PH and tropical fish

Olympia

Are you planning on using a CO2 system for your new tank?
If not I'm guessing it's pH will be 8 as well.
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unitednations161

Yeah the GH is high, So if i removed the the co2 the ph would go back up correct?

So is it best to keep it in there or remove it?

Also, High KH means high PH right? Is it possible to have high KH and low ph?

I know its possible to have high PH and low kh.

unitednations161

Nope no CO2 for the cichlids. I do want them, the electric yellow ones. The GH and PH of my water is perfect for them so I'm told

If its the co2 causing the PH drop i doubt the ph will budge on my new tank correct?

Olympia

Well you have to decide- if you put no CO2 you can have chiclids or rainbowfish, maybe a bottom dweller, not sure.
If you hook up your new tank with CO2 you'll have lower pH and a few more options fish wise.
:)
For your current tank, keep the CO2 in, the pH raising suddenly would be bad for the fish.
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unitednations161

Ok will do, since its a DIY co2 with a yeast bottle ill monitor it a lot to make sure the PH isn't moving much. and lower the amount of water for each water change since I'm putting high ph in.

I did take a cup of water out of the tank and let it sit for an hour and sure enough 8.2 ph again. the CO2 keeps in around 7.2

Byron

The GH, KH and pH are usually related, but they are distinct and one being high or low does not mean the others cannot be different. The article I linked prevously should explain this.

What is the purpose of the CO2? To grow plants faster, or lower the pH for fish? If the latter, you also need to deal with the GH as this is just as important as pH for fish.

unitednations161

The Co2 was for the plants, I didn't know it affected PH so much. The plants are growing like mad now that i put it in. Before they were sick and brown. If the CO2 thing stops will my ph go up way to fast and kill the fish and the shrimp? Should i keep an eye on it? Or take it out and pray the rise in PH won't hurt the fish. Everytime I do a water change i am adding 8.2 PH water in the 7.2 ph tank. But i only do like 10 percent every other week, The nitrate levels stay so low with all them plants.

Our other betta lived two years through the cycle and not checking anything, maybe ignorance is bliss.

Byron

There are more important reasons for weekly water changes than nitrates. Stuff we cannot measure, but it stresses fish considerably. I'm working on my next article on water changes... suffice it to say, you shoudl be doing weekly changes of around half the tank volume. Now, having said that, the shift in GH and/or pH has to be resolved.

The idea behind larger weekly water changes is actually more stable water parameters--by removing all the bad stuff that can't be measured or seen but that contributes to TDS [total dissolved solids] and fish stress. Plants can adapt to GH much better than fish.

unitednations161

1/2 water changes a week!?? Wow good thing i don't have a 55 gallon or larger, i would get sick of carrying buckets.


Anyways, I'm thinking removing the CO2 would be the best to keep a stable ph. Now since its low, what do you think would be the best way to remove it, all at once? or let it slowly run out? Im not sure how long it will take my ph to go back up to 8.2

Olympia

What fish do you have in the tank?
It may be best to keep the CO2 going if you have low pH fish.