I need some help with my stupid hard water I have here in Indiana. I know my water is hard because my Ph is on the high end of 7ish and I get mineral build on my glass top. I will be putting a pressurized co2 system on the tank soon for live plants, but I do not believe this will lower my ph for good unless I make my water softer first, right? Should I get a RO unit or is there something else I can do? Thanks.
how to soften water?
- Thread starter born2lovefish
- Start date
why do you want to lower water hardness? it's generally recommended that you don't play around with water chemistry unless there's a specific purpose (such as breeding) and you know what you're doing. A RO unit will purify the water and reduce the hardness.
I agree, don't screw around with it unless you are going to commit to premixing and aging all your water in one large batch and religiously checking the prepared water.
A CO2 system will lower your pH, but if you're goal is plants, you probably don't need to worry about hardness. CO2 can cause your pH to crash. It is a problem in my area. Our water is virtually distilled, but it comes out of the tap with a pH of 8. The water company puts phosphates and things in the water to extend the life of concrete pipes, but there is no buffering capacity. If you want plants, you need to check for carbonate hardness (alkalinity) and may actually need to add buffer.
You might also try driftwood or peat moss. They soften water, but not enough that a hard water change would stress your fish.
Brandon
A CO2 system will lower your pH, but if you're goal is plants, you probably don't need to worry about hardness. CO2 can cause your pH to crash. It is a problem in my area. Our water is virtually distilled, but it comes out of the tap with a pH of 8. The water company puts phosphates and things in the water to extend the life of concrete pipes, but there is no buffering capacity. If you want plants, you need to check for carbonate hardness (alkalinity) and may actually need to add buffer.
You might also try driftwood or peat moss. They soften water, but not enough that a hard water change would stress your fish.
Brandon
I am adding a co2 system for plants and might be adding a milaukee ph controller to keep my ph where I want it. I am considering putting discus in the tank.
Matt
Matt
add in some peat, then..it is natural and will soften your water, lowering the PH and keeping it there...
I bought some, but just am not sure exactly how to add it. Should I make a few gallons of water up and run the water through a mess bag of peat moss before I add the solution to my 75 gallon? If I add too much peat, I am afraid of killing my fish in the tank, which is a couple hundred dollars right now....
Matt
Matt
Havent needed it yet but seems to me the best way to go about it
http://article.dphnet.com/cat-01/peat-bomb.shtml
http://article.dphnet.com/cat-01/peat-bomb.shtml
That is the way to do it, but you just buy peat in a LFS put it in mesh bags and place those under a rock or a piece of wood...leave them be for 15 days/1 month....I am doing it now, in my new tank, because for the first time in my life, my tap water came out hard and with a PH of 8.5...and never have I battled so hard to lower it ( water company must have strenghtened their buffers )...