[lingcod]

just bought a pressurized co2 system online arriving next week. ph is 8.2, kh 10. ph drops with co2 introduction. will adding 8.2 ph tapwater during weekly water changes stress critters and plants? if so what steps are recommended?
im considering an RO system to gradually get ph to 7 but prefer to avoid if not necessary. even if i buy the RO and get pre co2 to 7 theyll still be a ph difference between tank co2 water and added RO water. ive tried seachem neutral regulator but my water kh is too high at prescribed dose. any ideas? thanks.

 

[PlantedRich]

I would advise not to go the RO, both for cost as well as the never ending pain of it, unless you really find a ned. I have really alkaline 7.8 and hard 300+ tap water. When I started CO2 I just tried working the CO2 up very slowly, watching the PH as well as my fish. My fish are the prioities in my tank, so the effect the CO2 might have on them was the major concern. I now find that much of what I had learned about the importance of PH is bogus! African cichlids have to have high PH water is fully drilled into everybody. But I find they keep on breeding and feeling fine if the CO2 is increased slowly and they can get used to the lower PH. I found when I went from 7.8 and got down to 6.8 or less they acted "off" so I now run it at near 6-9 /7.0. I have also learned that the PH varies naturally daylight to dark so a bit of swing is not a big thing. Water change is fine. Even 50% shows no stress for my fish. Watch the fish and let them tell you when it is enough?

 

[lingcod]

I would advise not to go the RO, both for cost as well as the never ending pain of it, unless you really find a ned. I have really alkaline 7.8 and hard 300+ tap water. When I started CO2 I just tried working the CO2 up very slowly, watching the PH as well as my fish. My fish are the prioities in my tank, so the effect the CO2 might have on them was the major concern. I now find that much of what I had learned about the importance of PH is bogus! African cichlids have to have high PH water is fully drilled into everybody. But I find they keep on breeding and feeling fine if the CO2 is increased slowly and they can get used to the lower PH. I found when I went from 7.8 and got down to 6.8 or less they acted "off" so I now run it at near 6-9 /7.0. I have also learned that the PH varies naturally daylight to dark so a bit of swing is not a big thing. Water change is fine. Even 50% shows no stress for my fish. Watch the fish and let them tell you when it is enough?

thanks. ive read ph changes greater then 0.2 stress fish but prefer not to complicate. i was considering RO but even RO tap water and RO tank co2 water are different ph. ill go with observation and make changes accordingly.

 

[PlantedRich]

Sounds like the only logical way to go. Much of what I've learned has had to be re-thought when I find it doesn't match what I have read. I came into planted tanks after running cichlid tanks and find much of what was promoted in cichlid forums and writing does not match when I see what is done for planted tanks. One would expect if PH was as critical for fish health as promoted by cichlid keepers, it would still be critical for fish when we add plants. But then I find it is not true. If you've ever brushed on info on African cichlids you have probably read that they require high Ph water. Gotta keep it up like 7.8 or 8.2?
I'm not trained or experienced enough to see why and how information is right or wrong but I can often see when info has been copied word by word from old information that I read 20-30 years ago.
Just to complicate the search for good information, there are some really knowledgable people who do pass on good info but then they are not always the type who want to make their living by writing books!
So I've come full circle in my fish keeping. At first, I tried things and found some worked and some didn't. So I went searching for answers and some worked and some didn't. So now I'm back at the start keeping the things that work and rejecting the ones that don't.