Fix the PH in my tank?

Question

My tank is a month old, we have several fish already....which I know some people don't agree with alot of you guys think we should of waited, I know. I took a water sample to the pet store today and the p.h. was at 8.0. What can I do to correct this. We do weekly h2o changes and dechlorinate the water- the water where I live is REALLY crappy. What should I do? The pet store recomends salt rocks??? How do I use them? My tank is 29 gallons with a bio wheel filter. We are doing 25% water changes and this is our first tank.

Answer 1

Like some of the others have said, as long as the pH is stable and the fish are living in it ok, then don't bother trying to lower your pH because it'll just become a huge mess. The fish stores sell pH adjusting chemicals (and you can use natural stuff like peatmoss and crushed lime) but the problem is you'll put in some pH lowering stuff and suddenly your pH goes waaayyy too low, so you'll rush out and get some pH raising stuff and your pH will zoom way up--back and forth and all the while you're fish are being battered around. Better to just leave the pH where it is and keep the rest of your tank nitrite and ammonica free.

Answer 2

Do not attempt to change the ph. It is high because the tap water ph is high. If you change that ph with the fish in it they could all get ph shock and die. If the fish are fine don't mess with it. If the fish are having problems it is very likely new tank syndrome, which is either high ammonia, nitrites or both, especially since this tank is a month old. Change the water to keep those toxins at bay until the tank has completely cycled. Get your own test kits and don't rely on the pet store to help. They usually know little of nothing. Get a good book on fish keeping, those stores 9 times out of 10 will tell you to do the wrong thing. Its a buyer beware market and you must gather the information on how to keep a fish tank for your self. Pet stores are in the business of selling stuff and making money and they do not care if the fish you have live or die. They would rather them die so you will spend more money.
To make the tank cycle faster. Change 50% of the water anytime ammonia or nitrites get to 1ppm. Don't clean the filter, only replace carbon monthly, until the tank has cycled. Don't use any kind of ammonia reducing products, liqiuds or zeolite (white carbon). A water change is far superior to any product out there.
After the tank has cycled Change 50% of the water anytime the ph falls below 6.8. Change 50% of the water anytime nitrAtes get above 20 ppm. Anything less than a 50% water change does very little on removing tank wastes.
Keeping fish is about keeping water and bacteria. Fish keep themselves. Keep the water constant, that means ph stable, no ammonia or nitrite, little nitrate. And water temperture constant at all times, especially when doing large water changes. Never super clean the filter. Wash foam pads or ceramic bio-beads in a bucket of tank water, rinse everything else under the tap. After you tank has cycled you will need to clean the filter monthly. I would wait about 6 weeks before I would do the first filter cleaning.
The guy recommended salt most likely because he believes your nitrites to be high, which sounds right for the amount of time the tank has been set up. Salt helps the fish by protecting the gills from the nitrite. It could help, one teaspoon per gallon, you don't need that much in there to benefit the fish. After the cycle don't replace salt with water changes, its no longer needed.
Don't ever clean off that wheel too well. It won't need a tank water bath for months. Never put it under the tap. That is an awesome filter BTW. Good luck and welcome to the hobby. Learn all you can, or spend a lot of money doing the hard way.

Answer 3

Well some will tell you you can adjust this, and they would be correct. I am saying don't and I will explain.

1. Your tank is cycling, and the fish that have been in there a month are pretty set on this ph. The ONLY justification I can see to lowering this is because your ammonia will be just that much more toxic at an 8.0 PH. But with the stress they must be under already, I'd say better not to do it. I know you've heard it and I don't want to lecture, but ph changes should be done prior to a population to not stress fish. You're going to want to lower that by at least half a point, and to do so at this point is really likely to kill your population.

2. Fish that are in there have been living in that Ph, and are used to it. By changing it now, and not knowing your relative kh or it's not posted here, you could find it going back up, or lowering even more without knowing the hardness. This shifting up and down of the ph is going to do more damage then good as point 1 I was trying to make.

You should be out of ammonia problems relatively soon though at 4 weeks. Have you been checking your ammonia and have you seen any signs of stress in your population? It should in a couple more weeks approach 0 readings in your ammonia, but you'll still have to get out of the nitrite spikes times, and they can take longer. Honestly, if your fish aren't being stressed, don't adjust it.

JV

I also think you're doing a great job thus far on your maintenence.

Answer 4

to be quite honest PH levels are not usually a big deal, most fish can adjust to high or low ph levels. There are certainly chemicals out there to adjust the levels, but be very carefull with them, and use them as a last resort. It is good that you are doing water changes, however did the pet store check the ammonia, nitrate and nitrite levels. There may be other reasons why your fish are dying. Be careful with water changes, it flushes out the good bacteria you need. Salt rocks, I'm not sure about that. Salt (in small amounts) is fine for fresh water, but I would be concerned that would put too much salt in the water.

Answer 5

The best advice anyone can give you is don't change the pH. The fish are used to it and will live in it just fine. It's far, far better to have a pH of 8.0 then to have the pH jumping up and down as you add various chemicals to try to control it.

And just so you know about your shop.... salt does not in any way effect pH. Never. Period.

MM

Answer 6

Is this a fresh or saltwater tank? If it's freshwater, then you need to maintain it at 6.5-7.5. If it's saltwater, then it's fine.

~ZTM