High Alkaline Levels in Tropical Fish Tank?

Question

HI,

I have a. fish tank with balloon mollies, a fighter, one guorami, one kisser, a few cat fish, a couple of gobys, some hatchets, one ram, shrimps and apple snails. Apart from a bit of white spot (which is clearing up) the fish are healthy. I had a elephant nose fish that lasted for only two days in there, so i decided to get a test kit that tests the water fro everything. WEll the test kit showed the water conditions were perfect except for high alkaline readings. Does anyone know if this will affect t the fish and is there anything that can be done to reduce them (i don't really want to use chemicals in the tank)

Answer 1

High ph or high alkalinity is caused by chemicals in the water such as ammonia or calcium and first of all look for sources of these. The first thing is stocking levels and ammount of feeding. The more fish and the more food means more ammonia so higher ph. Calcium will come from rocks such as lime stone and sand stone. Maybe you have coral gravel or coral ornaments that can leech cacium into the water.
Try partial water changes about 25% regulary to reduce the ph or add bogwood or peat bags to increase the acidity of your water.
Is the water in your home area hard? This can give a high ph level.

Answer 2

Fish are proven to be very adaptable.

The big question is, how high is high? It's not really worth doing anything about unless it creeps up over 8.2 or so.

Now, what mostly drives up the pH in the water is the minerals. Chemicals, driftwood, and peat moss will all try to fight these minerals, but in the end you have a tank with a fluctuating pH as the water ends up taking precedence in the long run. It's much better to have a high and stable PH then a low and unstable one. Also keep in mind that the higher the PH is, the less effect these items will have on the water in the first place.

The only reliable way to lower your PH is to run it through a reverse osmosis filter. Since reverse osmosis takes almost all elements out of the water, good and bad, you will need to purchase additives to put the good stuff back in.

The best option is usually to simply choose fish that can handle your water - most common aquarium fish can and there are certain types, like African Rift Lake cichlid, that thrive in it.

PS - A tank with fish like goby's and Rams is generally a poor environment for an Elephant nose anyway. Make sure you choose your fish wisely.

Cheers

Answer 3

1

Answer 4

I believe I recall answering the question you asked about dying elephant nose fish. I had also recommended that you test your water. Thank you for following through. Now, High alkalinity is caused by a water condition that has a high amount of sodium bicarbonate. That is found in many household items like baking soda. An elephant nose needs to have a PH as close to 7 on your scale. About a greenish color of test kit additive. If you have any seashells --remove them. If you are using "city" water... could be another cause of this. City water is high in alkalinity.easiest solution** Purchase a product, which can be found at most Walmarts and All quality pet stores, PH up. Wardley and Jungle Laboratories manufactures this product. It is easiest to find the drops. Usually 1-2 drops per gallon. Depending on your PH level in the alkaline range, you might need to add more or less- Hope this helps-ALH

Answer 5

High PH is usually because of local water and you need to soften it down to a comfortable range for your fish, somewhere below 8.0 I'd say. You can use driftwood or bogwood or peat, all natural but may stain your water a little, some people like the look. There are PH down products that do work, Bullseye is one. Never adjust your PH more than .5 per day to let your fish adjust. You can also use distilled water but again gradual change. I do this with discus because they like very soft water. Good luck, it shouldn't be too difficult to correct, Peter.

Answer 6

Apparently adding driftwood to the tank can lower the pH, i did this and it seemed to work.

What kind of gravel are you using? It's possible there was some Calcareous matter in the gravel which can be causing a high pH.

I have noticed with time my loaches and pleco and catfish in my alkaline cichlid tank were able to adapt to these conditions.
However as the above poster stated you should consult your local pet shop.

Answer 7

A fish tank is a natural system that needs to be in balance so having a high pH could cause problems. You need to talk to your local aquatics centre really as they are most knowledgeable about these things and the water conditions in your area.

Answer 8

There are several different possibilities why your pH is very alkaline.

First, make sure you test your tap water regularly, at least every 3 months. Tap water chemistry can change from season to season based upon numerous factors I won't get into now. It is possible that your tap water pH has increased over a few months.

Second, overfeeding and overcrowded tanks can lead to increased ammonia, which would cause an increase in pH. Overfeeding is one of the most common mistakes that even some experienced aquariasts make. Most fish do not need to be fed more than once a day. It may be hard to resist their begging for more food (clamoring near the top of the water when you approach the tank), but you must do so to avoid the common overfeeding mistake. Feed only what they can eat in a couple of minutes. Also, be sure there is some food falling to the bottom for the cats to eat. If not, buy some sinking food tabs (but don't overdo it).

