High Ph!

[Ashers]

Hi all. I have recently brought my 90Ltr tank. Today I bought a load of plants and a API freshwater test kit and I tested my water with it to find that I have developed a Ph of 8.2 with I thought was rather high and was wondering if this is a problem at all and what could be causing it because it comes out of my tap at 7.4, could it be the slate I have in there?

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

There could be some carbon dioxide in the tap water, giving an artificial impression of more acidic water.

pH 8.2 is very normal for mature Southampton tap water too, my fish all come from similar alkaline water conditions, but there are others too if you do not want to go down a riverine setup route.

 

[Ashers]

Good to hear, and I think there was lots of carbon dioxide in the water as I had lots of air bubbles on the glass. So what fish do you think I could keep in the tank. I have got to do my fishless cycle yet though.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

From my sig, the only ones I would exclude from a 90l for their long term care would be...
Redline Torpedo ("Denisons") Barbs
Opsarius pulchellus
Leopard Bushfish
Synodontis brichardi

But then for alkaline water you could have setups such as...
Any Rainbowfish that as adults stay smaller than Celebes (~7cm)
A mini-Tanganyikan biotope (shell dweller like Neolamprologus occellatus, plus a rock dweller like Juliochromis dickfeldi)
A mini-Malawi biotope

and no doubt many more that do not spring to mind right now. But another thing to consider is that so many fish are captive bred these days, so when you see "fish x" lives in "pH x" in the wild it can be meaningless, if that fish has been raised in water conditions similar to your tap water.

The key is to find your "must have fish," the one that you know will be suitable for your 90l and you must have it in your collection. Then you can find other tankmates that will suit the "must haves" needs and will be compatable from an aggression perspective amongst other things, allowing you to plan the order you add the fish to your tank (leaving the most sensitive and aggressive until last).

 

[Ashers]

umm should be good. probably no tetras or livebearers then?

 

[PaBucsFan]

8.2 is high for Livebearers but I keep my mollies and swordtails in 7.8pH.

 

[Ashers]

suppose I could try it or is there a way I could bring my Ph down without using those Ph downers which I wouldnt like to use.

 

[Too Fast]

Let the tank mature and see what happens. I know you want to get started however my tank pH has started to come down now after 8 weeks. I think the new gravel was acting as a buffer and making it too high but as it's settling in things are slowly changing on there own.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

I know of at least one livebearer that will be extremely happy with water of pH 8.2, namely Nomorhamphus ebrardtii, or the "Red fin Halfbeak." These guys are often mixed in by accident with shipments of "Celebes Halfbeaks" (N. liemi) in LFS throughout the UK, in fact my local Aquajardin has just received a shipment I saw yesterday that looked to have more Red Fins than Celebes.

Here is a link to "nmonks" (a fish keeping guru on forum, who writes articles for officail fish publications) page of Halfbeaks...
http/homepage.mac.com/nmonks/Projects/Halfbeaks/halfbeaks.html

 

[Ashers]

Interesting read. Could be the gravel acting as a buffer. Just hope it comes down! Or if not I will adjust my fish collection accordingly