Ph Question

[Winterlily]

Okay - the pH of my tap water is high. I have the regular API pH test kit and the tap water immediately registers on the highest level - 7.6 (we have VERY hard water). Not sure if it's higher than that (guess I need to buy the high range one too to test?), but I'm assuming not. I currently have two 5.5 gallon tanks set up with one male betta in each. One will eventually be a small QT tank and has silk plants in it. The pH in that tank is sort of in-between the last 2 highest results, so I'm guessing somewhere around 7.4 or 7.5. The other tank is fully planted with live plants and a newly added (yesterday) piece of wood. The pH in that tank is reading as 7.2. My concern is what happens when I do water changes, using my 7.6 (or maybe higher?) tap water? Isn't it bad to have their pH bouncing around like that? What do I do about this? I keep reading on here that one shouldn't chemically alter PH, so what do I do since my tap water is a different pH than the water in that tank? This is also a concern with my being-set-up 55 gallon since there will be BIG wood pieces in there, and if they are lowering the pH, then again, how bad is it to be adding much higher-pH water in at water changes? Is this an issue or just my neuroses showing again?

 

[jmain]

Okay - the pH of my tap water is high. I have the regular API pH test kit and the tap water immediately registers on the highest level - 7.6 (we have VERY hard water). Not sure if it's higher than that (guess I need to buy the high range one too to test?), but I'm assuming not. I currently have two 5.5 gallon tanks set up with one male betta in each. One will eventually be a small QT tank and has silk plants in it. The pH in that tank is sort of in-between the last 2 highest results, so I'm guessing somewhere around 7.4 or 7.5. The other tank is fully planted with live plants and a newly added (yesterday) piece of wood. The pH in that tank is reading as 7.2. My concern is what happens when I do water changes, using my 7.6 (or maybe higher?) tap water? Isn't it bad to have their pH bouncing around like that? What do I do about this? I keep reading on here that one shouldn't chemically alter PH, so what do I do since my tap water is a different pH than the water in that tank? This is also a concern with my being-set-up 55 gallon since there will be BIG wood pieces in there, and if they are lowering the pH, then again, how bad is it to be adding much higher-pH water in at water changes? Is this an issue or just my neuroses showing again?

I'm also new to all this so I don't know a whole lot but I can tell you my ph is 7.6 and my high range ph test at 8.2 and my fish are fine (besides my whole ammonia problem I have been having in the tank which is also due to my tap water.)

 

[waterdrop]

If your regular is showing 7.6 then you need to get a high-range so you can see what the pH really is.

The fish you have should be fine with the pH's yu are talking about.

The topic you bring up is very interesting and it would be fun if some very experienced ones happen along and decide to discuss it some in this thread... but overall I think this is another area where you are probalby worrying more than you need to and things will be fine even if really good answers don't turn up quite yet.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Winterlily]

Okay - shall get a high-range kit tomorrow and see what it shows.

overall I think this is another area where you are probalby worrying more than you need to

Yeah... as I've said, I'm real good at that. But seriously, I wasn't so much worried as really just asking if there was something specific I was supposed to be/should be doing during water changes to avoid any possible jolt from a different pH. I was hoping the answer was gonna be "nah, don't worry about it..." and it seems, so far, like that is indeed the answer. So I'm happy.

 

[glolite]

If you do weekly 25% water changes once the 55g has cycled, it shouldn't affect the ph much plus the wood (I'm assuming it's bogwood) will help to keep the ph lower.

We live in a hard water area too. Ph is around 7.6 sometimes 8 in my tanks and all my fish tolerate it. I've got a selection and just add bogwood to the tanks with fish that prefer softer water and rocks to the one's prefering hard water.

It really depends on which fish you decide to keep.

 

[Winterlily]

Thanks glolite. Right now my decisions are, I think, skirt tetras and possibly an angel or 2 (maybe even a school of cardinal tetras) or 2 plus bottom dwellers, or, 4 fancy goldfish. Yeah I know, a lot different, but...! I think all would be okay at the pH as it is now. And if it matters, the wood that's going in that tank is Mopani wood, not bogwood?