My Water is Hard and My Ph is high

[Cliffs]

But my Nitrites are spiking on the 2 tanks so I can cut my ammonia. So thats good news
So when I go fish shopping should I get a water sample and test it to make sure the LFS water is close to what I have so I don't shock the new fish? Sould I go crazy and try to lower the hardness but leave the ph alone? Do I just get fish that can tolerate the Hard NJ water? Do I Just guess that the LFS water is just like mine? I don't want to hurt any of the little fellows

[Chrona]

But my Nitrites are spiking on the 2 tanks so I can cut my ammonia. So thats good news
So when I go fish shopping should I get a water sample and test it to make sure the LFS water is close to what I have so I don't shock the new fish? Sould I go crazy and try to lower the hardness but leave the ph alone? Do I just get fish that can tolerate the Hard NJ water? Do I Just guess that the LFS water is just like mine? I don't want to hurt any of the little fellows

How hard and how high of a pH? Livebearers do great in hard water. Actually most fish will do fine, given a slow acclimation (float bag for 30 minutes, pour 1 cup of tank water into the bag every 10 minutes for an hour) as they have most likely been kept in the same hard local tap water at the LFS.

[Cliffs]

Im at work so I don't have the info here . But Im just using some AP strips and they are maxed out on the color charts. Hardness is like 180 and 270 and the Ph is 8.5 or 9 by their color chart

[Chrona]

Im at work so I don't have the info here . But Im just using some AP strips and they are maxed out on the color charts. Hardness is like 180 and 270 and the Ph is 8.5 or 9 by their color chart

LOL. Wow, I think that takes the cake for the most alkaline water I have seen. How big is the tank? Malawi cichlids would be perfect in that water. I certainly would not try any angelfish/tetras/gouramis etc, unless they were bred locally.

With water that alkaline, I would not even attempt to lower it to suit the fish, as you will be fighting a losing battle. Short of an RO filtration unit, I think you will be limited to livebearers/african cichlids.

[Cliffs]

I have 2 55 gallon tanks. I wanted to put goldfish in one and tropical in the other

[Chrona]

I have 2 55 gallon tanks. I wanted to put goldfish in one and tropical in the other

I don't have any knowlegde when it comes to water that alkaline, so I will defer to another member, but I believe goldfish (being hardy) can adapt and live in the water, but for tropical fish, you really just want to go with african cichlids or livebearers. Again, if you LFS has been keeping the fish for a while in their tanks, and if they use the regular tap water with the same parameters as you, then by all means go for it, but 9.0 is awfully high for the likes of tetras/angelfish/gouramis, etc.

[Cliffs]

Thanks Chorna

[Lady Hobbs]

My water is also hard like yours and I've had the same readings (if not more.) My pH remains at 7.6 always, tho, and all my fish do fine.....including angels that are thriving and spawning. My plan is to start using Black Water Extract or a similiar product that will add tannins and help soften it somewhat. I thought of trying the peat pellets but I thought I may find those hard to regulate and adding a few spoonfuls of the Extract may be easier for regulating. This will obviously give me a black water effect but many fish like it as well as plants so guess I will give it a try.

[Cliffs]

Thanks, then there is hope.

[Chrona]

There is a big difference between 7.6 pH and 9.0 pH, though. The water is almost 100x as alkaline. Keeping my 7.5 pH water down consistently was already a PITA, I cannot even imagine trying to bring and keep 9.0 water down (think water changes. Are you going to premix buckets and buckets of tap water with an acid buffer before adding it? - If you don't, your tank pH will skyrocket - I could do it fairly easily on a 10 gallon, but 55 gallons.....)

[Lady Hobbs]

I see your point. Ya know, I had 3 bubblers going in my 29 gallon, 24/7 and didn't turn the air pump on at night. I still had readings of 7.4. It is very hard to change pH with hard water. My thought was if he could soften the water, perhaps then he could better adjust the pH.