Can I change the ph?

[FishFinatic77]

For the past 4 years, I've been using osmosis water in my aquariums because a person at my LFS told me my ph was too high (before I had even chosen fish). This was back before I knew not to trust the people at my LFS, so I switched from my normal water to osmosis.
Now that I know more about aquariums, I was thinking maybe I could switch back to my regular water instead of the osmosis. It would make water changes so much easier.
The ph of my osmosis water is 7.6. The ph of my regular water is 8.4. Is this too much of a change for my fish? I have a honey gourami, cherry barbs, a clown pleco, and a betta. Would they be okay with their ph changing to so much? If I do switch water, how would I do it so I don't stress my fish out too much?
Thanks!

 

[seangee]

What is the hardness (GH) of your tap water. Your fish are all soft water fish so the hardness is the more important factor. If you let us know the number and unit we can advise the best course of action.

 

[FishFinatic77]

My water is very soft. I'm not sure of the exact number, but probably in the 0-50 ppm range.

 

[Byron]

First thing is to pin down the GH, KH and pH of the tap water on its own. Can you find this data on the website of your municipal water authority, perhaps? We do need to know the numbers. But assuming the GH is very soft, the KH is likely to be similar. That brings up the question, if the water people are adding something to increase the pH. This is common in very soft water areas which have a corresponding acidic pH because this can corrode water pipes. I have this here in Vancouver. See if you can get information on this from their website.

 

[FishFinatic77]

I can try to find the numbers.
I have well water, so there is nothing in there to raise the ph.
There is a very small amount of salt going into the water. Is that okay? I can collect the water before any salt is added into it if the salt is a problem.

 

[Byron]

I can try to find the numbers.
I have well water, so there is nothing in there to raise the ph.
There is a very small amount of salt going into the water. Is that okay? I can collect the water before any salt is added into it if the salt is a problem.

Now we are getting somewhere. For the future, to help us help you, always give us the full picture. Well water running through a softener (I assume this is the "salt" aspect?) is a problem. For a couple of reasons.

The water from the well is presumably hard, hence the high pH. The salt, this is a water softener, correct? If yes, this softener lowers the GH but not the pH, but it uses salt (common salt, sodium chloride) to replace the calcium and magnesium salts. Sodium chloride is detrimental to fish, and especially soft water species more than hard water. You have soft water fish species, and the RO water is ideal for them, but use it exclusively. There is no need to be adding minerals/increasing GH for these fish. So avoiding the well water is advisable. [If I have misunderstood the salt/softener, this may change.]

With pure RO water you will have zero GH, zero KH and a neutral pH (7.0). As the organics accumulate naturally, the pH will become acidic (lower). Not a problem for soft water fish.

 

[FishFinatic77]

Yes, the salt is used as a softener. There is only a little salt going into the water because my water is very soft anyway. I can get the water before it goes through the softener. Would that be better?

 

[Byron]

Yes, the salt is used as a softener. There is only a little salt going into the water because my water is very soft anyway. I can get the water before it goes through the softener. Would that be better?

Yes, this coould work. Do you know the GH of the well water on its own, pre-softener?

 

[FishFinatic77]

Unfortunately I don't know the exact number. I know the water is soft though. I'm guessing probably in the 50-100 ppm range.

 

[Essjay]

You could take a bit of the water from before the softener to an LFS and ask them to test it for GH and KH - make sure they give you a number.

 

[FishFinatic77]

Okay, I can do that. It might take a few days though, because the my LFS is over an hour away. I could bring it to petco, which is about 30 minutes away, but I don't know if I trust them.

 

[FishFinatic77]

@essjay and @Byron, I finally made it to my LFS. The GH is 9 degrees, and the KH is 6 degrees.
Also, I was told that there was 0.25 ppm ammonia in the water. I don't know if that's accurate, since the API liquid test kit can sometimes show ammonia when there isn't any. If there is actually ammonia in this water though, can I still use it?

 

[Byron]

Don't worry about the ammonia, not for now anyway. Next question is, what fish species do you have? Provided they are OK with the GH of 9 dGH, and the pH which was said to be 8.4, there should be no issue using the well water if you can avoid running it through the softener.

 

[Essjay]

You did test water that hadn't been through the water softener, didn't you? It's just that 9 dH is not very hard so it seems strange that it needs to be softened

 

[FishFinatic77]

Don't worry about the ammonia, not for now anyway. Next question is, what fish species do you have? Provided they are OK with the GH of 9 dGH, and the pH which was said to be 8.4, there should be no issue using the well water if you can avoid running it through the softener.

I have a honey gourami, harlequin rasboras, cherry barbs, and a clown pleco. I also have a betta in a separate tank.

You did test water that hadn't been through the water softener, didn't you? It's just that 9 dH is not very hard so it seems strange that it needs to be softened

Yes, I tested the water before it went through the softener.