretty flexible. Having said that I would avoid the panda. I have them and I like them but the problem is they prefer colder water. The rest of your fishes prefer warmer water. Well the livebearers you listed are pretty adaptable but the gourami would prefer warmer water. I keep my tank at 76-78 which is the low end for cardinal and similar. The city water here is also around 8 but it is soft and in the tank it has fallen into the 7's. What I read is that fishes prefer stable environment more than exact prefer range but high temp is a problem for panda. For me personally I'll keep my remaining panda but all new corys will be Sterbai.

I see no warm water fish on that list. Livebearers, dwarf gourami, neons, rasbos and pandas would do fine in low to mid 70's. Ph is sort of one of those things we test for but I'm not sure 100% why. Yea I know the science behind it but hardness and tds is a much better marker.

 

I’m a newly returned fish keeper who has had to learn all the science behind the aquarium environment in the last year and a half.
I’ve come to the conclusion to not chase ph. I am using RO/DI water but still cannot get a mix where the water is acidic and soft. If I mix for a ph of 7 or below I end up with a KH of 0-1. And I’m afraid of a ph crash so I just let the ph stay at 7.6 with a KH of 3. But the water is still soft at about 4-5 GH.
And I am keeping wild caught loaches, who so far, are thriving in that ph.

Your tank sounds really nice! Good luck!

 

You will go crazy chasing ph. 8 is fine. Fish will adapt. Stable water parameters are the most important.

 

I don't chase specific pH numbers. Consistency and stability is the key.

 

I'm not an expert but most corys are farm raised and pretty flexible. Having said that I would avoid the panda. I have them and I like them but the problem is they prefer colder water. The rest of your fishes prefer warmer water. Well the livebearers you listed are pretty adaptable but the gourami would prefer warmer water. I keep my tank at 76-78 which is the low end for cardinal and similar. The city water here is also around 8 but it is soft and in the tank it has fallen into the 7's. What I read is that fishes prefer stable environment more than exact prefer range but high temp is a problem for panda. For me personally I'll keep my remaining panda but all new corys will be Sterbai.

You said that the city water there is 8 and that it dropped down to the 7’a because it is soft. How long did it take to drop down? Mine dropped from an 8 to a 7. But I believe that’s only because I was cycling the tank at that time and had just gotten a nitrate spike. It also took two months with only two or three water changes the whole time.

I see no warm water fish on that list. Livebearers, dwarf gourami, neons, rasbos and pandas would do fine in low to mid 70's. Ph is sort of one of those things we test for but I'm not sure 100% why. Yea I know the science behind it but hardness and tds is a much better marker.

I understand what KH, GH, and pH is. But what is TDS and how does it related to all of that?

 

I'm not sure - 2 or 3 months. Also we are not talking going from 8 to 7 but around 8.1 to 7.7. To make things a bit more complex my tank is planted and I use eco-complete substrate. Some folks say that eco-complete leans torwards 8 but plant decay and driftwood might help lower it a little. Plants are doing well but some leaves do die over time - and hornworth seems to be a steady growth on one end with a bit of dying on the other. I just moved the tank to a new city (all fishes but one panda survived a 3 day trip). Car got a bit warm I think (I read 80 at one point off the container with the water). That doesn't help you but I will say i've not had the best luck with panda. I have one for around 6 months that settled in but all attempts to find it friends have not worked well. They usually last 2 or 3 months but then slowly die off. Conversely the cardinals have been rock solid (some people claim they are fragile but i've never had a real problem with them).

You said that the city water there is 8 and that it dropped down to the 7’a because it is soft. How long did it take to drop down? Mine dropped from an 8 to a 7. But I believe that’s only because I was cycling the tank at that time and had just gotten a nitrate spike. It also took two months with only two or three water changes the whole time.


I understand what KH, GH, and pH is. But what is TDS and how does it related to all of that?

 

I’m a newly returned fish keeper who has had to learn all the science behind the aquarium environment in the last year and a half.
I’ve come to the conclusion to not chase ph. I am using RO/DI water but still cannot get a mix where the water is acidic and soft. If I mix for a ph of 7 or below I end up with a KH of 0-1. And I’m afraid of a ph crash so I just let the ph stay at 7.6 with a KH of 3. But the water is still soft at about 4-5 GH.
And I am keeping wild caught loaches, who so far, are thriving in that ph.

Your tank sounds really nice! Good luck!

What’s the ideal pH for wild caugh loaches? I actually modified my stock and I’m planning to keep these fish instead now:
-6 Neón tetras pH 6.5-7.5
-6 harlequin rasboras pH 6-7.8
-1 honey gourami pH 6-7.5
-2 platies pH 6.8-8
-6 Panda cories 6.5 - 7
My pH is actually 8-8.1. I started to do more research about this pH issue. And I heard that being only a few decimals off from the ideal range would be fine because they can get adapted to it. But I’m kind of worried about the Panda cories and neon tetras. My pH is off by 1 whole point with the Panda cories. And Neón tetras ideal pH is 7. But can tolerate up to 7.5 which means that I would be 1 whole point off with them too. I could just get a bunch of honey gouramis, harlequin rasboras, and platies. But I like having other species of fish too and variation. It seems like most species of fish like water with a pH of 6.5 to 7.5 and only a few like a high pH like mine.

 

I don't know. My cardinal haven't had an issue but I suspect they are farm raised. I did have some albino cardinals (or green cardinals) that were wild caught and they did well. The only fishes i've had trouble with have been panda and introducing angels (but the angels had some other specific issue so I don't know if it was ph related). I'm presuming heat has been my issue with panda but maybe it is something else. What has been rock solid have been kuhlI (they are pretty hearty); sword tails (nothing kill them); cardinals; bn pleco (they are almost impossible to kill); upside down cat and 2 ottos. From your list I would be most concern about the gourami and panda. You mention loaches but there are 100s or different types of loachs. KuhlI are very hearty - clowns I hear are more sensitive. My last tank was in colorado and water there is brilliant. Much better than boston. None of my fishes died in 4 years in colorado and I never tested it or did water changes (I had whiptail, cardinals, clowns, angels, cardinals, and a few others).

 

What’s the ideal pH for wild caugh loaches? I actually modified my stock and I’m planning to keep these fish instead now:
-6 Neón tetras pH 6.5-7.5
-6 harlequin rasboras pH 6-7.8
-1 honey gourami pH 6-7.5
-2 platies pH 6.8-8
-6 Panda cories 6.5 - 7
My pH is actually 8-8.1. I started to do more research about this pH issue. And I heard that being only a few decimals off from the ideal range would be fine because they can get adapted to it. But I’m kind of worried about the Panda cories and neon tetras. My pH is off by 1 whole point with the Panda cories. And Neón tetras ideal pH is 7. But can tolerate up to 7.5 which means that I would be 1 whole point off with them too. I could just get a bunch of honey gouramis, harlequin rasboras, and platies. But I like having other species of fish too and variation. It seems like most species of fish like water with a pH of 6.5 to 7.5 and only a few like a high pH like mine.

My research said most of the family Botidae like soft and acidic water. I have dwarf chain loaches (A. sidthimunki) and Queen loaches (B. dario). Both have been doing well at my 7.6/7.4 ph. However, I make my water soft at a 4-5 GH.
So fingers crossed and knock on wood they continue to do well! I love these guys. If I had more time, I’d set up a few mire tanks and get a couple more varieties.