PH higher than 7.6

bg7003

My 125. gal tank right now has a ph of 7.9 and it is doing great. I have peacock cichilids in it. They love the high ph. It is because of the sand, just to let you know. You can also try live bearers because they also like the high ph.

drcolt

Well, i bought a freshwater test kit, which tests for ph, and high ph, nitrite, nitrate and ammonia.

Here are my numbers,

Ammonia, 0ppm
Nitrite, 0ppm
Nitrate, 0-1ppm
PH, 8.0

Ive since removed the big rock, it looks like it might be a calcium based rock. Im gonna take a couple of pics of my tank and the "rock".

The last water change was done two days ago, roughly 25%. Another water change will be done Wednesday.

I had two cichlids, and both died.

The plants i have are;
1.5 batches Hygrophila polysperma PH range- 5-9 These are doing well, about 15"tall
1 Echinodorus 'rubin' PH range- 5.5-8 This plant has stayed small since day one.
2 Nymphae lotus (zenkeri) PH range- 5-8

The water temperature is 75-76 Deg F.

How do i change the sand (Actually there is blue and pink gravel mixed in, maybe 40%). If the sand is my problem, then i want it out.

I have two filters, my filter/pump is the marineland unit the tank kit came with.
My flourescent light is 24" 7000K daylight, on for 10hrs a day. "Lightning rod" brand.

Am i missing any info?
I want to keep a few cichlids and swordtails, and some shrimp. But if i have remove the sand, i need to figure out what to do.
I still think i should be trying to shoot for a lower PH.

Thanks for the space,

Charles

drcolt

Cant see the pics? Let me know.

scottysgirl

pH must have spiked (probably because of sand) to cause the fish to die Our tap water here is very alkaline--8.2 pH, but the fish all seem to be fine with it, probably because it does not flucuate. I do a 25% water change every 1-2 weeks.

drcolt

Ive removed the sand.

I bought a 5gal tank, to temporarily transfer out the fish and plants.
Ive have since rinsed out the original gravel, and bought some new gravel to compensate for the sand removal. I dont know how long the fish alone will last in the 5gal with no filtration.

I put them in the tank using water from the 38gal in which they were living in. I had done a water change two days b4 beginning the transfer.
The water temp has dropped considerably over the period of 24hrs. Roughly 10deg Celsius. I hope they make it. I forgot to leave the furnace's stat set to one set temp, it usually drops 2deg F during the day while were out at work.

Now im not too sure when to add the fish back to the 38gal.

It's been One full day now, and ive reset the tank again, old and new gravel(rinsed thoroughly), i didnt touch the two filters in the pump(hoping to keep the bacteria from b4), I did however clean the glass a bit with a sea sponge. Ive added the plants too. I hope they will hold up right off the bat.

Any suggestions for when to add the fish. (recap, ive got two Swordtail, m&f, one barb, and five shrimp? And should i transfer the same water they are in, all 5 gal, or just 2 or 3 gal into the reno'd 38gal.

Thanks in advance for any input.

Charles