...my Ph Is Confusing

[unspoken930]

Well, the fish that i have at the moment are fine-- neon tetras, harlequin rasboras, threadfin rainbow fish, otos, guppys, and axelrodi blue rasboras. However i would like to purchase malaysian rainbow shrimp, blue buddah shrimp, and tiger algae eating shrimp. I have tried to keep red cherry shrimp before in the past and i am always met with a dead shrimp in the end. I never related this problem to low ph until now. The place i intend on ordering these shrimp from have them on average at a ph around 6.5 so i would like to make it match up to that as close as possible becuase i know shrimp arent the hardiest little critters around.

In the future however, i am getting around a 100 usg aquarium and making it either a rainbowfish tank, or a small south american schooling fish tank (neons and stuff) I have heard that rainbow fish are some of the hardiest fish out there so i dont think my PH will be too much of a problem for them, but i know that some of the fish that i would like for the south american thing might not like it.

Anyways, should i just fill up a bucket of water, say one usg, and put a small shell in it? Should this be straight tap water with no conditioner or should it be dechlorinated tap water, or should it be tank water from a water change? Sorry about all of the questions, i just want to do this right and not lose any fish in the process.

Thanks for your responces!

 

[pica_nuttalli]

does your LFS sell decorative limestone? if so, just buy a small piece of that and place it in your tank. it will slowly increase the hardness of your water and result in a pH increase as well. i suggest that you start with a smaller piece and see how it does before adding any more. (i had a fairly large sized chunk in my 20g and it kept the pH at a pretty constant 7.4)

atlanta, eh? ever go to the Atlanta Aquarium Society stuff?

 

[unspoken930]

I'll see if my lfs does... i doubt it though *sighs* the only real "fish store" near me (that doesnt sell me half dead fish) is like an hour away so i shop at petsmart and petland, which are actually pretty good with their fish. But anyways, ill check to see if they have any.

Yeah.. atlanta.. and the sad thing is, i havent even been to the aquarium yet, but i do live like an hour north so yeah... my mom keeps saying we should go and i keep saying okay lets go but it never happens (im only 15 so i cant drive myself... yet.. 16 in alittle less then 3 months!) But id love to work there some day... its kinda a dream goal of mine....

 

[pica_nuttalli]

meh, the Atlanta Aquarium is alright; not enough freshwater for my taste.

no, what i'm talking about is the Atlanta Aquarium Association. it's a fish society. they hold monthly meetings and whatnot. you ought to ask around on their forums about where to buy limestone/how they handle the local soft water.

having soft water and a low pH really isn't that bad. some fish even prefer it. of course, it won't do for shrimps but those'll just cost you more money anyways

 

[unspoken930]

... you live in alabama and you know about it yet i live here and i dont... lol ohhh well anyways yeah ill deffinately join up on there and see what theyve got to say and everything

As for the aquarium, finally someone who agrees. I would love to a mostly freshwater one... if i remember correctly the chatanooga one has quite a bit, but then again i was probably 7 the last time i went.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

ditto for my recollection of Chatanooga. i can't wait to finally go there again.

don't feel bad about not realizing there was a fish society in your area. i'm just desperate to find nearby auctions. (i'm going to the one in Sept come heck or high water ) i'm sure there's one in AL that i'm clueless about.

the AAA site doesn't have nearly as much traffic as this one, so it might be a while before you get any replies.

 

[unspoken930]

Anywhere in particular that i should post it on there? or just find a spot...

 

[unspoken930]

So i called the water company today. I first asked them what they treated the water with and the man said chlorine. I said i had a tropical fish tank and i was testing water stats and decided to test the ammonia of the tap for the heck of it and it came out with a .25 ppm result. He was EXTREAMLY shocked and told me to test again. So, im off to go test it again.... results will be posted soon.

 

[Bignose]

How new is the test kit? If it is more than a year, it has most likely expired. Something else to consider.

 

[wodesorel]

I have the same exact problem - water out of the tap is over 8.8 pH (highest my test kit is) with gH of 80 and kH of 180, and within a few hours pH is 6.4. kH is 0, and gH is 180.

One shell isn't going to help. Been there, done that.

I added crushed coral to my new 20 gallon, and within 24 hours the pH was at 7.4.... But here's the thing - I just tested the pH in my 7 gallon for the first time since I added coral to the other tank. The 7 has nothing to buffer or raise the pH. NOTHING..... And the pH of BOTH tanks is at 7.4.

I had switched the water treatment product I used at the same exact time I added the coral.... I just put two and two together when I read your post! It's the only thing I can think of, unless the water company just decided to change something with their water supply.

I'm using Seachem Prime, which is super concentrate, at 1.5 times the normal dose for cloramine. (We have exeptionally cloramined water here.) If decide to try it, I'd love to hear if you get the same results!

 

[unspoken930]

The test kit is only a few months old, so i dont believe thats a problem. Also, i use First Step by kent freshwater. When i tested the tap water, i didnt use this as i didnt think chlorine would have an effect on the results (correct me if im wrong)

Anyways, the ammonia level right now in the chlorinated water comming from the tap is between .25 and .50 so it got higher..... which isnt good, and the fact that my water company didnt realise that there was a reading isnt good either. I think im going to go out and get anotehr ammonia test just to make sure mine isnt going insane or something, but i doubt it becuase it reads 0 in my tanks...

Other proucts i have laying around my house are Tetra Easy Balance with Nitraban, BIO-Safe, and BIO-Coat, so if you have any experiance with these then id like to know. The easy balance is a Ph and KH buffer. The Bio-Safe is just a tap wate detoxifier, and the Bio-Coat promotes a slime coat and detoxifies heavy metals.