# Another Ph Question.



## Sahvage

Hello all and thanks in advance for the help.

My 55 gallon tank is all setup, waiting for a Blue Diamond Rhom. It has been cycled for over 3 weeks, and everything is perfect except for pH, which is 8.5+! My African Cichlid thank is only about 8.2, and I don't add any chemicals except for prime during water changes. The only difference between my empty tank and African Cichlid tank is I used sand and driftwood in empty one and gravel and rocks in my cichlid tank.

Any chance the sand I am using (cheap play sand) is whats causing the high pH?

I would assume from what I've read on other posts, my pH is probably too high for any type of piranha. I have black water extract, which lowers the water to about 7.5-8.0, but I don't want to stress the fish by not providing a constant pH.

What are your suggestions/tips?

Thanks!


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## Ægir

Your Ph isnt important as a number, stability is the key... which also incorporates DKH and GKH

Take time acclimating your new fish and you wont have any problems.


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## Sahvage

Thanks for the advice!

My plan for when he arrives is:

Place him in my 20 gallon tank with the water he comes with (pH around 7.0), along with about another 5-10 gallons from his new home tank (8.5+) + about 5 gallons of fresh tap water (about 7.5 pH).

The night before he arrives, I am planning a 50% water change, which should put my pH to about 7.8 8-0.

My only concern is, if it raises back to 8.5 or even higher, which I assume it will thanks to my substrate, I don't want to harm the fish and throw away over 150$.

Last time I checked my water before seeing it was 8.5+, it was 8.0. And that was about 10 days ago. So, I know that it raises slowly, but I am still concerned. 8.5+ is very high.

Any advice on acclimating him to the higher pH?


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## Ægir

What are you using for a test kit?

What type of filtration /powerheads on the 55?


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## Sahvage

Hydor Koralia 750 power head, Eheim 2215 (for up to 90 gallon tank), and an aqua clear 50.

API test kit


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## Ægir

I was hoping you were going to say those "all in one test strips" because then we would have known that was the problem









And another thing that could cause it is poor surface agitation and high CO2, which you seem to have covered.

Just to be safe, I would try to use another test kit if yours is old... I have had a few that went bad.

Any more info on the type of substrate? is it a crushed coral or aragonite?


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## Sahvage

Here is a picture of the sand. It was only 2$ a bag at Walmart. I heard from many people that play sand is just fine, and not to fall into the trap of buying expensive aquarium sand. I wish I would have though because I am certain this has got to be the cause of the extremely high pH. You would think with the added black water extract and some driftwood, that this tank would have a lower pH then my cichlid tank, but .5 higher worries me.

I was planning on placing my order for the Blue Diamond Rhom tomorrow. Think I should hold off? Other than the pH, everything is perfect. 0.0 ammonia, nitrate, nitrite. 2 convict cichlids have been living in there for 10 days now, but they like high pH.

Play Sand.

Also, I do have 5 live plants in the tank.


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## Sahvage

Here is a picture after pH test:

Forgot attachment lol


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## Ægir

Honestly man, If things havent balanced out I would consider removing or replacing the substrate while you have a chance.

If it were my tank, I would rather deal with it now vs forever when a fish is in the tank. Heck, you could even remove it and leave a bare-bottom tank for a while.

Have you checked the PH, and hardness of your tap water?


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## Sahvage

Yea, tap water comes out at 7.5,.6.

It pH was a constant 8.0-8.2, is that going to stress a piranha too much?


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## Ægir

No, my tank is in the high 7s... and my big rhom and 4 reds are great. (To clarify, its a 120 over a 55 in a stand that are connected in one system)

My main concerns would be things like metals, or other hard to test for contaminates. Beings your tank is new (and I know nothing, and can find nothing about that substrate), your water params are 0s for ammonia, nitrate, or nitrite would indicate there really hasnt been any sort of cycle to the tank. You have a couple options... 1 would be buying a few feeder fish to test the water and help cycle the tank, If they die you know something is up. Another option would be adding some of the media from your cycled tank (good idea either way, but you DONT want to risk putting it back and contaminating the other tank!) and a piece of raw shrimp to start the cycle, test for ammonia and ride it out a few weeks to see if things stabilize. I ABSOLUTELY hate using additives to control PH (and anything you dont test for really), its one more thing on the list and only takes once to jeopardize your tank... if you have to leave town, or take a vacation its nice to know things can roll on their own.

Another less ideal more expensive option would be buying a RO/DI filter setup, and making your own water at home to mix with tap to really bring it down.

Play sand has always been a "use at your own risk" from what I know in saltwater... unless you know the source, it can be hit or miss.


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## Sahvage

Thanks for all the great help so far. You must have not read from my earlier post (understandable since I've replied 100 times lol) but I've had 2 convict cichlids in there for 12 days now, and just this morning I found out the spawned about 50-60 eggs in there, so they must think the water is fine.

I checked the water again this morning before leaving for work, after doing a 20% change last night and pH is 8.0.

I think I'll give it a few more days and if it stays there, place my order next Monday. If it's back to 8.3+ I'll remove the sand, put in gravel and wait another 2 weeks. I'm sure my convicts would like that for their fry anyways lol.


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## Ægir

Yeah, I think thats a good plan... Always pays off to be patient in this hobby, and loosing an expensive fish is never fun

Another suggestion would be to start a "black book" and write down your test results, dosing and water changes with a time and date. You would be surprised how helpful it can be when you look back and see what is going on over a few months or years.

keep us updated


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