I ordered a Tig from Shark Aquarium. My tank seems to want to run at a stable 8.0 George said his tanks run at 6.8 and told me I should drop the ph to at least the low 7's I bought some PH down stuff, and my KH is only 3 but it still keeps rebounding back up!? Would going from 6.8 to 8.0 be more than a Tig could handle? I know their norm ph is 6.5 to 7.8, I thought 8.0 would be ok? Am I headed for doom?? he'll be here Friday.
Need help with Tigrinus ph!!!!
- Thread starter Blackwater
- Start date
I use RO/DI water and the **** still comes out at 8.0 ph with zero TDS, confirmed by multiple test methods, I swear to god my city is built on a lime pit.
The ph does seem pretty high. 6.8 - 8.0 if not done long enough or done properly, (acclimation) could be fatal to the juvy tigrinus. I hate to see that tig croak as ive seen those in person and i love them...Maybe you can use blackwater extract to help bring the ph down . Also make sure that you use the drip method to slowly equalize the bag water to the tank water.
Well, getting the PH down to 7 in my 180 won't be a problem. Keeping it there will, getting the PH down that far trashes my kh/alkalinity from what I can see so I don't know what to do? I figure that if I slowly raise the tank PH to say 7.5 over a month or so after arrival it would be easier to manage. The big mystery in my head is how do you get a low PH with a high enough KH to prevent crashes???
This guy says his ray tank, which also holds a Tig and Arowanas runs at 8.2 with a GH over 200!? How is that possible? http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/5590/MotoroP2.html
At that situation, i would just focus on acclimating the tigrinus slowly so that it can survive the HUGE change bet 6.8 - 8. Add some buffers in the tank so that the water ph would be more stable after putting peat moss or blackwater extract . I am not a huge fan of putting additives in the water as swings are unavoidable . What kind of RO unit are you using? . RO water should bring the ph down . . .
I would just keep the ph as is and rather having the ph swing up and down.
as far as having tigs do well in that high of a water long term ,i do not have the experience to tell you that. I have heard of many amazon fish doing well and even breeding in hard water. . motoro rays have been successfuly kept and bred in 8 + water in california.
I would just keep the ph as is and rather having the ph swing up and down.
as far as having tigs do well in that high of a water long term ,i do not have the experience to tell you that. I have heard of many amazon fish doing well and even breeding in hard water. . motoro rays have been successfuly kept and bred in 8 + water in california.
Blackwater said:
I believe that . As i posted earlier, consistency rather than optimal parameters (when it comes to PH) is the key. Just acclimate properly and slowly.
That's kinda what I'm thinkg too. I want to have the PH lower in the tank when the fish arrives so the swing isn't big. Over time I'll gradually raise it up to where it seems to want to be. The bio-load going into the 180 will be small ( a 5" Tig and 7 3" Silver Dollars) so there won't be a huge risk of a PH crash but I will have to test ph and kh daily for quite some time. I just want to treat the Tig perfect, that's why I'm worried!!
LOL you should be good. If you want, do water tests while acclimating
to make sure everything everything is equalized before you throw the tig in the tank.
With a ph that high, i would think of keeping african cichlids or other high PH fish.
to make sure everything everything is equalized before you throw the tig in the tank.
With a ph that high, i would think of keeping african cichlids or other high PH fish.