Ph, Nitrite, Nitrate And Ammonia

[Gavinfleury29]

So im going to fill my tank with my tap water the ph. levels in my house water are through the roof, 8.8 is my ph., so what solutions once I've filled my tank up can I use to lower my ph. my nitrate nitrite and ammonia are 0 parts per million. suddgestions

 

[fluttermoth]

First of all, have you let the water stand for 24 hours before testing? Many water companies artificially raise pH to prevent corrosion.
 
You also need to find out the hardness of your water, as that is actually more important to fish than pH is.
 
Your best bet is to find out the hardness and then choose fish that are happy in that, rather than trying to mess with it.

 

[Gavinfleury29]

Well were I live we don't get our water from companies our water comes from underground streams

 

[delkimgreen1]

Hi
im quite new to this game myself but everything ive read and all the advice ive been given says to not mess with the ph. The problem is not only getting it lower but keeping it lower and further keeping it at a constant low. For example if you manage to lower it from 8.8 to 7.8 you need to keep it at 7.8 that means tampering with it every time you do a water change. It would also appear that it is very easy to over dose the water or under dose the water with whatever means you are using to lower ph which leads to a fluctuating ph which is far worse. A ph moving up and down between 7.8 and 8.8 is likely to be worse then a static 8.4 as the fish cannot move quickly enough with the fluctuation. Better to get a true reading of your water and then look to buy fish that can livein that level of ph. You will be surprised at what fish can tolerate as long as its static.

 

 

[Gavinfleury29]

Look at this
This here

 

[fluttermoth]

Well were I live we don't get our water from companies our water comes from underground streams

 
Well, in that case, you need to get the hardness tested,before you can really make any decisions. There are plenty of fish that do well in hard water, but we do need to know the actual levels before we can start recommending species.
 
Even if you want to soften the water, by mixing it with RO (which is the best option; all the others are either unreliable, or cause swings in value), you'll need to know the exact hardness so you know what proportions of tap to RO to use.
 
Or you could use 100% RO water, but you'll have to remineralise it.

 

[Gavinfleury29]

Ok I'll take a look

 

[Byron]

I concur with what fluttermoth has posted.
 
I am assuming your water is private, not a municipal water system, correct?  A well perhaps?  In this case, if you have a reliable fish store close by, take a sample of the water (untreated, just straight) and ask them to test the GH, KH and pH.  GH is general hardness, KH is carbonate hardness or Alkalinity.  It may turn out that you will be fine with what you have and wasting money for a GH/KH test kit unnecessary.  [It is a good idea to have a pH kit handy, as sometimes a sudden drop in the aquarium water pH can signal issues.]
 
Make sure you insist the store gives you the test numbers, rather than some vague "moderate" or "OK" which will tell us nothing useful.
 
And that brings me to the charts you posted in post #5.  Generic guides such as these are often risky.  And species within general divisions like "tetras" can be as opposite as night and day in their tolerance for GH and pH.
 
Byron.