drobbyb
Bowhead
mattlee is spot on with his advice. Fish need a stable pH, not a perfect one. Most fish are captive bred and have never lived in their native pH, so they really would not know the difference. Chances are that if you got the fish locally, they are already adjusted to the pH in your area.
Actually, it isn't the pH that's important, it's the hardness. Those pH adjusting chemicals do little to nothing to the hardness resulting in a swinging pH that you must adjust with more expensive chemicals that will result in a swinging pH that you must adjust with more chemicals which results in... You get it
If your tank pH is higher than your tap water, one of two things is happening. You may have some rocks or an ornament that are driving it up, or you may have CO2 in your tap water, which lowers the pH until it gasses off. Do the vinegar test to see if it could be the rocks. To see if there is dissolved CO2, fill a glass with tap water and add aeration. Let it sit overnight and test again in the morning. If the pH is higher in the morning then you have CO2.
Actually, it isn't the pH that's important, it's the hardness. Those pH adjusting chemicals do little to nothing to the hardness resulting in a swinging pH that you must adjust with more expensive chemicals that will result in a swinging pH that you must adjust with more chemicals which results in... You get it
If your tank pH is higher than your tap water, one of two things is happening. You may have some rocks or an ornament that are driving it up, or you may have CO2 in your tap water, which lowers the pH until it gasses off. Do the vinegar test to see if it could be the rocks. To see if there is dissolved CO2, fill a glass with tap water and add aeration. Let it sit overnight and test again in the morning. If the pH is higher in the morning then you have CO2.
