Slightly Blue Dalmation Posted July 24, 2008 Report Share Posted July 24, 2008 just out of curiostity what affects the water pH? and any likely problems with pH in any chch water? its just a general inquiry nothing too specific. do all the chemicals like cycle and what not have any effect on the pH? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted July 24, 2008 Report Share Posted July 24, 2008 ChCh is ideal for fish keeping generally. pH is altered by driftwood and peat (lowers), fish (bigger fish will tend to lower pH) and some rocks, like limestone, and shells (raise pH). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted July 24, 2008 Report Share Posted July 24, 2008 Acid water supplies corrode copper and brass so Local Authorities keep the water slightly alkali Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted July 24, 2008 Report Share Posted July 24, 2008 Also if water is left sitting in cement pipes it becomes more alkaline, so sometimes the first bucket of water out of the tap in the morning has a higher pH than the rest of the day! I found out some very interesting things by phoning up my local water supplier and asking to speak to one of their water quality people. He seemed so thrilled that I was even interested in such things as pH in tap water that he was happy to chat for ages! He gave me a very thorough list of all the additives they put in the water, and why they did it, and under what circumstances they would vary the doses. He also discussed very localised variations - for example the area I was living at the time had cement mains because it was quite new, but some other parts of the city have clay or even iron pipes. Really quite fascinating - I do recommend calling up for a chat. I was lucky to find such an enthusiastic (and indulgent) person to talk to. Hopefully you'll get a similar reception! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slightly Blue Dalmation Posted July 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2008 ah k so if someones pH is out they have something quite wrong with their tank? the place i work has a big thing on pH which i dont understand as have never heard of it to be an issue, and they generally end up telling them to buy pH up or down chemical crap and they wonder why all their fish keep dieing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted July 25, 2008 Report Share Posted July 25, 2008 It is sudden changes in pH that cause more problems rather than "incorrect" pH. Many fish these days are captive bred and have no idea they are supposed to be living in a different pH! 8) My Africans were all born and raised in 7.2pH as that was what the ChCh water was where the breeder lived. When I got them home they lived in 7.0 as that is what my tap water was. Again, they bred in this and seemed very happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrie Posted July 25, 2008 Report Share Posted July 25, 2008 I find that with a lot of Killis(not peat spawners) that they stop laying eggs once the Ph gets below 6 and I normally raise it by running an external filter with Oyster shell grit in it for about 12 hours Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM Posted July 25, 2008 Report Share Posted July 25, 2008 Chch water is really good, nothing at all is added to it. It sits at around 7.0 - 7.4 depending on where the water is sourced from. Ph can also drop if the tank gets to dirty ie. not enough water changes. These days most fish can live in water with a ph of about 7.0, however some fish will do better with ph that has been changed with the addition of peat, wood, coral sand etc. Cycle could have an effect on ph. If the water was that dirty that it had a low ph it could increase it as the bacteria worked, however i think this would be by a pretty small amount. I would never add any chemical like ph up or down. in most cases a water change is all that is required. this may also help, http://www.firsttankguide.net/ph.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoon Posted July 25, 2008 Report Share Posted July 25, 2008 ph normally becomes a problem with overfeeding and not enuff water changes this is where some pet shops make money by giving them a band aid and not a prevention. we must remeber there are a lot of ppl still out there that believe fishkeeping is as simple as a golfish bowl fill with water and plonk a fish in. so when the fish starts dying , they go 2 the lfs who say have u tested the ph , no how do i do that, u buy a test kit it should be neutral. now they will either find its slightly alkalne in chch or acid , so back to lfs buy ph up or down and kill another fish due to changing the ph 2 rapidly. all that really needs to be said is, do u have ane calcium based roocks if the ph is high(assuming the ph test kit) or try feeding your fish less and the magical statement do a waterchange i admit sometimes there will be a case where its something out of the ordinary causing ph readings but generaly not Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoody Posted July 25, 2008 Report Share Posted July 25, 2008 hmmmm..........., I struggle to keep my ph down? :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon1990 Posted July 25, 2008 Report Share Posted July 25, 2008 ah k so if someones pH is out they have something quite wrong with their tank? the place i work has a big thing on pH which i dont understand as have never heard of it to be an issue, and they generally end up telling them to buy pH up or down chemical crap and they wonder why all their fish keep dieing Where do you work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slightly Blue Dalmation Posted July 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2008 no offence dixon but it is irrellivent to the discussion Thanks for the comments guys , i just thought i had better do my research before having a go at people for giving crap information :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon1990 Posted July 25, 2008 Report Share Posted July 25, 2008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted July 26, 2008 Report Share Posted July 26, 2008 Good on you for doing your own research, SBD! You're exactly the kind of staff member I would seek out to have an intelligent conversation with if I had issues with my tank. So in summary - Chch water should be 7.0 - 7.4 coming out of the tap, so if a customer's water tests very different to that, it must be something that's happening after they get it out of the tap and put it in their tank. - If their pH is high, ask them about their substrate*. - If the pH is low, ask them about their water-change routine. - Either way, recommend a partial water change. BUT emphasise that several partial water changes are much better than one big one - the change in pH is what really stresses the fish * Tip: Ask them to bring in a sample of their substrate - especially any white stones or stones with white 'seams' in them. Use bottle #1 from the nitrate test kit and put a drop on the white part of the customer's rock. If it sizzles, then the rock contains an alkaline substance that will be raising the pH in their tank. This works because bottle #1 of the nitrate test kit is hydrochloric acid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon1990 Posted July 26, 2008 Report Share Posted July 26, 2008 - If their pH is high, ask them about their substrate*. - If the pH is low, ask them about their water-change routine. Also ask about wood and possibly filter media? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted July 26, 2008 Report Share Posted July 26, 2008 Also ask about wood and possibly filter media? true! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slightly Blue Dalmation Posted July 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2008 in one particular case the lady has pH of about 6 in the tank and uses water of about 6.5 for water changes out of her tap sounds a bit odd to me and aparently has tried using shells etc to bring it up but to no avail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted July 26, 2008 Report Share Posted July 26, 2008 in one particular case the lady has pH of about 6 in the tank and uses water of about 6.5 for water changes out of her tap sounds a bit odd to me and aparently has tried using shells etc to bring it up but to no avail Then she's not using enough. Just throwing the odd shell into the tank won't make any real difference. She needs to try something like bird grit which has a few hundred times the surface area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon1990 Posted July 26, 2008 Report Share Posted July 26, 2008 I do 6.8 water changes pon my 6.0 tank with no problems Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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