Need advice on lowering pH in SA tanks

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Ryan hit it, right on the spot.

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You also have to take into account the buffering capacity of your water. If it is high, peat, leaves, and wood won't do much unless you have a lot to break the threshold. In my water the KH (buffer) is high and I have driftwood and used leaves and other things and saw no difference really. However, when I added a DIY CO2 contraption the PH lowered from 7.6 to about 6.8-7.0 . When you mess with the PH you need to know what you are doing or you can expect fish to die. It is best to have stable PH rather than a specific PH. Only reason I used CO2 was because I was using it on a planted tank and it brought the PH down. I also ran a bubbler at lights out with a timer to balance the CO2 concentrations.
 
ryansmith83 said:
Mixing RO and tap is the easiest way. I'm still not sure I understand why you need to alter it? Is it just because you want to?

The problem with chemically altering your water is that there's a chance the parameters will fluctuate between each water change if you don't measure/mix precisely. Stable water parameters with your current pH and hardness are better than shifting parameters that sometimes occur when you're trying to lower pH/hardness. This is especially true if you are doing large water changes.
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Just trying to make their environment as natural as possible. I have had a lot of people tell me to drop SA fish and go with Africans because my water fits them more, but I really don't have any interest in them.

Your advice does make sense though. I will leave it be for now. I do want my severums to breed, so if they pair up, but I can't get any eggs to make it, I will reapproach the topic.

When I was using RO on my 20 gallon, I started off slow. Measuring out how much RO in comparison to tap water. Took me 3 weeks to reach a point I was happy with. Got the GH to 4-6dH, the KH to 40-60ppm and the pH to 7.0. S if I have to address a hardness issue in the future, I will use the same method of lowering that I used before. Slow and steady. :) And my water changes are about 25%, once a week.


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Pyramid_Party said:
You also have to take into account the buffering capacity of your water. If it is high, peat, leaves, and wood won't do much unless you have a lot to break the threshold. In my water the KH (buffer) is high and I have driftwood and used leaves and other things and saw no difference really. However, when I added a DIY CO2 contraption the PH lowered from 7.6 to about 6.8-7.0 . When you mess with the PH you need to know what you are doing or you can expect fish to die. It is best to have stable PH rather than a specific PH. Only reason I used CO2 was because I was using it on a planted tank and it brought the PH down. I also ran a bubbler at lights out with a timer to balance the CO2 concentrations.
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I have been having some trouble with keeping my plants lush and green. They are doing okay. Not great though. CO2 was something I have considered, but never knew it would lower pH. Why does it lower the pH?


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probassfisher010 said:
Are the leaves yellowish? I'd try some type of iron supplement

What's the substrate and lighting?


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The lighting is 2 18" Marineland F15T8 "natural daylight" bulbs. Substrate is small sized gravel.

Leaves are greenish yellow. I use the Florish and Florish tabs, which both provide iron. I have seen my SAE eating on the leaves in the tank that are dying. I leave it be so he can have a food source. LOL

I need to increase my plant population in the ram tank because they need more hiding space. What are some plants that grow well enough to provide cover to rams, but don't require a ton of care?


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I'd upgrade your lighting, unless you want all java fern and anubias. My rams spawned on my amazon sword leaves and smooth rocks.

When you say you dose flourish, are you dosing the entire line: trace, iron, excel, nitrogen etc?


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probassfisher010 said:
I'd upgrade your lighting, unless you want all java fern and anubias. My rams spawned on my amazon sword leaves and smooth rocks.

When you say you dose flourish, are you dosing the entire line: trace, iron, excel, nitrogen etc?


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Sorry. Forgot the whole line was Flourish. I dose the comprehensive supplement. What kind of lights should I get? I don't know much about plants and their needs. Still learning the basics of plant care.


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