How to get and maintain a certain pH level

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Are you testing the pH of your tap water yourself or using the info from your local water authority? The reason I ask is when I had my water tested by both the health department when I bought the home AND a water treatment company, they both listed the pH as 7.0 but when I got some aquariums and a test kit, I'm testing closer to 7.6 pH.

No problems keeping Malawi or Tanganyika cichlids at a 7.6 pH at my home.
 
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deeda said:
Are you testing the pH of your tap water yourself or using the info from your local water authority? The reason I ask is when I had my water tested by both the health department when I bought the home AND a water treatment company, they both listed the pH as 7.0 but when I got some aquariums and a test kit, I'm testing closer to 7.6 pH.

No problems keeping Malawi or Tanganyika cichlids at a 7.6 pH at my home.
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No tested it straight out of the tap well not straight out of the towel and let it sit for a little over a day and then I tested it
 
Thanks!

Does the pH stay the same if you test it directly out of the tap AND then after 24 hours? Just curious as sometimes the pH will go up or go down for some people depending on their water source and treatment.
 
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The fish you going to get are tank raised and very very adaptable to different ph ranges. Trust me your peacocks and haps will have beautiful color and life span in your current ph. You need to feed them a premium food.

I went through a lot in chasing ph but with time I find out that these tank raised fish lives happily in lower or high ph levels without any issues. You can use a substrate that increase the ph but that buffering capacity of substrate won't last forever and you need to change your substrate after a while which is a lot of work for a 500 gallon and also expensive.

Ph matters in case of delicate species like shrimps or other invertebrates but in your case I suggest not to chase the perfect ph. You need to have a stable ph instead of fluctuating ph. That's just my opinion. I know a ph crash is a very very bad thing. People use chemicals and stuff and eventually have a ph crash resulting in fish death. I did that too and had a ph crash in my tank.

Maybe use crushed coral sand or something can raise it a bit but as I said it won't last forever. But still its the best option you have. Good luck.
 
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tlindsey said:
The best source in my experience I've used was crushed coral. Place it in a mesh bag. You will have to monitor the PH until it where you want it. So adding until possible. I asked what specie of Cichlids so you could possibly avoid adding anything. Also all the links are for different info for both hardness and PH.
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Kashif314 said:
The fish you going to get are tank raised and very very adaptable to different ph ranges. Trust me your peacocks and haps will have beautiful color and life span in your current ph. You need to feed them a premium food.

I went through a lot in chasing ph but with time I find out that these tank raised fish lives happily in lower or high ph levels without any issues. You can use a substrate that increase the ph but that buffering capacity of substrate won't last forever and you need to change your substrate after a while which is a lot of work for a 500 gallon and also expensive.

Ph matters in case of delicate species like shrimps or other invertebrates but in your case I suggest not to chase the perfect ph. You need to have a stable ph instead of fluctuating ph. That's just my opinion. I know a ph crash is a very very bad thing. People use chemicals and stuff and eventually have a ph crash resulting in fish death. I did that too and had a ph crash in my tank.

Maybe use crushed coral sand or something can raise it a bit but as I said it won't last forever. But still its the best option you have. Good luck.
Click to expand...
Kashif314 said:
The fish you going to get are tank raised and very very adaptable to different ph ranges. Trust me your peacocks and haps will have beautiful color and life span in your current ph. You need to feed them a premium food.

I went through a lot in chasing ph but with time I find out that these tank raised fish lives happily in lower or high ph levels without any issues. You can use a substrate that increase the ph but that buffering capacity of substrate won't last forever and you need to change your substrate after a while which is a lot of work for a 500 gallon and also expensive.

Ph matters in case of delicate species like shrimps or other invertebrates but in your case I suggest not to chase the perfect ph. You need to have a stable ph instead of fluctuating ph. That's just my opinion. I know a ph crash is a very very bad thing. People use chemicals and stuff and eventually have a ph crash resulting in fish death. I did that too and had a ph crash in my tank.

Maybe use crushed coral sand or something can raise it a bit but as I said it won't last forever. But still its the best option you have. Good luck.
Click to expand...
I agree it’s much better to have a stable tank then chase the pH I already have the Cichlid sand that should help. I also purchased a very accurate pH meter To see what’s coming out of my tap. With that being said after reading about crushed coral I will be using it in my sump if needed to bring my pH to 7.8. As far as diet I’m very good about feeding a good diet My Oscar now has about 10 Different treats ranging from grasshoppers meal worms to frozen blood worms. And I use a high-quality palette as its main diet. He is perfectly happy in the lower pH like you said. But I want the new tank at 7.8
 
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Tj203 said:
I agree it’s much better to have a stable tank then chase the pH I already have the Cichlid sand that should help. I also purchased a very accurate pH meter To see what’s coming out of my tap. With that being said after reading about crushed coral I will be using it in my sump if needed to bring my pH to 7.8. As far as diet I’m very good about feeding a good diet My Oscar now has about 10 Different treats ranging from grasshoppers meal worms to frozen blood worms. And I use a high-quality palette as its main diet. He is perfectly happy in the lower pH like you said. But I want the new tank at 7.8
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I understand your concern but its not like you add crushed coral to canister when needed. I don't think adding that inside filter will raise your ph from 7 to 7.8 but you can try that. Just make sure your ph stays stable and not fluctuate. Fluctuations can be fatal for even the hardy fish like peacocks and haps.

I am no expert but I kept all kind of fish in my same ph for years. Some fish required way lesser than what I have and some required way more than I have but they lived happily without any issues and there colors were always very vibrant.

But I think your heart is set for 7.8 so you can try different methods like crushed coral but again I can't stress enough that make sure thay that doesn't cause any fluctuations.

Also if possible ask the ph of your supplier. I am sure he is having the same ph as yours if he is in the same city because of common water source.

Good luck.
 
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Kashif314 said:
I understand your concern but its not like you add crushed coral to canister when needed. I don't think adding that inside filter will raise your ph from 7 to 7.8 but you can try that. Just make sure your ph stays stable and not fluctuate. Fluctuations can be fatal for even the hardy fish like peacocks and haps.

I am no expert but I kept all kind of fish in my same ph for years. Some fish required way lesser than what I have and some required way more than I have but they lived happily without any issues and there colors were always very vibrant.

But I think your heart is set for 7.8 so you can try different methods like crushed coral but again I can't stress enough that make sure thay that doesn't cause any fluctuations.

Also if possible ask the ph of your supplier. I am sure he is having the same ph as yours if he is in the same city because of common water source.

Good luck.
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it will be going in a sump dont know if that will be better. also just found some stuff last night the link is down below. it will be more expansive but it is for cichlid. as far as the suppler i know one of them if 7.8 i do not know what the other one is. they are not in the same city as me. i dont need 7.8 that's what would like but i will not go crazy trying to get it. if i try some of the common things and they dont work i will just stop and use my tap with nutthing. i wont chase it but would like to just try and bring it up and see what happens. $40 is worth a shot to me





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