Help With A High PH

[Festae Forever]

I recently got some fairly uncommon plecos and they are not appreciating my rock hard 8.4ish PH water. I put in some PH Adjust 7.0 and it did nothing. Was considering using a blend of R/O water and water from my tap, but the last time I did this years ago it seemed that the water would still end up incredibly alkaline unless I used a huge blend of R/O with very little tap water. Of course too, I'm concerned about a huge amount of R/O water being unstable. Would like to get it to 7.0, hopefully without things like peat that will discolor the water.......a pet peeve of my other half!

 

[soupa2]

Why not put some driftwood into setup that Benefit both pleco n water??

 

[Festae Forever]

I already have 8 good size pieces. Unfortunately it's done nothing. Perhaps the tannins have leached out already as I've had them for years. Yeah, agreed. I'd never have plecos without driftwood.

 

[Hendre]

I used peat and presoaked it for a day and basically all the discolouration happened then, although I don't use it anymore it worked okay while I had it

 

[Fish Tank Travis]

Usually, as long as you keep the ph stable, most fish will adjust to it and live happily. What makes you think that the plecos are having trouble with the high ph (btw, I'm in the same boat with ph at 8.4)?

Another option would be to use straight RO water, but then add some sort of remineralization dose to it. I'm pretty sure they make products for exactly this purpose. It will add back the trace minerals that the fish use as well as add buffering capacity to the water.

 

[Raynado]

How are you getting a high PH? Is water from your tap 8+ish? Also, what type of substate/media are you using? If you have any coral those need to go.

 

[Mr Pleco]

Your fish will acclimate to PH if its steady .. trying to play games with PH is a recipe for disaster. Why do you think your fish are stressed from your PH ? Even fish that are wild caught they are usually acclimated to tap water at your wholesaler , then changed to your retailer 's tap water, both probably different PH ..Using RO will reduce GH and KH ( reducing KH allows you to lower PH) .. Adding acid or Co2 reactor will change PH .. Tap water is fairly consistent just make sure you do water changes to keep everything steady.. Once I stopped worrying about PH , I started enjoying the hobby.

 

[Festae Forever]

Hi Everyone-Thanks for chiming in. I just got 4 Baby L-95 Plecos from Jeff Rapps. These fish had obviously been eating well before I got them because I've never seen more poo in my life. The tap water I have here in the desert (Palm Springs) is super hard and super alkaline. When I do PH tests the result is a darkish blue (I'd say 8.4 and perhaps higher) . I've been offering all sorts of food and unless it's falling into crevices it's going uneaten. I'm using the Carib Sea "Moonlight" sand. The one that says it does not affect hardness and etc. The only other thing I have in the tank besides the sand is lots of driftwood. All other water tests are coming back fine. I basically never see them, which if you know L-95's is definitely unusual.

 

[Fish Tank Travis]

How long have you had them?

 

[Mr Pleco]

What are you trying to feed them ? and 2nd , how long have they been in your tank?