# Aquarium Water Chemistry Help



## jeb88 (Sep 3, 2009)

Hello all- this is my first post here.

I am new to this hobby, and I have a few questions. I have a 30 gal freshwater setup w/ 3 mollies, 1(big and still quickly growing) angelfish, 1 rainbow shark, 2 silver dollars, 1 guarami, and 1 red wag tail platy. 

My question is concerning the water chemistry. The ammonia level is good, so are the nitrites and nitrates. The problem is my water is VERY soft, alkalinity is high, and my PH is a little high. All of my attempts to lower the PH have obviously failed. 

How can I remedy this little problem? I've had the aquarium with the fish in it for a little over a month. Thanks!


----------



## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

if its alkaline and a high ph the water is hard, not soft. soft water is low in Ph and acidic.


Seachem makes a product called neutral regulator however a piece of Driftwood can lower your ph and the alkalinity naturally and slowly where the fish adjust.

I am concerned with the rainbow shark, I had one and it was mean, my buddy has a red tail now and its killing off his tiger barbs left and right. They are a territorially aggressive fish that might pose problems with the slower moving fish with bigger fins.

what are your exact parameters and filter(s)?


----------



## jeb88 (Sep 3, 2009)

I have test strips that show each independently-Alkalinity, water soft/hard, and ph, so thats what my first post is based on. I will look into the driftwood idea.

I have not seen many signs of aggression from my rainbow shark. He usually keeps to himself. He likes to eat what little algae I have on the decorations I have in my tank, and keep it clean. I don't know if that is a characteristic of that species of fish in particular, or if he just doesn't like the food I feed my fish, although he does eat the tropical flakes and frozen bloodworms.

I don't have the exact dimensions and info on my tank at the moment, but I will post them later when I get home.


----------



## JIM (May 27, 2009)

**w2 to both of you, good to have you here, enjoy the forum.*


----------



## obscbyclouds (Apr 6, 2009)

There are two measure of water "hardness": Carbonate Hardness (Alkalinity or KH), which is the ability of a solution to neutralize acids and maintain PH. Results are in dKH or ppm. The other is General Hardness (GH) is the amount of dissolved minerals (salts, etc) in the water. These results are measured in dH.

What test did you use to find out your water is very soft? Playing around with Ph with chemicals can be risky business, especially with soft water, because it doesn't maintain PH as well as harder water. Is there a particular reason you want a lower PH? 

As Outfitter says driftwood is the best way to lower PH without risking a crash. And I have to share his concern about having a rainbow shark in a 30gal tank especially with those tank mates. As the gourami (depending on type) and angelfish grow, this will likely lead to a lot of fighting in your tank. Its also a massive bio load for a tank of that size.


----------



## jeb88 (Sep 3, 2009)

obscbyclouds said:


> There are two measure of water "hardness": Carbonate Hardness (Alkalinity or KH), which is the ability of a solution to neutralize acids and maintain PH. Results are in dKH or ppm. The other is General Hardness (GH) is the amount of dissolved minerals (salts, etc) in the water. These results are measured in dH.
> 
> What test did you use to find out your water is very soft? Playing around with Ph with chemicals can be risky business, especially with soft water, because it doesn't maintain PH as well as harder water. Is there a particular reason you want a lower PH?
> 
> As Outfitter says driftwood is the best way to lower PH without risking a crash. And I have to share his concern about having a rainbow shark in a 30gal tank especially with those tank mates. As the gourami (depending on type) and angelfish grow, this will likely lead to a lot of fighting in your tank. Its also a massive bio load for a tank of that size.



Thanks for the advice. I will post the specifics of the tests, dimensions of the tank, and filter of the tank when I get home. The PH stays constant around 8.2. Thats higher than I feel comfortable with in a FW tank. I guess as long as it's staying constant and not fluctuating it's not a huge problem, but that is why I'd like to lower it. 

Can you elaborate on your point of a "massive bio load" for my tank?


----------



## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

It means you have some major waste producers in the tank, also tankmates that aren't really a good combination.

Test strips aren't that reliable either. You need to use liquid test kits to be more accurate. If you have an lfs nearby I would take a sample of water to them and have them test it for you or purchase a liquid test kit.

The only way I would suggest lowering ph is either using driftwood/an or ro water.


----------



## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

Test strips can be from 40ppm to 400ppm off, they are very unreliable devices used to test water.

less then 30 bucks you can get an API master FW test kit, the same kind the pro's use.


----------

