Tapwater: High Ph And Some Ammonia

[FireSupport]

Well, I did it. I now have a 28 gallon aquarium humming away nicely only feet away from where I type this message. No fish yet. I'm waiting for the dust to settle in the tank, and then I'll start a fishless cycle.

On to my question. Following the guide I've read on this forum on a fishless cycle, I went ahead and tested the water coming out of my tap (API Freshwater Master Test Kit), and found some results that have startled / upset me.

Tapwater pH: 8.4
Tapwater Ammonia: 0.25ppm
Tapwater Nitrite: 0 ppm
Tapwater Nitrate: 0 ppm

I don't like that ammonia is showing up in the tap. Is that a problem? A bit of a bigger concern of mine is that my desire was to keep tetras, that like water either neutral or acidic. Rumor is that it's a pain in the butt to adjust pH (especially considering I'd have to adjust it every time I did a water change).

What are your thoughts? Are these results out of line? Should I complain to my local water officials? Should I think about other fish instead of the tetras?

Thanks!

 

[erk628]

Well, I did it. I now have a 28 gallon aquarium humming away nicely only feet away from where I type this message. No fish yet. I'm waiting for the dust to settle in the tank, and then I'll start a fishless cycle.

On to my question. Following the guide I've read on this forum on a fishless cycle, I went ahead and tested the water coming out of my tap (API Freshwater Master Test Kit), and found some results that have startled / upset me.

Tapwater pH: 8.4
Tapwater Ammonia: 0.25ppm
Tapwater Nitrite: 0 ppm
Tapwater Nitrate: 0 ppm

I don't like that ammonia is showing up in the tap. Is that a problem? A bit of a bigger concern of mine is that my desire was to keep tetras, that like water either neutral or acidic. Rumor is that it's a pain in the butt to adjust pH (especially considering I'd have to adjust it every time I did a water change).

What are your thoughts? Are these results out of line? Should I complain to my local water officials? Should I think about other fish instead of the tetras?

Thanks!

My tap water reads off the charts with PH after I add it to my tank and add some tap water safe my PH in my tank is always 7.8. As long as your ph in your tank isn't really high I wouldn't worry about it the fish will adjust to it. Its better to have a stable ph then to try and adjust it all the time.

 

[carpus]

you could get a small ro unit

that's what i did and ive had no problems at all

ive now got breeding apistogramma's and 10 healthy cardinal tetras

it's abit more work but worth every penny

Daz

 

[xoedusk]

Leave tap water out for 24 hours then test the parameters -- see if that pH drops.

 

[FireSupport]

Leave tap water out for 24 hours then test the parameters -- see if that pH drops.

I've tested the pH in my tank (about 48 hours old) and I've tested some tapwater that I left out in a cup for 24 hours. Here are my results

Tank (48 hours) = 7.8
Cup (24 hours) = 8.0

The pH did go down some. It appears to be stabilizing at 7.8 over time. So, will Tetras like that? Should I look into getting other fish instead? Should I look at modifying the pH of the tank with chemicals?

The thing that scares me is water changes. I'm not going to want to leave 10 gallons of water sitting out for 24 hours prior to doing a water change, and it still be about a full point higher than what Tetras normal habitat is.

Also, I called the water department and they tell me that when they send the water it's got a pH of about 9.0! It drops off quite a bit from the station to the tap. The reason is that apparently my town uses quite a bit of well water and they raise the pH to percipitate out iron and manganese.

Thoughts on the fish / pH?

Nathan

 

[xoedusk]

Are there any local fish stores in your area that sell the tetras you eventually want to get? If so, ask them their tank pH. I don't know much on tetras, ony that they prefer acidic water, but it's possibe the tetras they have live well in slightly basic water. As erk628 said, fish are ablet to adjust to pH levels outside their natural range.

As for the ammonia in your tap water, read up on AmmoLock or some type of ammonia-ridding solution. I've heard it renders ammonia harmless, but the ammonia is still available to your biological filter.

Good luck!

 

[Bignose]

The pH did go down some. It appears to be stabilizing at 7.8 over time. So, will Tetras like that? Should I look into getting other fish instead? Should I look at modifying the pH of the tank with chemicals?

It really depends upon the tetra. In my experience (my tank water is pH=8.2-8.4), some tetras have no problem with that, other will. I keep lemon tetras in that water, and have even caught them spawning once in a while. Black neons, bleeding hearts are a few others that do ok in higher pH water. This is where research pays off, you need to look up as much as you can about a fish before purchase -- a great resource is this board, there is virtually no fish that at least some other board member has never kept. Also, it depends on your goals. I think that a lot of tetras would live a long, happy life in that water, they just may never get a spawning trigger. Usually they do require soft acidic water to spawn, but in terms of living a normal life, many tetras would do fine with that water. For example, neon tetras, from some of the softest most acidic water in the world have been commercially bred in Floridas hard alkaline water. So most of the neons for sale in the US are pretty adaptable. On the other hand, most cardinal tetras are still wild-caught so they may not respond well to that different of water.

If you don't want to chance the pH so mcuh with a water change, consider doing smaller more frequent changes. Instead of 1 25% change a week, consider doing a 5% change every day. A 5% change would cause an insignificant change in pH, if there is any change at all. For that matter, so long as the buffering capbility of the tank water is still high (that would be a KH test), a 25% water change really would not swing the pH a huge amount. Taking the water out of the tap, putting it in buckets, swishing around the dechlorinator, and the splashing it back into the tank is going to mimic sitting the water out for a day. Sitting it out for a day is allowing the atmosphere and the dissolved gases in the water to reach equilibrium. By splashing it around, you will reach equilibrium faster. If you really worry, you can put an airstone in the bucket for 30-60 mins before a water change. But, I don't think that it is really a very big deal.

In most cases, there is far too much emphasis placed on pH. Changes in hardness is typically much more stressful for the average fish. Again, this is where research comes in before purchase. But, for the most part, fish are usually hardier than we give them credit for.