This is on a large aquarium 300 gallon+ I am worried about PH difference harming the fish during water changes
what can I do?
what can I do?
Tap water PH 8, aquarium ph 7, will 50 percent water changes be bad?
- Thread starter Hmontoya93
- Start date
Why is the aquarium pH that different than the tap? If you have manipulated the pH in the tank, you may want to consider stoping it, or be facing the same situation every time you will be doing a water change, which should be often. It would be wise not to try to have fish which need dramatically different water parameters than the water available to you.
What percentage of water are you changing? What kind of fish do you have? Have you done this before with no issues?
Have you “rested” your tap water for a day or so before testing it?
In the past, I got readings of 7 out of the tap but 7.8 out of the tank - but once I tested the rested tap water it matched what I saw out of the tank.
In the past, I got readings of 7 out of the tap but 7.8 out of the tank - but once I tested the rested tap water it matched what I saw out of the tank.
I am doing 50 percent water changes, on a 360
I have cichlids a gar and an arowana
I have lost fish before I thought maybe issues temperature matching but then today I saw my fish gasping for air while doing a perfect temperature water chsnge so I am suspecting maybe this is the culprit. I do have other 125 gallon and 75 gallon tanks no issues in over a decade only this big one
I have cichlids a gar and an arowana
I have lost fish before I thought maybe issues temperature matching but then today I saw my fish gasping for air while doing a perfect temperature water chsnge so I am suspecting maybe this is the culprit. I do have other 125 gallon and 75 gallon tanks no issues in over a decade only this big one
How often do you do water changes? I’ve found if you let the water sit especially with drift wood in there it can lower the PH. What water conditioner do you use?
At what point are you determining that you're making a perfect temp WC?
A 50% WC on a 360G tank is @ 180G and it would be an unusual house that had a 200G hot water heater. Any chance you're making a perfect WC until your 50G hot water heater runs out and then you're freezing the fish w/ super cold water?
The long term effects of significant pH changes can be problematic for fish that didn't evolve to live in the pH you have on hand however, short term I've never seen it be a huge problem and in my mind I equate it to a slightly uncomfortable environment. I live in a cool and semi-arid area and like it that way. If I were to go to Houston, TX in July I'd be uncomfortable but short term I could deal w/ it. Long term, not so much. I think of pH similarly.
A 50% WC on a 360G tank is @ 180G and it would be an unusual house that had a 200G hot water heater. Any chance you're making a perfect WC until your 50G hot water heater runs out and then you're freezing the fish w/ super cold water?
The long term effects of significant pH changes can be problematic for fish that didn't evolve to live in the pH you have on hand however, short term I've never seen it be a huge problem and in my mind I equate it to a slightly uncomfortable environment. I live in a cool and semi-arid area and like it that way. If I were to go to Houston, TX in July I'd be uncomfortable but short term I could deal w/ it. Long term, not so much. I think of pH similarly.
Excess metabolism of waste tends to lower pH.
To get more tank water stabllity instead of waiting to do a 50% water change, it may be better to do a series of smaller water changes more often.
A drop of 1 full pH point means between your normal WCs, your tank becomes 100 times more acidic, which "can" be quite tramatic for some species.
I also have a 300 gal volume system, and find with every other day 30-40% WC's, my pH of 8.2 (just like the tap) never varies (and nitrate remain within my goal of under 5 ppm).
Although your tap water pH is 8, your waters alkalinity may be low, meaning it does not resist change, because its calcium content is not concentrated enough compared to your fish load.
It doesn't matter if your tank is 30 gallons, or 300, or 3000.
If your stocking level overwhelms the waters ability to buffer acid (fish waste, bacterial metabolism, or as suggested, could be tannins from a log) your WC routine needs to reflect the waters alkalinity.
This is one of the reasons we test pH.
If you have 10 neons in a 30 gal, and pH drops by a full point, that means you've either got either too many neons for your water change schedule or for the tanks volume, the realistic main problem, is too wimpy a WC's alkalinity for that stocking.
If you have 3 oscars in a 300, and your pH rapidly drops an entire point, it mens the WC routine and volume, is not adequate for that stocking in that tank.
Because all water is different in different places, and all fish produce different volumes of waste, testing pH is our easiest way of determining what our WC schedule and volume should be our specific tank.
It appears to me, by the drop in your pH, that your WC chedule and volume is, for whatever stock is in your tank is "not" sufficient to maintain the tanks stability.
I experimented with different schedule and volume amounts by testing pH and nitrate between, and before water changes for a couple months before landing at what I consider to be an adequate schedule for my stock and tank volume.
If pH dropped even 0.3 in pH to me the schedule needed to be adjusted to more volume and frequency.
If nitrate rose above 5 ppm, that indicated to me, the schedule and volume, was not adequate etc etc
To get more tank water stabllity instead of waiting to do a 50% water change, it may be better to do a series of smaller water changes more often.
A drop of 1 full pH point means between your normal WCs, your tank becomes 100 times more acidic, which "can" be quite tramatic for some species.
I also have a 300 gal volume system, and find with every other day 30-40% WC's, my pH of 8.2 (just like the tap) never varies (and nitrate remain within my goal of under 5 ppm).
Although your tap water pH is 8, your waters alkalinity may be low, meaning it does not resist change, because its calcium content is not concentrated enough compared to your fish load.
It doesn't matter if your tank is 30 gallons, or 300, or 3000.
If your stocking level overwhelms the waters ability to buffer acid (fish waste, bacterial metabolism, or as suggested, could be tannins from a log) your WC routine needs to reflect the waters alkalinity.
This is one of the reasons we test pH.
If you have 10 neons in a 30 gal, and pH drops by a full point, that means you've either got either too many neons for your water change schedule or for the tanks volume, the realistic main problem, is too wimpy a WC's alkalinity for that stocking.
If you have 3 oscars in a 300, and your pH rapidly drops an entire point, it mens the WC routine and volume, is not adequate for that stocking in that tank.
Because all water is different in different places, and all fish produce different volumes of waste, testing pH is our easiest way of determining what our WC schedule and volume should be our specific tank.
It appears to me, by the drop in your pH, that your WC chedule and volume is, for whatever stock is in your tank is "not" sufficient to maintain the tanks stability.
I experimented with different schedule and volume amounts by testing pH and nitrate between, and before water changes for a couple months before landing at what I consider to be an adequate schedule for my stock and tank volume.
If pH dropped even 0.3 in pH to me the schedule needed to be adjusted to more volume and frequency.
If nitrate rose above 5 ppm, that indicated to me, the schedule and volume, was not adequate etc etc
