Ph Results

[tom_os]

just wondering what a good pH is for my 60l tank

i have sand substrate, 4 plants and danios, corys and phantom tetras.

my tap water is pH 7.2
and tank water is pH 7.6

is this ok, i dont really know anything about what pH fish like. i guess more alkali then acid though?

thanks

 

[Inchworm]

Hi tom_os

Why is your tank water so different from your tap water? Are you doing something intentionally to change it?

For most fish 7.2 is fine. Even if their natural habitat is different, they will usually adapt well. They might even be used to your local water by the time you buy them from the lfs.

 

[tom_os]

umm im not sure why its differnt. i have just come to the end of my cycle and changed to sand substrate yesterday. i use a tetra aquasafe dechlorintaor.

i was just curious as i have heard so much about ammonia etc i wasnt sure what a good pH would be.

thanks very much

 

[waterdrop]

Agreed, for the fish you mention I would think they would be fine anywhere near the pH levels reported.

The thing you can count on as an aquarist is that fish like *stable* pH levels, they don't like large rapid changes but will often be quite fine in a pH that might not be "recommended" for their species, because they've been acclimated to it and its stable. (Note that technically its really probably more to do with water hardness changes, but for our purposes here, our pH statement will be ok.)

The "homework" part of thinking about your fish and their pH is to look up the "write-ups" (there are good ones here on TFF) for each species and see what it advises about their pH range. Or, often the pH range of a species will be discussed whenever you find breeding information for that species. By noting the preferred pH range of each of your species in your aquarium notebook, you can think about what might be a good pH for your proposed fish and then factor in your tap water situation and think about what species will work for you.

Many of the popular community-oriented tropical fish we deal with here are quite adaptable about pH.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Inchworm]

Hi tom_os

As waterdrop said, stability is most important. That's why I asked why there was a difference between your tap water and the tank water. You did a smart thing to test them both.

I'm concerned that when you do weekly water changes, you will lower the pH when you add the tap water. Then, if there's something in the tank that's causing it to go up, it will rise again. This isn't good.

I suggest that you try to figure out what's causing the change. It could be the sand, an ornament, or other things in it. Then you can solve the problem by eliminating it.

 

[Chiquita]

Do you have coral substrate? Any coral, texas holey rock, ect in your tank.

My opinion is the only time you adjust your ph is if you ph is unstable. Fish will adjust like mentioned. It’s est not to mess with it.