High Ph - Advice Needed!

[JezTaylor]

I moved house about 6 weeks ago and I'm very pleased to report that everyone survived the journey and has settled in. However... the PH in my new house is very high (around 8.2). I have a couple of Platies which should be fine, and 5 neon tetra's which I understand could be problematic.

I've started using PH Down but this hasn't had any effect. I've also seen some people saying that it's not good to change the water chemistry in this way?

Does anyone have any advice on what I can do for my neons or what I can expect to happen?  Also... it was always my hope to get a shoal of habrosus cories after the move. Does anyone have any experience with these or know how they would react to high PH?

Any advice would be welcome!

 

[Weiro792]

Do you have any driftwood or live plants in the tank? From my understanding this is one way that can help manage high pH. The driftwood really did help lower the pH in my tank.
 
A cheaper way is to essentially make backwater using oak leaves. This is a bit of a pain though. Here's a link: http/www.planetcatfish.com/shanesworld/shanesworld.php?article_id=409

 

[techen]

Do nothing at all.
 
Let the fish adjust to the PH change over time. If they didn't go into ph shock when you added them to the new tank then there more than likely going to be fine.
 
You might think that a PH of 8.2 is high but most common fish will be fine in it as there all tank bred.
 
Adjusting, buffering or playing with PH will nuke the entire tank and most likely kill everything, So I highly suggest to leave it as it is.

 

[the_lock_man]

Do nothing at all.
 
Let the fish adjust to the PH change over time. If they didn't go into ph shock when you added them to the new tank then there more than likely going to be fine.
 
You might think that a PH of 8.2 is high but most common fish will be fine in it as there all tank bred.
 
Adjusting, buffering or playing with PH will nuke the entire tank and most likely kill everything, So I highly suggest to leave it as it is.

 
Agreed
 
 

Do you have any driftwood or live plants in the tank? From my understanding this is one way that can help manage high pH. The driftwood really did help lower the pH in my tank.
 
A cheaper way is to essentially make backwater using oak leaves. This is a bit of a pain though. Here's a link: http/www.planetcatfish.com/shanesworld/shanesworld.php?article_id=409

 
Live plants will not affect the pH at all. Driftwood can do so, as it leeches tannic acid into the water - but it won't necessarily do so. If you have a high KH (carbonate hardness) then there is little you can do, as the hardness buffers the pH. I live at the bottom of a chalk hill, all our tapwater filters through the chalk, leaving me with a very high Carbonate Hardness factor. My pH is stuck at 7.8. End of.

 

[JezTaylor]

Thanks for the advice, I'll stop using the PH Down. I do have some driftwood, but it doesn't seem to be having a noticeable effect.

Are there certain fish I should avoid keeping, or are they usually all ok if they were tank bred? As I mentioned, habrosus cories were going to be my next addition.

 

[techen]

Thanks for the advice, I'll stop using the PH Down. I do have some driftwood, but it doesn't seem to be having a noticeable effect.

Are there certain fish I should avoid keeping, or are they usually all ok if they were tank bred? As I mentioned, habrosus cories were going to be my next addition.

 
 
Normally research comes into play here, You get a idea of what PH is good for the fish, You can also ask your local fish store what PH there fish tank stock is at. You might find that there water is around the same PH as your tank.