Reducing High Ph?

Apparently, my tap water Ph is high.  When I had my water tested last night, the Ph was 8.4.  I had done a water change in the morning, and did treat it with "Aqua Plus."  Is there another water conditioner that is good at reducing Ph too?  The guy's at the store (who have the same water as I do) were not very concerned.  I did look at the stores "wood" but it is large and not inexpensive.  I don't want to dump additional chemicals into the tank unless absolutely necessary.  Any suggestions or comments?

 

Exactly why are you wanting to lower your ph? Most fish can be acclimated to just about any ph. If your fish are not uncomfortable I wouldn't worry about it. I have tanks with wood, some with limestone, and some without either and there's not enough difference in ph to bother.
Carol

 

Thanks Carol. I'll take your word on it. The fish are energenic and happy. They (two, one of each) do seem to like it better with the light off. So I haven't been keeping the light on more than 3-4 hours most days.

 

No problem. the lights maybe making the water a little warm for them, and maybe they just like a more shaded tank. Who knows As long as their happy
Carol

 

I lowered my pH by using Reverse Osmosis water, as recommended by my local pet store. When I first had my tank set up, my pH was also quite high, I guess from my tap water. I lowered it over several weeks by using some RO water and some tap water when I did water changes. Ever since then, it's been perfect. At the time I didn't know that it would probably be ok to leave it where it was.

 

Update: I've done nothing to the tank, tested it, 0,0,10 and pH was 7.8. Apparently it lowered its pH naturally. I went to the Fish store and they had the Panda Cory's I've wanted. Now four are tooling around the tank, joing in on the fun.

 

I'm with Butterfly on not messing with the ph. However, if the ph is 8.4 when it comes out of the tap, and then goes down to 7.8 within 24 hours, that's a big jump in ph, and could really hurt your fish. What's happening is your water "gasses out" once it's poured from the tap. That's not a bad thing, but it's not good for the fish. Try doing a controlled test by testing some water straight from the tap, and then setting out a bowl of water for 24 hours. After 24 hours, check the ph again, and see how much of a difference there is. If the difference is more than a couple of tenths difference, you should probably age your water before adding it to your tank when you do water changes. All that is is you put your tap water in a bucket or barrell and add a powerhead or air stone for circulation at least a day before you plan on using it so everything has gassed out before you add it to the tank.

 

Gunnie,
The pH reading of 8.4 was Monday, 7.8 was Thursday.  With a 29 gallon tank it is easy enough to set aside 8-9 gallons 24-48 hours before adding it to the tank as part of a water exchange.  Thanks for all your help! You, Butterfly and all the other make this sight great for a "Newbie" like me.
Happy Fish ,
Glenn

 

Thanks Dahly, I keep a 25 Gal. plastic tub full of water in my guest bathroom tub. that way I always have water ready for changes or when I need water that is tank ready. I use much less dechlor that way also.
Carol

 

I think my water gasses out or whatever you call it because my tap water is fairly alkaline but my tank water is slightly acidic.

 

Today, two of my new Panda Cory's died. >  One at noon and the second at 7:00pm.  I was still under the 48 hour warrantee when I returned the first one.  I took a water sample too; 0, 0, 10, but the water was VERY hard 300+ and the pH was 8.4.  The Cory's didn't have a chance.  I bought a piece of driftwood, to help control the water chemistry, and put it immediately into the tank.  When we returned from dinner, I found the second struggling, then die.  I took him back to the store too.  I bought 5 gallons of Reverse Osmosis water to further help the water chemistry and save my fish.  They said that changing just 5 gallons of my 29 shouldn't decrease the pH too fast and kill the fish.  I hope not.  I did ask, since they have the same water conditions at this nearby store, why I wasn't told about how hard it would be to keep tetra's and Cory Panda's. ???  Their answer basically was, that the fish I have are hardy (except the Cory's) and if I slowly add to the tank (four Cory's were too much) they would/could acclimate and thrive.  I'm a bit put out with them but blame myself for going too fast, and perhaps not asking the right or enough questions.  My existing Cory’s seem ok.  The White Skirts are terrific but two of the three Silver Tips seem a little stressed.  I hope the water change and drift wood help them to thrive.  I would guess the stores water test on Thursday was flat out wrong.  Slow and steady will win the race.  And it’s not a race, it’s a delicate hobby. Update: A third cory died overnight Sunday and one silver tip doesn't look too good. The rest look great!

