HOW DO YOU LOWER ph??

[benito1188]

im trying to age water for 4 days to be use for water changing, and the ph level wont drop lower than 8. the ph in my unchanged tank is arond 8-8.2, and the ph in my aging water jag is also 8-8.2(4 day old). i add a cap full of dechlorinator, air pump, and let it age for 3 to 4 days before its time for water changing. the ph of my water is fine for now with my FH but im planning to raise discus in a few months and ive heard they need water around 6.5 to 7, how in the world can i do this?? is there something i missed? i used beckett dechlorinator that i got at home depot, should i get prime instead?? thanks for reading

 

[fsc46]

Add those reddish orange flower pots. They are known to drop the PH in a tank and it's cheap.

 

[Gene0514]

try some driftwood

 

[tank125]

You need to check your hardness first. Do that and then come back and I will tell you what you need to do to lower pH.

BTW dechlorinating has nothing to do with pH adjustment.

Why are you aging water? Are you expecting pH to drop with age?

Discus - They DO NOT need low pH to thrive. The most important thing with discus is buying HEALTHY individuals to start with. You need low pH and soft water to breed them, not raise and maintain them. Your water may be too HARD for discus.

 

[benzjamin13]

I use peat granules in my filter.

 

[FSM]

Peat, driftwood, etc will lower it. You may also have hard water, which buffers the ph.

 

[tapeworm]

RO unit, will completely lower the pH to around 6, then you can adjust with a type of buffer to the desired level.

 

[itzacraze]

start with reverso osmosis water use peat in the filter every week or so change it out add the correct trace elements and buffer driftwood helps a little

 

[tapeworm]

Reverse Osmosis --> Discus Buffer by Kent or some other company. Not the cheapest way, but probably the simplest.

 

[benito1188]

tank125, yea i was hoping for the ph to go down if i age it. whats hardness?? sorry im kinda new to this, trying to learn the lingo.