8.2ph out of tap, need help lowering

[Black Tuna]

Noticed that I cant get many of my SA/CA cichlids to spawn and my tap is at 8.2ph. May be the reason for no spawing?
Any advice on lowering PH. I'm reading peat granulates/moss, driftwood, etc.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[esoxlucius]

I think the common concensus in the hobby nowadays is to try and get fish that fit your water, rather than get fish where you have to change your water parameters to house them. It makes sense really, less hassle for the hobbyist. That said, i think most fish will acclimatise nicely to a given ph as long as it's not up and down all the time which is stressful at best and lethal at worst.

If altering your stock isn't something you want to do then obviously there are measures you can take to adjust your ph, up or down. You've mentioned some of the ways, and they will do the job gradually. I had a large piece of bogwood in my tank, a bit too large it would seem because my ph would gradually drop too such an extent that i had to put some crushed coral in just to keep it in check.

 

[twentyleagues]

Yeah you've already said one of the beast ways peat.

 

[duanes]

A pH of 8.2 is not unusual for many natural waters in Central America.
I live near lake Gatun in Panama and the pH often hits 9, and there are plenty of fish constantly spawning in the lake.
Most surface water in countries like Nicaragua range 8.2 to 8.9, and the pH of Lake Nicaragua itself rises above 9.
Water temps are often cooler than most aquarists realize, the Great lakes of Nicaragua are often in the 60s, as is Lake Arenal in Costa Rica during cooler months, so getting fish to spawn may have more to do with dropping the tanks temp slightly for Central American cichlids.
Many of my Central American cichlids spawned after large 50% cool water changes.
That said, I never messed with the pH of my tanks, and my tap water was normally 7.8 - 8.0 depending on the season.

 

[Black Tuna]

A pH of 8.2 is not unusual for many natural waters in Central America.
I live near lake Gatun in Panama and the pH often hits 9, and there are plenty of fish constantly spawning in the lake.
Most surface water in countries like Nicaragua range 8.2 to 8.9, and the pH of Lake Nicaragua itself rises above 9.
Water temps are often cooler than most aquarists realize, the Great lakes of Nicaragua are often in the 60s, as is Lake Arenal in Costa Rica during cooler months, so getting fish to spawn may have more to do with dropping the tanks temp slightly for Central American cichlids.
Many of my Central American cichlids spawned after large 50% cool water changes.
That said, I never messed with the pH of my tanks, and my tap water was normally 7.8 - 8.0 depending on the season.

I really appreciate the feedback. Would you happen to know if this is different for SA species like Festae? These are the fish I'm having the biggest issue with.

 

[duanes]

My Festae didn't seem to be phased at all by my high pH tap water, and the rivers on that side of the Andes have more alkaline composition in general, compared with the Amazon side.
And because they come from very cold areas of high elevation in the Andes or Sierra Madre mountains, seem to be cooler and don't get a chance to warm up even on the coast.
I was in Colombia a few months back, and found I could only stand to be snorkeling in the Magadalena system a short time, the water was maybe mid 70s or lower.
This ics was taken only a short distance from the coast. You can tell by my face, its not warm and cozy.

 

[Black Tuna]

My Festae didn't seem to be phased at all by my high pH tap water, and the rivers on that side of the Andes have more alkaline composition in general, compared with the Amazon side.
And because they come from very cold areas of high elevation in the Andes or Sierra Madre mountains, seem to be cooler and don't get a chance to warm up even on the coast.
I was in Colombia a few months back, and found I could only stand to be snorkeling in the Magadalena system a short time, the water was maybe mid 70s or lower.
This ics was taken only a short distance from the coast. You can tell by my face, its not warm and cozy.
View attachment 1289829
View attachment 1289830
View attachment 1289831

Great info and pictures. Thank you.

 

[tarheel96]

Are you measuring the pH strait out of your tap or waiting at least 24 hours before measuring the pH?

Your water can exit the tap at a high pH and, after venting with the atmosphere, decrease in pH. This happens when the water treatment plant adds sodium hydroxide to the water. In this case, as mentioned, after the water has vented with the atmosphere and CO2 has bonded with (sodium) hydroxide, pH will normalize.

Your water can also exit the tap at a low pH and, after venting with the atmosphere, increasevin pH, but we'll leave the details out.

You do NOT want to bother lowering your pH. To do so you must erode the alkalinity/KH with an acid. This is like mixing baking soda and vinegar ... it produces CO2 which lowers pH in addition to eroding alkalinity/KH. However, this drop in pH is temporary and when the excess CO2 gasses out, the pH bounces right back up again. You must add enough acid erode the alkalinity/KH the correct amount. As alkalinity/KH decreases so does pH. So you must know your alkalinity/KH. There's a kit for this. Lowering pH is one of the most difficult things to do successfully and ro/di water is used if pH realky needs lowering. It is also almost always completely unnecessary as duanes has mentioned for CA cichlids especially.

Please post your the pH 24 hours after exting the tap or the pH of the tank. It might not be over 8 anyway.

 

[Black Tuna]

Are you measuring the pH strait out of your tap or waiting at least 24 hours before measuring the pH?

Your water can exit the tap at a high pH and, after venting with the atmosphere, decrease in pH. This happens when the water treatment plant adds sodium hydroxide to the water. In this case, as mentioned, after the water has vented with the atmosphere and CO2 has bonded with (sodium) hydroxide, pH will normalize.

Your water can also exit the tap at a low pH and, after venting with the atmosphere, increasevin pH, but we'll leave the details out.

You do NOT want to bother lowering your pH. To do so you must erode the alkalinity/KH with an acid. This is like mixing baking soda and vinegar ... it produces CO2 which lowers pH in addition to eroding alkalinity/KH. However, this drop in pH is temporary and when the excess CO2 gasses out, the pH bounces right back up again. You must add enough acid erode the alkalinity/KH the correct amount. As alkalinity/KH decreases so does pH. So you must know your alkalinity/KH. There's a kit for this. Lowering pH is one of the most difficult things to do successfully and ro/di water is used if pH realky needs lowering. It is also almost always completely unnecessary as duanes has mentioned for CA cichlids especially.

Please post your the pH 24 hours after exting the tap or the pH of the tank. It might not be over 8 anyway.

Thank you. my ph out of my tank 3 days after water change was 8.0. I'll test 1 day after but id imagine it to be inbetween 8.2 and 8.0

 

[twentyleagues]

Thank you. my ph out of my tank 3 days after water change was 8.0. I'll test 1 day after but id imagine it to be inbetween 8.2 and 8.0

And that's a pretty normal drop with the organics in the tank water. As others have said seems temp is more a signal to breed then other outside stimulus.