PH levels for new tank

Q&A about aquarium maintenance

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ajschuette
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Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2011 1:28 pm

PH levels for new tank

Post by ajschuette »

We just rescued a 7 year old Red Devil Chiclid from an aquarium that is closing. He has been in the tank for about 2 weeks. Yesterday I had the water tested and the results were fine except for a very low PH reading. We are using treated tap water and the guy at the fish shop was mystified. At what level and should we add something to boost the PH?
Pam Chin
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Re: PH levels for new tank

Post by Pam Chin »

Hi Ajschuette,

Neutral or 7.0 pH would probably be fine. If you are higher, no worries. If it is lower, then it would depend on how low. You can raise your pH with additives you can buy from the fish store, you can raise it naturally with rock, sand and/or gravel. Aragonite and Dolomite are both good. CRushed coral can be put in the filter to help buffer your pH up.

You don't want to play around with it too much, and many fish can adapt to their conditions. Unfortunately everyones water is different so there is not a set recipe to get you to the correct pH.

You may want to get a meter and monitor it your self. After water sits (aged) it can change. As you can see it is trial and error to get to the perfect pH. You will just have to experiment.

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Pam
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