Acidic Tap Water : (

[phishyphil]

Hi there

Okay recently I decided to check my tap water and the Ph is 5.0 my water in the tank always comes out around 6.3-6.9, Should i start using a Ph supplement in the tap water during water changes to help boost Ph to 7.0? im just wondering what the more experienced fish keepers do with their water and if they know there tap water ph.

Many thanks

Relatively new fish keeper Phil

 

[tenohfive]

A relatively unusual one this, usually people want to lower their pH. If it's coming out in the 6's in tank though I don't think you've got anything to worry about. A stable high or low pH IMO is more important than a fluctuating pH.

 

[Proxo]

How long has the tank been set up?
I used to have a similair problem although my tap water is about 6.8, The tanks pH was reading 6.3-7 pH..
It did sort itself out eventually and now it's stable at 7!

 

[StandbySetting]

The reason your tap water comes out at PH5 is because the water companies inject CO2 into the water to prevent lime scale from building up on their pipes, run some tap water straight out of the tap and then test it, then test it again in 30 minutes, in this 30 minutes aerate the water some what to drive off the CO2.

When CO2 dissolves in water, carbonic acid is formed and this is why the PH reduces, once the CO2 gasses off again the PH rises, a carbonic PH change isn't anything to worry about because the change in PH has nothing to do with the mineral content of the water, it's similar to the PH change that occurs in planted tanks with CO2 injection.

 

[coldcazzie]

Agree - leave it to sit for a while and then test again. Also, a ph of 6.3-6.9 is nothing to worry about. Please don't put stuff in your water to adjust the ph. You'll stress your fish out more by trying to fiddle with it than by leaving it where it is. Also, for the record, there are fish that naturally live in water with ph down to 4, so 6.9 is fine

 

[phishyphil]

Agree - leave it to sit for a while and then test again. Also, a ph of 6.3-6.9 is nothing to worry about. Please don't put stuff in your water to adjust the ph. You'll stress your fish out more by trying to fiddle with it than by leaving it where it is. Also, for the record, there are fish that naturally live in water with ph down to 4, so 6.9 is fine

Thanks everyone for settling a noobies nerves. Will test again and leave the water to stand. Many thanks for the advice

Regards

Phil