Consistently High Ph

[CoryLover95]

Hi,
I have had my tank up and running for about 3 or 4 months now, and the pH is consistently at 7.6 or just above.  Should I just give it more time?  The fish don't seem to be having any problems, but I'd like it to be at 7.0 is possible.
Thanks!
-CL95

 

[NeonBlueLeon]

What kind of fish, substrate, and decorations do you have?  Those could be affecting the pH.  Also, have you tested your tap water's pH?

 

[scotty]

what is the ph of the water you are adding to the tank,you can use bogwood to lower ph

 

[CoryLover95]

NeonBlueLeon:  I have 1 large fake wood ornament with some sprigs of fake plants in it, 1 fake cave, and some live plants.  For substrate I use 50 lbs. of strained, washed play sand.  The types of fish are in my signature.
scotty: I haven't tested my tap water (the water I use for my tank), but I usually test after fairly big water changes, so my guess is that the pH is the same in the tap water.  But I'll test it today/tomorrow and post the results.
Thanks!

 

[attibones]

Many livebearers actually do better in pH around 7.6, so if you intend for them to breed, I would not touch the pH. If you want it lower, get some good driftwood. Keep an eye on it though. You don't want it dropping too low.

 

[CoryLover95]

Thanks attibones...It isn't my goal to have the livebearers breed, but if they do it's just fine .  So since my tank is already all aquascaped without driftwood, I'd rather leave it that way...do you think the other fish (tetras & Corys) will be OK with that pH?

 

[Aquamaniac]

You can also add peat moss to your filter. I heard its more stable than bogwood. Beware that both affect water colour turning it yellow brown and most people do not like it. Even though some fish do.
Bogwood eventually wears out its capacity to alter ph but peat moss keeps going and can easily be replaced.
I never used it but know people that do. Planning on using it on my new setup as the ph is 7.6 and I want to get it down to get some ram cichlids.

 

[NeonBlueLeon]

Thanks attibones...It isn't my goal to have the livebearers breed, but if they do it's just fine

.  So since my tank is already all aquascaped without driftwood, I'd rather leave it that way...do you think the other fish (tetras & Corys) will be OK with that pH?

 
I think they will be fine.  7.6 pH is actually very moderate.

 

[Nik00117]

I agree 7.6 doesn't seem like a problem.

 

[CoryLover95]

Alright, thank you!  Aquamaniac, thanks for your suggestion of peat moss--but I am a real sucker for crystal clear water, so I don't think I'd like to use it unless I have to.  The fish seem to be OK so I'll just leave it as it is .

 

[Aquamaniac]

You will not need to for the fish you want to keep. More important than low ph what you really want is a constantly stable ph.
When you try to mess with the ph it gets all over the place going up and down all the time.
That is not very healthy for the fish because it puts them under stress, which supresses their imune system and makes it easier for them to get sick.
Using tricks to lower the ph should only be used for fish that really need a low ph like discus or ram ciclids.
I like crystal clear water too so I have not used peat myself, but then again I have not gone for discus or rams yet.

 

[CoryLover95]

Thanks!  One other thing, can Betta fish tolerate the same (7.6) pH?  I have a 2.5 gallon tank for my Betta and the pH is as high as the community tank, if not higher