what should the pH level for my fishtank be?

Question

its a 1 gallon tank with 1 betta fish in it
what level would be healthy for the fish to be in?

Answer 1

the most important thing is that it is stable, so if the pH that comes out of your tap is between 6.8-7.4, then keep it there. Don't meddle with it, it could cause dangerous fluctuations. You don't want a pH below 6.5, so if it is, you'll have to use crushed coral and a pH raiser. If its high, use a pH reducer in the water before you add it to your betta tank.

Answer 2

There is some kind of hiccup in nitrogen cycle. Nitrite levels in an established tank should be zero. If you're seeing NO2 then something has upset the cycle. This can occur from adding new fish to the tank, adding all new filter media, heavily cleaning the substrate and sometimes from emptying the tank completely and refilling it with new water. (Like in a major move). Usually in a well established tank one of these things wouldn't be enough to upset the cycle but a combination of things might. Also a large pH crash can kill off the bacterial colonies. Once the tank begins to recycle itself again the bacteria would regenerate and the nitrites would spike. If you are having pH crashes you should check your buffering capacity. (KH) This is also called carbonate hardness and the test kits can be purchased inexpensively at any local fish store. KH is what holds the pH stable. When it's very low the pH can bounce all around and usually falls rapidly. (Know as a pH crash.) I experienced similar problems when I lived in the Boston area where my water had almost nonexistent KH levels. To overcome the issue I added buffers to the water at every water change.

Answer 3

Bettas are from soft, acidic water in the wild, so their ideal pH would be 6.0 - 6.8. They are, however, extremely hardy fish and will do fine in any pH as long as it is under 8.5.

A stable pH that is outside of a fishes' "ideal" range is actually much better than a pH that fluctuates a lot but remains inside the "ideal" range. Stability is the key here.

Chances are you will not need to alter your pH for your betta, unless your pipes are made of limestone. Attempting to alter the pH when you do not know precisely what you are doing can end up killing your fish - it would be best just to leave it at what it is.

Also, avoid chemicals that alter pH like the plague... They are nothing but trouble and will cause your fish a lot of stress. This is because they do not buffer the pH, making it prone to swing around a lot (which is very bad for the fish).

Hope that helps.

Answer 4

Just leave the ph at whatever it is. The fish will adapt just fine to it. Messing with the ph by adding ph up/down will only cause the ph to crash and stress/kill the fish. A stable ph is better then one that fluctuates.

Answer 5

Ph doesn't doesn't matter with freshwater. For saltwater Ph should be between 8 and 12. 10 being optimum

Answer 6

yup should be seven easy care free way to dea with the ol one gallon betta bowl is to jus buy a gallon of distilled drinkin water and change it 100% about every week u wont even need to check the water paramaters if u do it like dat

Answer 7

7.0 Also check the ammonia levels periodically or do a weekly water change of 50% is suggested.

Answer 8

Seven.

Answer 9

close to 7 (neutral).

Answer 10

phone your local pet store .. they will tell you based on what fish you have ...