did a water change and ph went up to 8.4 will it come down naturally or should I use something to lower it?

Question

its a tropical fish tank with guppys, neon tetras, mollys, kissing gouramis and clown loaches the ph was 6.5 before.

Answer 1

ph went up to 8.4 from what? if it went from 8 your fine..if it was 6..well your fish are under some stress at this moment.. if your fish make it for the next 24 hours or so..your prob in the clear...if you do chose to lower the ph there are products you can buy just be careful not to lower it too quickly as your fish are possibly under stress already from ph spike. but.. like i said..not sure what original ph was..maybe not that big of a deal.

Answer 2

Do you use well water? Well water will buffer on its own within a few days.

Don't use chemicals to mess with the ph. If the fish haven't died from one large swing, don't risk putting them through another ph swing. They may just die the second time through.

BTW, mollies prefer a ph from 8-9 while neons and the other occupants prefer 5-7. How long have you had this tank running together?

Answer 3

Don't mess with the pH! If the pH went up when you did a partial water change it means that your tank was dirty enough to lower the pH in the first place! Water changes should be done weekly,or at two week intervals at the least. Most of your fish will do just fine in water with 8.4 pH,just keep it clean,siphon the gunk off of the bottom,and out of the gravel and replace the water with treated water that is the same temperature as the tank. This temperature thing is very important. ------Good luck.----PeeTee

Answer 4

Well your neons are definitely suffering right now. Go to the pet store and get a ph down product and a mesh nylon bag that will fit in your filter. Then go to a garden supply store and pick up a small bag of untreated peat moss. Use the ph down over the next few days to bring the ph down to around 7-7.2, at the same time fill the mesh bag with peat and put it in your filter and change the peat every couple of months. This should keep the ph down to a reasonable level. You don't want to rely on chemicals to keep the ph level in balance.

Answer 5

Listen to me only-
It should come down naturally over a period of a few months. If, as someone has already said, it has gone up from an acidic level to that, I would take action immediately. When doing water changes, you should add some kind of chemicals to it, because simply tap water is no good for your fish. I have a tropical tank with Platys, Plecs, Danios and barbs, and I always add 7 drops of chlorine ontrol per bucket, stir it aroound to avoid harmful concentration, then pour it in through the filter. Don't forget to warm it too.
And watch the size of those fish, they can get pretty big... The last ones on your list, forgotten what they said. Good luck

Answer 6

Is the water change on a fish tank, if so check with your local Aquatic supplier or pet shop, they have products that can help with the PH balance. Good Luck.

Answer 7

It will not come down on its own. As the water evaporates, the alkalai concentration will increase making your water more base. Try a capful of diluted white vinegar solution, ( 1 capful of whitre vinegar mixed with 1 capful water. then take one capful of this mixture and add it to your water.) Repeat until you achieve the desired ph.

Answer 8

You should get some start right. unless all you have is goldfish.
also you can get a PH kit with PH up or PH down in it

Answer 9

No problem, the norm is 7. This is increased alkalinity, not acidity.

Answer 10

i would go to the loca pet shop and get some help , do you treat your water or do you use just tape water ?