High PH

[glend]

I have recently tested my water and found my PH to be 8.6. i know this is really high for the fish that i am keeping. My LFS told me i should use a PH stabilizing product that will keep my PH at 7.0 is this extra expense really needed or will my fish adapt.

my ammonia and nitrates and kh are all normal

[jaysee]

It's generally not a good idea to mess with the water chemistry.

Hasn't your tank been up and running for 3 years? Don't fix what's not broken.

[glend]

this tank has only been setup for approx 3 months prior to this i was keeping malawi cichlids for 3 yrs, i opted for a change

[BrandonBCA]

I'd shy away from any "easy" pH fixes. They're generally phosphate buffers, which can cause problems. On top of that pH is more like a thermometer than an actual parameter. What I mean by that is it indicates how many dissolved solids are in your water, which is what affects fish more than the presence of hydrogen ions. If the fish are sensitive to pH, they'll probably be sensitive to dissolved solids so even if your pH were buffered down they could still be negatively impacted. The phosphate will precipitate out some of the hardness, but not enough to improve the situation much. If you feel you must lower your pH diluting it down with distilled or RO water would be your best bet since your pH is so high. Even at that high level, a lot of fish will probably adapt well so long as they're acclimated properly. If possible try to find a local aquarium group to see what works with your local water chemistry.

[Lady Hobbs]

Adjusting pH all the time is dangerous to fish and should not be adjusted more than .4 in any 24 hour period. Trying to move pH from 8.6 clear to 7.0 is a lot and also probably a hopeless task. Keep only fish than can tolerate what you can give them without adjustments.

My 7.6 has not prevented me from keeping anything I've wanted so far. But if you really want to move that pH, best way to do it is with R/O water.

[Aeonflame]

Is your water like that out of the tap?

[kingkarter]

The water in my tank is 8.0 and all of my fish are fine.

One way's you could lower the ph is by adding drift wood, if you get enough it will lower the ph and keep it down idk how much it will lower though.

[glend]

Thanks for all of the tips, i will give it a try and see how i go.

[genocidex]

stay away from the buffers. just recently i nuked my tank due to those darn things. set me back 2 weeks on a fishless cycle. i dont want to think what would have happened if i had fish in there..... im thinking a scene of mass plaque or something lol.