i have a 55gal with sand, a few smooth round rocks, and a 12" x 12" piece of malaysian driftwood. ph is almost 8.0. i'm hesitant to use powders (buffers?) to lower ph to about 7.0. i believe my tap water is 7.6. should i use more driftwood? peat granules in my fx5? are powders safe to use? what is the cheapest wood to use? i never messed with ph before and i want to make sure i do it right to prevent any fish loss. can anyone PLEASE help me? pretty please with ice cream on top?
best way to lower ph?
- Thread starter cykotik
- Start date
I'm all for overfiltering....don't get me wrong... but running an fx5 on a 55 gallon tank is a lot like renting a forklift to carry out a standard kitchen sized bag of garbage...
You said that you THINK your tap water is 7.6...have you tested it? and if not...why not?
Nothing you listed should be raising the PH all the way up to 8.0.
A more natural solution to your problem would be to do your water changes with RO/DI water. You can pick it up for .20 a gallon or so and it starts out on the low side. PH wise.
You said that you THINK your tap water is 7.6...have you tested it? and if not...why not?
Nothing you listed should be raising the PH all the way up to 8.0.
A more natural solution to your problem would be to do your water changes with RO/DI water. You can pick it up for .20 a gallon or so and it starts out on the low side. PH wise.
IF PH OUT OF THE TAP IS 7.6 AND IN TANK IS 8.0 WHAT WOULD BE RAISING IT SOMETHING IN THE TANK PERHAPS SAND ROCKS SOME SORT OF CALCIUM REACTION HAPPENING?
I USE HYDROCLHORIC ACID TO LOWER PH
NOT FOR BEGINNERS THOUGH
PEAT WOULD BE MORE GENTLE BUT TAKE LONGER FOR THE DESIRED EFFECT.
I USE HYDROCLHORIC ACID TO LOWER PH
NOT FOR BEGINNERS THOUGH
PEAT WOULD BE MORE GENTLE BUT TAKE LONGER FOR THE DESIRED EFFECT.
ro/di arround me is like 50-75 cents a gallon.... why ro/di for everything me I can't stand wasting like 4 gallons of water to make 1 gallon of water......
If your fish are fine @ your tanks ph then leave it alone so sencein changing it for no reason.... but if you have to lower it I would add peat to the filter and do more smaller water changes.... if your tap is 7.6 and your tank is 8.0 its either a rock or sand that's buffering the water...
If your fish are fine @ your tanks ph then leave it alone so sencein changing it for no reason.... but if you have to lower it I would add peat to the filter and do more smaller water changes.... if your tap is 7.6 and your tank is 8.0 its either a rock or sand that's buffering the water...
You must be famillier with some really crappy RO/DI systems. Our big home unit produces twice what it wastes and even that waters saved to be used on the plants. The larger comercial units have much more powerful pumps and waste even less water.
The little bit you DO lose to the membrane is the price of having true...0 TDS... pure water.
The little bit you DO lose to the membrane is the price of having true...0 TDS... pure water.
you could add more wood...... malaysian wood is half the price of mopani, plus it looks more natural and i find it doesnt leach as much tannins as mopani. i soaked mine for 4 days and thats all it needed. it lowered the ph, but it did it slowly, so it wasnt a big drop all at once that would harm my fish. i have also heard of using peat,coconut fibre, and some sort of tree leafs i think it was chestnut,but im not sure.
what kind of fish do you have?
8.0 is on the higher side but not lethal by any means. using a slow drip acclimation method will give new fish time to adjust to your water parameters and avoid shock. almost all store-bought fish will be able to adust to the pH. wild ones may have a harder time, but not if they come from areas with a similar reading. the biggest problem you would have keeping soft-water fish in a high pH would be dead eggs. basically, don't try to mess with the pH unless you plan on getting very sensitive wild-caught fish. anything in the range of mid-6 to mid-8 is acceptable for living conditions, if not for breeding. a stable pH is much healthier than one that swings up and down with every water change and when chemicals are added.
another thing - test the water right out of the tap. then put some in a flat bowl and let it sit for 24 hours or so, and test that aged water. the pH will usually vary over time as gases leave the water. let us know what the readings are.
8.0 is on the higher side but not lethal by any means. using a slow drip acclimation method will give new fish time to adjust to your water parameters and avoid shock. almost all store-bought fish will be able to adust to the pH. wild ones may have a harder time, but not if they come from areas with a similar reading. the biggest problem you would have keeping soft-water fish in a high pH would be dead eggs. basically, don't try to mess with the pH unless you plan on getting very sensitive wild-caught fish. anything in the range of mid-6 to mid-8 is acceptable for living conditions, if not for breeding. a stable pH is much healthier than one that swings up and down with every water change and when chemicals are added.
another thing - test the water right out of the tap. then put some in a flat bowl and let it sit for 24 hours or so, and test that aged water. the pH will usually vary over time as gases leave the water. let us know what the readings are.
Wolf3101;1119533; said:
could you please pm me a link for the system you have I'm curious about it....