My Ph

[winaldo]

my tank has been set up and going for over month now has no fish in it yet but plants
i just tested water and nitrate is fine but my ph is about 7.6 ..i have got a tub off ph buffer that says 7.0 onit but also says dont use with live plants .how can i get my ph down without harming my plants as spent few weeks getting my tank looking way i want it to

 

[leighton_87]

What fish do you want to have in the tank - why do you want your PH down?

In all likelihood anything that brings your PH down will be temporary and water changes will cause the PH to swing upwards again. Swings in PH will be much more harmful for your fish.

There are ver few fish that won't be fine in a PH of 7.6

 

[winaldo]

hi thanks i was actually just going get few platys maybe angelfish and some bristlenose plecs ...i was actually just away check through forum see if they would be fine in that sort ph range but i just want make sure before add anything u see

and yeah i did read a big ph change would harm my fish so would not try that

 

[the_lock_man]

As Leighton says, the pH adjusting chemicals are fraught with danger. Water with a high pH normally has a high KH (carbonate hardness) and this in turn is very good at buffering itself. So if you try to move it, it just tries to get itself back again - which can cause health issues for the fish.

A pH of 7.6 isn't all that bad, I have that and successfully keep many so-called acid-water species, such as cories, CPDs, cardinal tetra, gourami. In fact, in my big tank, at the moment, I don't have any fish which are naturally from alkaline waters.

 

[winaldo]

ok thanks very mutch guys so u reckon really should be fine i was just duble checking that was all as just i will prob add few community fish and i did read says about 7 would be fine ..
its a 4ft tank by the way

 

[the_lock_man]

So long as you acclimatise them properly when you add the fish, normally you'll be fine.

WHat I always do is float the bag unopened for 20 mins, then every 5mins add 20ml of tankwater to the bag for the next 1-1½hrs.

 

[winaldo]

perfect thanks very mutch for ur advice will take it on board thanks