# Ph Prob, Tap Water Is Around 6.5, Tank Water Is Closer To 8.0?



## Joe.G (Dec 20, 2010)

Hi, Tap water is around 6.4/6.5 tank water is around 7.8/8.0 I just added cycle fish today, I have gravel from pet store on bottom, i have rocks that I got out of my river there pretty much field stone, and two pieace of drift wood from the pet store. What should I do? Everything else seems ok, I havent added any stress coat or salt yet its just plain well water. Thanks


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

It's probably the rocks, try removing them.


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## Joe.G (Dec 20, 2010)

That would suck, I have so many of them in there and it looks real nice the way I have it set up, Is there a way I could lower it with out removing the rocks? Anything I can add to the water?


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

No, it's better to fix the problem instead of trying to treat the symptoms.


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## BuckeyeGuy777 (Oct 30, 2010)

doin rite the first time save problems in the future


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## Joe.G (Dec 20, 2010)

So Field stone is a No No in tanks? I always thought there was certain things. Does Wood help lower it? Will adding more drift wood help?

Is it ok to leave teh PH at the High level if it stays stable there?

What are the NEG of leaving it there?


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## Guest (Dec 24, 2010)

My suggestion is to take a picture and post it. Having to many large stones in the tank is asking for disaster. They will trap food amoung other things and you will constantly have an ammonia issue in the tank.

I agree with Joe, remove the problem NOT compensate for it









Welcome to P-fury btw


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## Joe.G (Dec 20, 2010)

I don't have access to dig camera right now, I just added driftwood,
How does peat work? 
ANd is the PH going to kill my fish at this level if I leave it stable?


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

The issue that you are going to deal with is that every time you perform a water change, your tank water is going to go from a pH of 8.0 or higher down to about 7.0-7.5, then after a couple days, it will be back up to 8.0 or higher, putting your fish through this many pH swings on a weekly basis is not good for them.

Your other option would be to pre-mix your water for water changes so that it matches your tank water, but this can become a big hassle -- much worse than just removing the stones now.


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## Joe.G (Dec 20, 2010)

My tap water is around 6.5 so if i left the peat in there wouldnt that just not allow my tap water to rise?Not trying to argue just trying to learn. I got a hold of a camera but I can't seem to upload picture.


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## Joe.G (Dec 20, 2010)

http://s1229.photobucket.com/albums/ee463/JoeyGags/ Hope this works GF Took these today.


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

Joe.G said:


> My tap water is around 6.5 so if i left the peat in there wouldnt that just not allow my tap water to rise?Not trying to argue just trying to learn. I got a hold of a camera but I can't seem to upload picture.


The goal is to provide a stable pH, but if you have a ton of things fighting against each other trying to raise/lower the pH, it's gonna be really tough to keep things stable.


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## Joe.G (Dec 20, 2010)

The Ph Hasnt changed since yesterday. 
Field Stones raise PH?
If I added peat moss how much and how often do I change it? 
Will an over 8 PH Kill my fish?
SHould I turn my air pump off/ down? I heard that can raise the PH.


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

I'm guessing that since you keep asking the same question, you are pretty attached to the rocks... I kinda like that stack too. The only thing I can really suggest is that you find some rocks that won't alter your pH. Some of the rocks you have may not be altering your pH, so you could remove them and pour a bit of vinegar on them to see if they fizzle -- while not 100% accurate, it is a basic test that can show you if the rock will alter your pH. If you can keep some of the ones you have, you can just get some rocks that won't alter your pH and add them to the scape to try to get the same look you have going right now.

If I had to guess, I would say that in the end, you would probably wish that you would have just removed them in the beginning to fix the problem instead of trying to constantly battle the effects that the rocks are having.


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## Joe.G (Dec 20, 2010)

Is the PH Being as high as it is, will it harm my Fish? And how does Peat work?


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

It won't really harm your fish, but a high pH like that is less than ideal, so it's definitely not something people would want to subject their fish to just because they like the aesthetic effects of a certain substrate or decoration. Because of the rocks, your kH is probably high as well, which increases the buffering capacity of your water, which would in turn make it more resistant to changes in pH -- basically that means that it would take a lot of peat to have any effect on your pH -- it's just not a practical solution to a problem that could easily be fixed by removing the rocks.


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## BuckeyeGuy777 (Oct 30, 2010)

Joe.G said:


> Is the PH Being as high as it is, will it harm my Fish? And how does Peat work?


 its not really gunna harm them but if you have a sudden spike in ammonia it could...ammonia becomes more toxic at a higher PH


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