Realy High PH

I decided I wanted some South American Blue Ram Cichlids on Friday so I went to my local LFS. After talking with the lady at my local LFS I decided I should test my PH and KH first. I woke this morning and tested my PH only to discover it at around 8.4. Aghast, I re-checked and re-checked and still 8.4. Still unable to believe what I was seeing I gathered up a bottle of the aquarium water and headed down to my local LFS. I had them verify my readings. Well it turned out it was 8.4 and I was at lost as what to do. I brought my tap water with as well to have him verify the PH level. 8.4 CRAP! He tested the KH as well and it took 23 drops to turn the water from blue to yellow (apparently that’s very high). I had tested my tap water before I started the tank 3 months ago and the PH was at a reasonable 7.3.The gentleman at the LFS told me I need to do a 15% water change using R/O water. I wanted an easy maintenance tank with tap water but it would seem the tap is no good. I don’t want to go and buy R/O water from the store every week to do a water change. I need ideas as what I should do (preferably cheap ones). Any suggestions would be most appreciated. Plants and fish are all doing really well. (From what I can tell)

55 Gallons Dirted

3 large pieces of bog wood

10 anubias

20 stems of vale

1 Apon-Ulvaceus

3 bunches ludwigia

3 Rotala Macrandra

6 Dwarf Lily

2 Tiger lotus

2 Amazon swords

11 Neon Tetra

6 Cory Cats

6 Otocinclus Cats

1 Male Beta

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Comment by Robert Jango on November 26, 2012 at 9:18am: Rain water is almost the same as RO water. If you can collect it from your gutter spout at a regular rate use it to make water changes. The Rams will be happier, healthier, and more colorful in soft acidic water and breed like Rabbits. They can probably survive in hard, alkaline water though.

Comment by ŦůRbö ۰ Ҏяѻ ۰ on November 26, 2012 at 2:22pm: I wounder about snow water. hmm the snow is coming in my side of the world here. I'm going to collect some and run tests. From what I recall from middle school the amount of precipitation and water vapor in the air will affect how acid the precipitation and water droplets in the air and in clouds are. But middle school was awhile ago lol. My base theory is, generally the more water drops or snow flakes, the less acidic the water is, since the acid particles are dissolved and diluted. So the more precipitation and the faster it falls, the less acidic the rainwater or snow will be, again, because of the dilution factor. A rapid rain, such as from a thunderstorm, "cleans" the air, washing out much of the pollution and making the air temporarily cleaner. Thats a fact. How acid the precipitation is, is also affected by how much sulfur and nitrogen bearing pollution and soil is in the air. Soil generally helps to neutralize the acidic pollution in rain. Areas of the country with more alkaline soils, such as west of the Rocky Mountains, and where it is windy (so that soil becomes airborne), generally have less acidic precipitation as a result. The western part of the country also has fewer pollution sources and therefore has less acidic precipitation for this reason as well. (I live in the western part of he US, BTW) Snow should be less acidic than rain, as it is not very good at "washing" pollution from the air. Snowflakes often form on aerosol particles, which can be made of pollution, but being solid, they cannot capture or absorb other pollution effectively. Say rain in my side of the world has an average pH of 6.4, whereas the pH for snow is more likely to be around 6.8. Say a city east, like Chicago (have family there) will have a rain water pH of 4.4, and snow water pH 4.8. (about) Due to the lack of soil in the air as stated above.

Anyways this just what I figure in my head, I'll run some tests and run it by some Professors at school today to see if my theory is, at least, on the right track. If I am, then I will be happy. Snow water will be easier to collect then rain water. (Where I live we get more snow then rain.)

Thanks Robert for sparking my mind, lol.

Comment by Robert Jango on November 26, 2012 at 9:57pm: My rain water varies from 5.0 to 6.0 but usually measures 5.8 - not sure why this is but it probably has something to do with the factors you mention. People within 20 miles of me have measured melted snow at anywhere from 4.2 to 7.0 - but again it usually measures around 5.8. The rain water in Boston, and probably everywhere else, is ALWAYS soft - about 1 degree general hardness.

I meet with a professional chemist every month and grill him on different topics. Lately its been about different kinds of filtration including the natural method - plants. But I'll show him your post and see what he thinks. Like everyone else he finds that changing the water is your best filtration system - no surprise there.

For some reason Rio Negro fish (Cardinals, Discus, Hatchetfish, Apistos etc) LOVE rain water - even better than RO water. Again, not sure why. But add rain or melted snow to your tank in at least a 40% water change and watch your fish breed. Its like waving a magic wand. A little live food doesn't hurt either.

PH levels in natural Blue Ram habitats vary but it is always soft and filled with tannins. Their water looks like Coca-cola. My rain water comes from my roof gutters which I allow to clog with leaves - comes out like looking like tea.

I don't get too involved with the chemistry aspect of the hobby - only enough to achieve my practical purposes ie breeding fish. But I do read your and LED's posts about PH and Co2 intently. Good stuff.