Ph Level High

[LucaBrasi]

Greetsings fishmates... lol

umm yeah i have a 10 gallon freshwater tank with

3 tiger barbs

gravel, and plastic plants

my pH is about 7.5-8.2

its 8.2 out of the tap

and i do believe that it has lowered to about 7.5 now

umm any house hold things that may help lower pH?

 

[tom_os]

bog wood will help a little

 

[LucaBrasi]

i also have a couple of shells in there as well, just added them..

do you know of anything in the house that could help?

i need to to be about 6.5 - 7

i also know about the peat for the filter and such, and understand that the chemical drops are hazardous

 

[backtotropical]

Hi,

May I ask why you need the pH to be 6.5 - 7?

 

[LucaBrasi]

yes of course lol

umm i read and learned that Tiger Barbs do better in acidic waters, and read that they should be kept in waters with a pH of about 6.5 i understand that about 7.0 is like a neutral level and i beleive that would be just fine for them. but i would like to get as close as possible.

i was wondering if there are any household products i could be using to lower pH?

i am able to obtain Reverse Osmosis (RO) water and am thinking about replacing my tank with such... any suggestions?

 

[waterdrop]

How do your Tiger Barbs seem currently? Are they colorful and active? Do they spread their fins all the way out most of the time?

Most fish we get are tank-bred and quite used to the characteristics of the local water by the time we got them. Often what they really need is for the water hardness (and secondarily the pH) to not go on big excursions to wildly different numbers. Any preference for being right on a particular narrow range of pH is usually going to have more to do with breeding then, rather than just keeping them successfully.

What I'm saying is that its usually safer and vastly easier to try to work with the water you've got rather than trying to alter it. Making a significant change in your base water parameters (like you're talking about) creates a very labor-intensive situation that must be kept up week after week, year after year. Most people do this for a while, then slip up and lose the fish.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[LucaBrasi]

HEY WATERDROP! lol

umm well since my first dilema which you know about, the pH could have been a problem with their discoloration.

now their color has come back, which i beleieve it was also the new food im giving them that helped with that, as well as the care i am giving the water.

um yes my fish have been swimming with their fins out most of the time beside when they like to go like 8745 MPH lol and dart across the tank.

their color has come back... and today i just woke up and found one of my tigers starting to obtain a redish orange nose, which the males get.... and started chasing after the bigger of my barbs.. which i think is a female...

is he trying to mate?? lol sweet..

actually their fins arent always out 100% of the time, and not really fully extended, i would say about... 75-80% of the time they are out but only maybe 60-75% of the full extention... =/ , very active and yes their color has come back somewhat..

their color in the fins are redish orange but not like they should be, the entire fin isnt colored just mostly the outer edges, and lightly on the inner part of each fin, its that intense red ish orage color but the whole fin isnt fully colored...
any input? thanks!

 

[waterdrop]

They sound pretty healthy Luca. I'm not convinced you really have any compelling reason to lower the pH.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[LucaBrasi]

really? well i am so glad to hear that!!!

see, im a n00bie with this stuff, so i dont know what to expect and what could happen in certain situations... thats why i rely on you guys lol

but okay this sounds good... i just want to make sure because i dont want my fish to die or suffer..

wanna hear somethin gros!!! i saw a video on youtube, this guy had a jack dempsy and it was huge like seven or eight U.S. inches long, and he fed it a live mouse!!! =( i feel so bad for both animals =(