Perfect tap ph bad tank ph

[stp8809]

I've tested my tapwater and it has a ph of 7.2 perfect for what i have. But my tank ph is up at 7.6 and that a little higher than i would like. Over time with water changes will the ph in my tank drop to something close to 7.2? I've tried some chemical that are supose to lower the ph to 7.0 and they've done nothing. I've tried using water softeners to help that chemical lower the ph. I would rather not be put all these chemical in my tank.

 

[aquamanis]

Gooday, welcome to the forum. PH of 7.6 isn,t that far off from your "perfect 7.2" A small difference like that wont be harmfull to your fish. Unless you have really sensitive fish like discus theres no need to alter the ph just to get it "perfect". A LFS owner put it to me like this: If we go to another country for a holiday we might get sick for a few days untill our bodies get used to the local water but after a couple of days we wont notice any difference at all. Its the same with most fish. Trying to alter or keep the PH at a certain reading can be frustrating and unnesesary. If you feel you do need to lower it I believe peat is the natural way to do it or you can try some bogwood. I,m sure someone will correct me if I,m wrong about this.

 

[CFC]

If the pH of your water is rising once its added to the tank then something in the tank must be causing to pH to rise. What kind of substrate and decor do you have in the tank? If you want to keep the pH the same as the tapwater then you have to make sure that the substrate and decor are neutral and will not affect the pH of the water. Some rocks and gravel/sands will push the pH up, bog wood and peat will lower the pH. If you want to use a neutral substrate the silica sand is good (many discus keepers recomend this) or go with a bare bottomed tank and for decor use resin moulded rocks and roots.