I Have Ph 6 What Can I Do To Increase It To 7?
- Thread starter theking
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minnnt
Fish Expert
Why do you want to raise it to 7?
No, not at all. Some fish, like discus and cardinal tetras, have been recorded in water at a pH of 4.5 or even lower. Hardness tends to be far more vital for fish than pH.
Of course, most fish won't like a pH that low, but 6 should be nothing to worry about, it depends what you have; if you could tell us we can advise you better
Of course, most fish won't like a pH that low, but 6 should be nothing to worry about, it depends what you have; if you could tell us we can advise you better
DanTheFishMan11
Fish Crazy
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mine is at 5.5 and my fish love it 
:stupid: 
:saddam: 
sama:
haha just found the cool emoticons
:stupid: :saddam: sama: haha just found the cool emoticons
nmonks
A stroke of the brush does not guarantee art from
As flutter moth and others have said, pH 6 isn't necessarily a bad thing, but you will need to make some careful choices and decisions.
On the one hand, the majority of Southeast Asian and South American fish will be perfectly happy in water this soft (assuming you have soft, acidic water*). Tetras, rasboras, Apistogramma, gouramis, etc will all work well. Indeed, likely will live longer than they would in hard water.
But on the other hand water this soft and acidic virtually rules out livebearers, and some plants and invertebrates may also be off the menu too. Vallisneria for example is a classic example of a plant that doesn't always do well in acidic conditions (actually, what it dislikes is soft water and/or rapid pH changes, but the bottom line is that it does seem to do best in hard water). Snails tend to do poorly in acidic water (their shells dissolve!) and some of the shrimps may be difficult to keep as well.
Last but not least, filter bacteria aren't happy at pH levels much below 7, and below 6 you can find biological filtration works inefficiently, if at all. If your water is very soft and acidic, it's a good idea to understock the tank so you don't end up with a water quality problem.
Cheers, Neale
* You haven't been adding any pH-down products or CO2 to artificially lower your pH, have you? These change the situation quite a bit.
On the one hand, the majority of Southeast Asian and South American fish will be perfectly happy in water this soft (assuming you have soft, acidic water*). Tetras, rasboras, Apistogramma, gouramis, etc will all work well. Indeed, likely will live longer than they would in hard water.
But on the other hand water this soft and acidic virtually rules out livebearers, and some plants and invertebrates may also be off the menu too. Vallisneria for example is a classic example of a plant that doesn't always do well in acidic conditions (actually, what it dislikes is soft water and/or rapid pH changes, but the bottom line is that it does seem to do best in hard water). Snails tend to do poorly in acidic water (their shells dissolve!) and some of the shrimps may be difficult to keep as well.
Last but not least, filter bacteria aren't happy at pH levels much below 7, and below 6 you can find biological filtration works inefficiently, if at all. If your water is very soft and acidic, it's a good idea to understock the tank so you don't end up with a water quality problem.
Cheers, Neale
* You haven't been adding any pH-down products or CO2 to artificially lower your pH, have you? These change the situation quite a bit.
nmonks
A stroke of the brush does not guarantee art from
The "live plant that looks like bamboo" could easily be Dracaena species, commonly Dracaena sanderiana. These always die if kept underwater.
The best way to raise the pH is the change the hardness; if you change the pH directly, there's a risk of creating unstable water chemistry conditions, and in any case, it's the hardness that matters to the fish rather than the pH.
If you're after a mix of tetras and livebearers (for example) you're aiming for a hardness of 10 degrees dH and a pH of between 7-7.5. So first thing is to find out your water hardness, preferably both "general" and "carbonate". Once you've done that, write back and we can figure out what you need to do!
Cheers, Neale
The best way to raise the pH is the change the hardness; if you change the pH directly, there's a risk of creating unstable water chemistry conditions, and in any case, it's the hardness that matters to the fish rather than the pH.
If you're after a mix of tetras and livebearers (for example) you're aiming for a hardness of 10 degrees dH and a pH of between 7-7.5. So first thing is to find out your water hardness, preferably both "general" and "carbonate". Once you've done that, write back and we can figure out what you need to do!
Cheers, Neale
minnnt
Fish Expert
You can find the above info from your local water suppliers' website.
TBH, most people would kill for water like yours if, like Neale says, it is soft also. I would stock accordingly with fish that enjoy the water you have rather than mess around with it.
You could add crushed coral and limestone rocks, but the chemistry will change everytime you carry out a water change.
TBH, most people would kill for water like yours if, like Neale says, it is soft also. I would stock accordingly with fish that enjoy the water you have rather than mess around with it.
You could add crushed coral and limestone rocks, but the chemistry will change everytime you carry out a water change.
nmonks
A stroke of the brush does not guarantee art from
Yes, Minnnt is quite right, you could just incorporate a lot of calcareous material in the tank and substrate (and ideally some crushed coral in the filter, too). Forgot to mention that! As he says, the results can be a bit hit-and-miss, but provided you don't change too much water at once, water chemistry should remain reasonably stable.
An easy alternative if you were just keeping livebearers is to add some 2-5 grammes/litre of salt (or better still, marine aquarium salt mix) to turn the water very slightly brackish. Even if the water itself was soft, salt counteracts that nicely, so far as livebearers go.
But again, agreeing with Minnnt, the point is you have excellent water for many types of fish. Ignore guppies and other livebearers for now (they'll never do well in soft water, and you'll find yourself constantly dealing with finrot and fungus) and instead focus on tetras, rasboras, Corydoras, etc. Indeed, you should have better luck with demanding species like ram cichlids and cardinal tetras that never do well in hard water.
Cheers, Neale
An easy alternative if you were just keeping livebearers is to add some 2-5 grammes/litre of salt (or better still, marine aquarium salt mix) to turn the water very slightly brackish. Even if the water itself was soft, salt counteracts that nicely, so far as livebearers go.
But again, agreeing with Minnnt, the point is you have excellent water for many types of fish. Ignore guppies and other livebearers for now (they'll never do well in soft water, and you'll find yourself constantly dealing with finrot and fungus) and instead focus on tetras, rasboras, Corydoras, etc. Indeed, you should have better luck with demanding species like ram cichlids and cardinal tetras that never do well in hard water.
Cheers, Neale
it does indeed look like Dracaena sanderiana. When I bought that plant from petco, it was kept underwater in their tank.
here are my test results:
GH-0
KH-40
PH-6
Nitrite- 0
Nitrate - looks like from 0 to 20 the color looks like something between the ones listed for 0 and 20
I live in near a big city that is why I presume the water is relatively "soft". The past 2 tests i have conducted have showed Nitrite 0 so I presume my tank is done cycling. If you guys suggest that I let it be then so be it, but if fish start dying on me I will have no other choice but to find a way to increase the PH because that would be the only logical explanation. One of my swordtails is showing symptoms of near death already, it is barely moving much like the swordtail male that died a week ago on me but that was due to my tank not cycled
here are my test results:
GH-0
KH-40
PH-6
Nitrite- 0
Nitrate - looks like from 0 to 20 the color looks like something between the ones listed for 0 and 20
I live in near a big city that is why I presume the water is relatively "soft". The past 2 tests i have conducted have showed Nitrite 0 so I presume my tank is done cycling. If you guys suggest that I let it be then so be it, but if fish start dying on me I will have no other choice but to find a way to increase the PH because that would be the only logical explanation. One of my swordtails is showing symptoms of near death already, it is barely moving much like the swordtail male that died a week ago on me but that was due to my tank not cycled
phoenixgsd
Fish Herder
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our water is 6.2, i have no problems with fish plants or shrimp
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