The Ultimate Ph For Community Fish

[ArauraDiscus]

Excluding brackish water, salt water, and rift lake cichlids, what do you think the ultimate Ph for fish should be. I for one argue that using the Ph of your most sensitive fish is the best idea. Some argue that any Ph is fine because almost every fish is fairly adaptable. Using the latter of the two theories, what would be the Ultimate single/stable Ph for community fish be? I believe that 6.8 is the best possible Ph. First it's possible to achieve and mantain that Ph while have a moderately hard water source, and high alkalinity. It makes Ammonia less toxic to fish by converting some NH3 to NH4+ which is not nearly as toxic, the charged ions can't cross fish membranes because they are charged, doing little or no damage to organs and tissue. Also, this Ph will help to keep nasty looking calcium deposits off the tank tops because they stay dissolved and in bonds with the extra H+ ions. The Ph of 6.8 has both a fish health purpose, and a practical cleaning purpose.

In addition however, many people will argue that it's not a very good idea to lower your Ph, because lowering your Ph often involves what they call "chemicals". Often people suggest bogwood which is fine, or CO2 emmitters to create some carbonic acids. However what many people fail to realize is that a chemical like SOdium Biophophate which is sued to lower Aquarium Ph's is actually harvested from nature. It is a natural compound that lowers the Ph in natural ecosystems, but since your tank is hardly big enough to be a self sustaining ecosystem, ths compound has to be added to lower the Ph. As long as this compound is used slowly to lower the Ph, it can and will be a safe option for aquarium use IMO. Therefore, a Ph of 6.8 is very easy to achieve and safe as well. Goooo Ph 6.8 !!!

 

[Puffdaddy]

I believe the best ph for a community tank is what ever the ph is of the tap water being used. Most fish will acclimate to just about any ph level. Consistant ph level is more important than changing ph to reach a desired level. That's my opinion.

 

[roseykat5]

my main tank is at 6.8 now tahts a 90 gallon tank and my 25 gall is high end with angle fish which is at 7.6 which im trying to figure out what to bring it down my tap is 7.4

 

[rdd1952]

Excluding brackish water, salt water, and rift lake cichlids, what do you think the ultimate Ph for fish should be. I for one argue that using the Ph of your most sensitive fish is the best idea. Some argue that any Ph is fine because almost every fish is fairly adaptable. Using the latter of the two theories, what would be the Ultimate single/stable Ph for community fish be?

I think it's kind of a double issue. In a perfect world, I totally agree that you should choose your fish based on the pH of your water. If you have relatively soft, neutral water like I do and know that the pH will drop some over time, then you should choose fish that prefer slightly acidic water. Toward the second point, I think that most people don't choose based on pH (too many people buy fish before they research or as impulse items) so I do think that most fish will readily adapt to the the pH that they are presented with provided they are properly acclimated.

I believe that 6.8 is the best possible Ph. First it's possible to achieve and mantain that Ph while have a moderately hard water source, and high alkalinity. It makes Ammonia less toxic to fish by converting some NH3 to NH4+ which is not nearly as toxic, the charged ions can't cross fish membranes because they are charged, doing little or no damage to organs and tissue. Also, this Ph will help to keep nasty looking calcium deposits off the tank tops because they stay dissolved and in bonds with the extra H+ ions. The Ph of 6.8 has both a fish health purpose, and a practical cleaning purpose.

If I had to put an exact number on it, I would agree with 6.8. For a slight range, I would say 6.5 to 7.0. A large number of the common tropical varieties: tetras, corys, danios, rainbows, angels, etc., prefer a slightly acidic pH.

In addition however, many people will argue that it's not a very good idea to lower your Ph, because lowering your Ph often involves what they call "chemicals". Often people suggest bogwood which is fine, or CO2 emmitters to create some carbonic acids. However what many people fail to realize is that a chemical like SOdium Biophophate which is sued to lower Aquarium Ph's is actually harvested from nature. It is a natural compound that lowers the Ph in natural ecosystems, but since your tank is hardly big enough to be a self sustaining ecosystem, ths compound has to be added to lower the Ph. As long as this compound is used slowly to lower the Ph, it can and will be a safe option for aquarium use IMO. Therefore, a Ph of 6.8 is very easy to achieve and safe as well. Goooo Ph 6.8 !!!

When I think of lowering or raising pH "naturally" it's not so much about doing it with natural items but without having to do something on a regular basis. To me adding a piece of driftwood to the tank or running peat in the filters will lower the pH "naturally" since you add it once and it does the rest. No daily/weekly/monthly maintenance required. The same applies to adding crushed coral to the filter, putting in some tufa stone or other rocks, or even aragonite sand which all will raise the pH to a stable level without any additional work. Adding something to the tank such as a pH adjusting chemical or even a sodium by-product like sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) or biophosphate will indeed have an effect on pH but it requires maintenance as it will lose it's effect over a shorter time period and must be added again. It is also difficult for a newbie to know how much or how often to add.

To summarize though, I again will say that 6.8 sounds like the best pH for a very wide range of fish. Some, such as cichlids, won't be at home in that pH but many more fish will be in their optimal pH than not.

 

[ArauraDiscus]

Good post Rdd. Anyone else have opinions?

 

[Robris]

you guys say its best to use your tap water than anything else, but nobody has tap of 8.0-8.2 (not that I know of anyway). So would you think its healthier to adapt cichlids to 7.2 pH or use something like Seachem Malawi buffer and keep them at 8.0?

 

[rdd1952]

There are obviously exceptions. Some places do have tap pHs that high but it is uncommon. For cichlids there are several substrates that will raise your pH and keep it stable. Aragonite sand and crushed coral are 2 that come to mind. Once you get the tank up with those, the pH will rise and should remain very stable.

 

[KraKen]

However what many people fail to realize is that a chemical like SOdium Biophophate which is sued to lower Aquarium Ph's is actually harvested from nature. It is a natural compound that lowers the Ph in natural ecosystems, but since your tank is hardly big enough to be a self sustaining ecosystem, ths compound has to be added to lower the Ph. As long as this compound is used slowly to lower the Ph, it can and will be a safe option for aquarium use IMO. Therefore, a Ph of 6.8 is very easy to achieve and safe as well. Goooo Ph 6.8 !!!

While I don't know that much about fishkeeping yet I do know a fair bit about chemistry and from the sound of it the "natural in that product( like other "natural" products) is just a marketing ploy. First of all just because a product is natural dosn't mean it's safe, wild almonds will produce cyanide when consumed and the stomach naturally produces HCl. In addition since they don't actualy tell you what compound it uses I wouldn't suggest it(when used in chemical names the prefix Bio has no meaning as far as I know).

If you really want to change your pH I would agree with rdd1952.

 

[ArauraDiscus]

It doesn;t say natural on it. It's a compound, I've taken chemistry for 5 years straight and I can tell you many of the compunds we see in products are found easily and actually harvested in nature.