 

I will be doing a water change in two days, 30% (29 gallon tank). I set out 4, 2.5 gallon buckets, of tap water in a spare bedroom last night. I don't yet have an air stone; can the water "gas out" without one? And is there any danger in just letting it sit out? I will test the tank, tap water and bucket water tonight for pH and Hardness. Also, I am thinking about a five gallon RO change tonight, as well. The White Skirts are great, one Silver Tip is great, the other "seems" livelier and the remaining Panda Cory hides in a tower of a castle in the tank most of the time I look for him/her. Am I on the right track or do I need to adjust my plan? The tank has been up, with fish, for 22 days. Thanks, Glenn

 

The water will be fine, I don't put a bubble stone in mine either. Just remember to dechlorinate the water you use to warm it with. or warm some of the water you have set out and you won't have to dechlor it. Glad to hear the fishies are well.
Sounds like your on the right track to me.
Carol

 

Butterfly, et al, I won't need to declorinate the water?  If I did , but didn't need to, would it harm the fish?  If the tank water tests high tonight, should I do the RO tonight, or wait and just do the exchange on Friday as planned?  Thanks
Update: remaining Panda Cory died this afternoon

 

When I let my water set for 24 hours I do not dechlorinate it. If you do anyway no harm done. Sorry to hear about the pandas, they are really sensitive. How much does the ph change when you use the ro water? How are your other fish doing?
Carol

 

When I let my water set for 24 hours I do not dechlorinate it. If you do anyway no harm done. Sorry to hear about the pandas, they are really sensitive. How much does the ph change when you use the ro water? How are your other fish doing?
Carol

If you have chloramines in your tap water, you will still have to use the dechlor. You can check with your local utilities about that.

 

The water I sat over night had a pH of 8, and hardness of 250.  Straight from the tap it is 8.4 and 300+.  My tank tested at ammonia 3.0 (due to dead fish in tank for a couple of hours, possible over feeding too) nitrites and nitrates at .25, pH of 8, and hardness of 250- 300.  The store suggested a partial water change and gravel vac last night, 5 gallons, which I did.  The drift wood I added Saturday had discolored the water, as it should, I guess.  The fish seem fine, except for one Silver Tip, who is doing a little better.  I'll change 5 gallons weekly for a while.  But no new fish for 2-3 weeks at least, longer if the chemistry isn’t good.  Then just two hardy ones (Skirt Tetra's) at a time.  Thanks for your help when I yell.

 

No problem. Yell anytime  Gunnies right check with the water company and see what they put in their water. I really dropped the ball on that one
Carol

 

Check your ammonia level again. A 5 gallon water change in a 29 isn't all that much and 3.0 is a toxic ammonia level. Let us know what it is. And don't beat yourself up on this. I have heard that panda corys are harder to keep than other corys so once you get your water conditions under control, you can try again.

 

I will check the water again tonight.  I have another 5 gallons that have now sat for two days so I may do another change.  I got this off "Badmans Tropical"

Ammonia
Change enough of the water to reduce ammonia levels to 1-2 ppm for freshwater or below 1 ppm for saltwater. If that means changing more than a third of the water, be sure the water you add is the same temperature, salinity, hardness and pH of the tank water. It is also okay to do multiple smaller water changes for a few days. Aerate, and make sure pH is at or below 7.0 for freshwater tanks. In addition to or instead of changing water, you can also add a dose of AmQuel to give fish immediate relief. Find out why ammonia is present and correct the problem.

Thanks again for all your help!

 

Everything from that site sounds great except for the part about the 7.0 ph. Unless you have a specific fish that needs that exact ph or that is your normal ph for your tank, don't play around with it. Continue doing what you're doing, and add the amquel if you just can't get the ammonia level down with just waterchanges alone. I have used amquel plus with good results. I would go with the amquel plus though versus the plain amquel.