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New Member
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Last Login: 7/2/2008 5:27:12 PM
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| My well water is high in pH and so everytime I change 25% of my water my pH goes high and I have to use pH down. Is this bad (other than the expense - I hate that) Should I use bottled water? Thanks, Sheldon
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Senior Member
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How high is your pH? Unless it's really insane, it's usually just better to leave well enough alone. Things like pH adjusters usually leave your pH unstable, which is usually more dangerous than just simply being high.
20 gallon long
Lionhead - Kiko
Calico Lionhead - Little Bean
29 gallon
Fantail - Oliver
Black Moor - Damian
Calico Ryukin - Serafina
2.5 gallon
male betta - Pirate
10 gallon planted
minnow, betta, guppy
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Fishkeeping GURU
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The fluctuation is very, very dangerous to the fish. It can cause shock and that is usually fatal and incurable. Unless your pH is over 8, or you have extreme soft water fish like cardinal tetras or discus, I would leave it alone. I'd do 10% water changes every day until the pH in the tank comes up to the same level as the well water, and then you're safe to do 25% changes less frequently again. if you do need to lower the pH you need to use a different method (the chemicals cause dangerous instability), and lower it in the water change water as well before putting it in the tank. Filtering through peat, driftwood in the tank, and using CO2 are all methods that may work (and CO2 will help plant growth if you have live plants and decent light).
What do you have for fish?
What size is the tank?
Do you have or plan to have live plants?
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New Member
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Last Login: 7/2/2008 5:27:12 PM
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My water is about 8.4 out of the tap. Using the pH down I got it down to 7.4 but it took several days. My water goes through a softener so it’s pretty soft. It also goes through a active charcoal filter on the sink. Only one Neon tetra left, 2 ghost shrimp, one small catfish type guy called mudpie. A 5 Gal hex tank. One plastic plant. We have several ‘coconuts’ (not sure of their names) but only 1 has started to grow. The chart says: Nitrate between 0 & 20 (closer to 0) Nitrite 0 Hardness between 0 & 25 (closer to 0) Total Alkalinity between 180 & 300 (somewhere between) pH 7.4 I have not had problems with nitrates yet. So what you say is NOT to use bottled water and NOT use the pH down unless it’s over 8.0 – Correct? Where can I buy fish supplies online? I’m looking for a good supplier of food, accessories, maybe tanks & stuff. (Don’t want to get ripped off or have bad customer service.)
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Fishkeeping GURU
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With that pH and very high alkalinity (which is the type of hardness that holds your pH up, as opposed to general hardness which is only indirectly related to pH) it is going to be very difficult to change it long term. Your best option is to bypass the water softener (those can have chemicals in them that hurt fish) and stock fish that like hard, alkaline, basic water, such as guppies, platies, or even small brackish fish like bumblebee gobies. This would require rehoming the fish you have now, but not the shrimp.
It is going to take some perseverance to keep the pH and kH (aka alkalinity) low enough for soft water fish like neons. However, if you are determined to do so, your best bet is getting RO water from the pet store, or using rainwater collected outside, or distilled water (not spring water) and mixing that with your tap water to get the desired pH and hardness. Do not use any of these water types straight because they don't have the necessary elements in them to sustain life long term. But mixed with tap/well water they work fine. Just try to access well water that does not come from your water softener to use for mixing.
Even after mixing RO or distilled water in with your tap, you may have issues with the pH bouncing back up. Try it in a separate container first and monitor the pH for a few days to be sure it is stable before using it in the tank. You can also maintain the acidic water through the use of peat granules (sold in pet stores) in the filter or driftwood in the tank, both of which will help keep the water soft and acidic, but it will leach tannins into the water, coloring it a light tan/brown.
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Senior Member
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If you can get the water before your softener and let it sit for 24 hours. Test and see if it is more suitible. the harder water ill hole the ph more stable and letting it sit for 24 hours will allow any co2 to outgas.
"We are Starfleet officers, Weird is a part of the job" - Captain Janeway, USS Voyager
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