pH Mystery...

[raydobbs]

I appear to have a mystery on my hands...  My tap water has a pH of 10 - the reason I purchased a economy 10gpd RO unit, to have water I can actually put fish in, and not end up with dead fishes...

The only problem is that the tank is filled with normal water with a pH of 8.5 (managed to get the pH of the tap water down slightly), with a corbonate hardness of 15.  When I do diffuse water changes with RO water, both Carbonate hardness and pH seem unaffected - as well as Ammonia levels...  :P

I am hoping there is something going on that's easy to fix - otherwise, my only other plan is to let the fish die - and siphon out the tank, and slowly refill the entire aquarium with RO water - add electrolytes back - and purchase new fish...

[Lilpoot]

Try a natural piece of drift wood.  I've been told they lower the Ph of a tank.  I don't know by how much, but it could be worth a shot.  The ph might go up after a water change, but it should gradually decrease with the drift wood in place.  Test it in another container first to see how fast the ph changes.  If it takes more than 3 to 4 days I'd say go with it.  If it drops drastically overnight, skip it.  Ph shock is bad for the fish.

[raydobbs]

Things are looking up - it's been a hard struggle, but if I am reading the little vial right, I managed to snag my pH down from 8.5 to roughly between 7 and 7.5 after nearly three weeks...

The fish do not show signs of shock, and have actually started to show an increased appetite.  Hopefully, I will be able to maintain it.

[rockfish]

Where do you get your water?  I think a pH of 10 is illegal.