GH and PH

[JuiceBox52]

My fish and my 55 gallon tank will be moving to my boyfriends house this weekend.

His city water has an average GH of 12.4 ppm, never below 10 or above 16

The PH is average if 7.4 though.

I know GH is more impactful to fishes health. My fish are coming from GH of 5 and PH of 6, should I acclimate them extra slowly?

@Essjay @Byron @Colin_T

 

[CarissaT]

5 degrees GH or 5ppm?

 

[JuiceBox52]

5 degrees GH or 5ppm?

Ppm, I have very very soft water

 

[Colin_T]

If your water is 5ppm then there is nothing to worry about with the GH but the pH will be an issue. You can do small water changes over a course of a few weeks to slowly bring the pH up.

Try to take as much of your water with you so you can do 5-10% water changes every few days with the higher pH.

 

[JuiceBox52]

If your water is 5ppm then there is nothing to worry about with the GH but the pH will be an issue. You can do small water changes over a course of a few weeks to slowly bring the pH up.

Try to take as much of your water with you so you can do 5-10% water changes every few days with the higher pH.

I won’t be living there so I can’t do daily water changes, but I can bring as much water as I can and do slow drip acclimation

 

[CarissaT]

Before you do the move, can you bring some water home with you and do some partial water changes over time?

Or if your tap water is a higher ph than your tank just use that.

If tap water is significantly higher ph than your tank water then there’s something in your tank lowering the ph. Driftwood can do this so if you want to acclimate them to a higher ph that would Have to come out.

latest consensus on drip acclamation is that it can‘t be done for long enough to really help. Better to do a smaller change in the existing tank first and let it sit for a few days.

 

[JuiceBox52]

Before you do the move, can you bring some water home with you and do some partial water changes over time?

Unfortunately my tank has to be out by Monday, we have people moving in on Wednesday but I might be able to do one change with water from his house

 

[CarissaT]

What about KH? That’s probably of greater importance than either GH or ph.

Worst case scenario bring a lot of water in 5g buckets and start the new tank with some water from each.

 

[Colin_T]

Unfortunately my tank has to be out by Monday, we have people moving in on Wednesday but I might be able to do one change with water from his house

Are you moving?
If yes, are you staying in the area or going a long way away?

You're giving Peanut betta to your boyfriend to look after permanently?

 

[Byron]

I take it the pH of 7.4 is the new house, not your existing water pH, correct? What is your pH now, generally?

 

[JuiceBox52]

I take it the pH of 7.4 is the new house, not your existing water pH, correct? What is your pH now, generally?

Around 6

 

[JuiceBox52]

Are you moving?
If yes, are you staying in the area or going a long way away?

You're giving Peanut betta to your boyfriend to look after permanently?

I moved onto well water that’s not suitable for my fish. The tank is going to his families house, and I’ll do water changes when I’m there on sundays. It will be semi-permanent, at least a year or so

 

[JuiceBox52]

What about KH? That’s probably of greater importance than either GH or ph.

Worst case scenario bring a lot of water in 5g buckets and start the new tank with some water from each.

I don’t see a reading for carbonate hardness

 

[Byron]

OK, this is how I would deal with this. Do a major water change the day before you move the fish. On the day, use some water from the tank and some fresh dechlorinated tap water (same temperature, critical). More of the fresh tap water than the tank water, maybe 1/3 tank and 2/3 tap. Put the decor and plants in the container with the fish.

At the new house, set up the tank and use the water from the container; add fresh tap if needed (depends upon how much water and the tank size). At the next water change a week down the road, do a smaller change than we normally recommend, maybe 1/4 or 1/3. Do not do fussing over drip, as Carissa said, it is useless as it takes weeks, or months, for fish to actually acclimate. Besides, the variance here is not that much. A pH difference of 1, meaning from 6.2 to 7.2, is handled by most fish though I wouldn't make a habit of it. And I wouldn't do it with new nano wild caught fish, not the case here I believe. The GH is not even an issue if the numbers given are correct...GH is 5 ppm now, and 12 ppm at the new house. Both are less than 1 dH to begin with.

 

[JuiceBox52]

OK, this is how I would deal with this. Do a major water change the day before you move the fish. On the day, use some water from the tank and some fresh dechlorinated tap water (same temperature, critical). More of the fresh tap water than the tank water, maybe 1/3 tank and 2/3 tap. Put the decor and plants in the container with the fish.

At the new house, set up the tank and use the water from the container; add fresh tap if needed (depends upon how much water and the tank size). At the next water change a week down the road, do a smaller change than we normally recommend, maybe 1/4 or 1/3. Do not do fussing over drip, as Carissa said, it is useless as it takes weeks, or months, for fish to actually acclimate. Besides, the variance here is not that much. A pH difference of 1, meaning from 6.2 to 7.2, is handled by most fish though I wouldn't make a habit of it. And I wouldn't do it with new nano wild caught fish, not the case here I believe. The GH is not even an issue if the numbers given are correct...GH is 5 ppm now, and 12 ppm at the new house. Both are less than 1 dH to begin with.

Okay thank you!