Make up water Ph different than tank water

[Cecil B.]

How much of a shock to a biofilter and fish is using make up water that is 7.4 vs. 8.4 in a tank? My well water out of the well is 7.4 and won't' increase to the same Ph as the tank water without vigorous aeration. I can let it sit for 24 hours to no avail. Has to be vigorously aerated. Unfortunately the air pump I use presently has a blown a diaphragm. It won't be a week or so until I get another diaphragm.

I realizes that Ph is measured in a logarithmic scale which means 8.4 is 10 X that of 7.4. That's what concerns me although I try to add the make up water very slowy. The fish war recently hatched (trout) and seem to be fine as thy are feeding. I am having issues with the biofilter and think perhaps this may be due to some kind of Ph shock.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

 

[deeda]

The usual recommendations I see is to not raise the pH more than 0.02 per day for fish but have not seen that suggested for bio-filtration.

What else may have changed with your bio-filtration?

 

[RD.]

pH shock is a misnomer, the 'shock' factor comes from a sudden increase or decrease in TDS, which can cause osmoregulatory stress in fish. I have no idea about bio bacteria ....

 

[Drstrangelove]

pH changes for fish in large ponds and shallow lakes over a wide range every day. It changes far more suddenly when fish are downstream in rivers following a sudden rainstorm with surface runoff. And it changes for hundreds of thousands of fish every day when owners do a WC. I can't really say that I've read of any cases of "shock" from pH changes, either suddenly or on a daily in the typical range (6.5-8.5) in which fish are found.

BB is affected by pH change in becoming more or less active within a wide range 6.0-8.5, with some dormant below 6.0. In your case, I think it's fine to use slightly different water.

 

[BIG-G]

I dont think that it will cause any problems, But if you want you could add a little baking soda to your water before adding it to the tank.

 

[narayanang76]

I think this no need to worry much and should be fine.

Still you can consider some of the below suggestions:
Water change 20-30% max - wont cause high fluctuation of PH
Add salt (crystal salt) - will help increase TDS and in turn PH
Try any of the popular water conditioners, during water change, to reduce any stress to the fish during water change

Issues with biofilter, if any, would not be due to any PH variation, but something else.

 

[Coryloach]

The Ph difference is normally due to higher co2 in the tap water. This has no impact on osmoregulation because co2 concentration has no effect on either GH,KH or TDS. It is safe to pour the water directly into the tank without aerating it prior. My tap water has a ph of 6.6 which goes up to 7.4 once it settles in the tank. I do large water changes filling the tanks straight from the tap. ..no issues whatsoever...for years...and happy fish because their owner is not afraid to do many large water changes.

 

[Cecil B.]

Thank you all!

 

[punman]

Are there really many places in USA with water PH at 8.4? Send me a truckload for my African Cichlids!
My city in Western Canada reports a range of 7.3 to 8.1 so that gives me an average of 7.7.

I'd love to get 8.4 on a consistent basis.