As far as an overcrowding assessment, I don't know how many of each fish you have, as you did not list specific numbers. However, if you have at least 4 adult mollies, 4 cory cats (I assume they are cory cats), and 3-4 each of apple snails, hatchet fish, and shrimp, you would need at least a 55-gallon tank to properly support the bioload. You also must change at least 25% of the water each week (with 50% being the recommended weekly water change interval). Also, some of the fish you listed tend to prefer different water conditions. The elephant nose is very particular when it comes to water conditions, which is why it probably died. Rams can be picky, too, so be careful.

Third, you could have some calcium or other minerals present in your water due to ornaments in your tank. Things like shells can rapidly increase pH over time as the calcium leeches into the water of the tank. You might even have small shells in your gravel if you got it from a landscaper. Remove any shell-like items from your tank, if you have them.

One thing I do NOT recommend is putting driftwood in the tank, without first doing a lot of research on it. Some types of driftwood give off toxic chemicals that will kill fish (especially some of the driftwood sold on eBay - I have experienced it personally).

Also, I do NOT recommend using that "pH Up" or pH Down" garbage sold in most pet shops. That stuff does more harm than good. Instead, buy a "pH Buffer" liquid (there are several types of pH buffers for freshwater aquariums). Using a pH buffer will maintain healthier water parameters than using that pH Up/Down stuff (this stuff usually only gives temporary change in pH and can harm other important water qualities). Seachem makes great buffers. The Seachem Liquid Acid Buffer would be good for your case, if you decide to use a chemical.

If you totally want to avoid chemicals (including buffers), regular, weekly water changes should help keep your tank healthy and maintain better water chemistry. Just make sure you buy a good conditioner than removes chlorine, cholamine, and heavy metals. All of that "stress guard" protective garbage in some conditoners is nothing more than a worthless marketing gimmick to get you to buy it. One of the best water conditioners is sold at PetSmart, called Aquarium Pharamceuticals TAP WATER CONDITIONER (do NOT buy the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Stress Coat stuff). PetSmart supplies are much cheaper online than in the stores, but you can print the Internet ad from your PC, take it to a PetSmart, and they will match the price (once you ask an associate about it and get approval from a manager).

Make sure you have all of the necessary test kits - pH low, pH high, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and hardness. A copper test can come in handy, too, esepcially if you have coppper water lines. Test your water at least once a week after things have stabilized.

Live plants will also help regulate water quality. Java ferns are one of the toughest plants and they look nice, too. They also do not get too big. Java ferns also compete heavily with algae for plant nutrients.

FYI - Unless you really love the mollies, I'd give them away. They breed freely (increasing your biolad even further) and they really prefer a little salt in their water for longest life and happiness. The other fish in your tank would NOT fare well with salt added to the water.

Search for badman's tropical fish on the Internet. I used to frequent it regularly. They probably have some of the best fish experts out there.

Good luck!

Answer 9

Need a bit more info first, what size tank do you have? How many goldfish are you trying to keep in the tank? What kind of filtration do you have? How long have you had the tank up and how long have you tried to keep fish in that tank? The brown spots are just algae which while ugly isnt bad. Without the above questions answered it is really difficult if not impossible to answer your questions.

Answer 10

Alkaline? Are you sure you are saying "Alkaline" as in a basic or pH higher than 7 pH. Or alkalinity as in a high kH or carbonate hardness. To make matters more confusing high kH water is most often high kH

It might help if we knew the exact measure measurement. For example a pH of 7.2 is mild basic, but fine for 95% of the fish out there. Likewise 10 kH (~180ppm) is only mildly hard, and fine for 95% of the fish out there.

Elphant noses are acidic soft water fish. Plus they aren't very hardy. Just remember than most fish will adjust to water condition, and thrive in them as long as you watch the nitrate, and ammonia levels. It's rapid change that tends to be lethal.

Your fish:

Molly like hard and basic water. The harder the better. Ballon molly aren't the hardiest of molly breed so a pH much past 7.8 is pushing it a bit. Sailfin, and sail fin hybrid will happily live in 8 pH.

Betta will do well in nearly any fresh water other than really really soft water like distilled water.

Gourami like hard, and basic water. Most will take acidic water to about 6.5 pH, and basic water to 8 pH . (Dwarf gourami are an exception and prefer a 6.5-7.5 pH.)

Goby generally like hard basic water. You'd really need to look up the specific goby .

Hatchet fish are generally acidic soft water fish, but it varies depending on the type.

Catfish are all over the board, but are generally pretty hardy.

Shrimp, and apple snails will generally tolerate most water acidic/basic, or hard/soft. Extremes of pH, and hardness are the problem.

Rams vary from type to type, but generally go for medium hardness, and neutral pH.