So i went to my local Petco (yea i know that was my first mistake) after deciding not to pay $6 for 1.2 oz of ph up i asked the aquaria specialist if they had a bigger container. He then proceeded to tell me that tap water had so many buffers that it will neutralize the ph back to the norm within a few days. i then asked if that is the case why are you selling me a usless product then to which he had no reply. my question is: is there any proof to what he said? I dont think it soundes right but i thought i would asl the pro's.
ph question??
- Thread starter BMcAfee
- Start date
In all honesty it depends on your water. The water where I am is so alkaline (talking a 10 from the tap) that it takes a LOT of acidic additives to change it at all. They don't intentionally put any sort of buffers in tap water that I am aware of so I'd have to call
on that guy.
on that guy.The only way I can really think of to lower pH in highly buffered water, is to mix with RO water, which is a pain, and can end up causing pH swings which is really bad for the fish.
I keep many soft/acidic fish in pH8.0-8.2 water that's very hard. The water comes from the municipal water treatment facility this hard. It is drained from man-made lakes, treated and sent to the homes. Since it's in very mineral rich soil, it has a lot of mineral content, and that makes it very difficult to "alter" the pH, since the buffers keep it high. So, yes, to a certain extent, he was right about highly buffered water being difficult to change the pH.
I keep many soft/acidic fish in pH8.0-8.2 water that's very hard. The water comes from the municipal water treatment facility this hard. It is drained from man-made lakes, treated and sent to the homes. Since it's in very mineral rich soil, it has a lot of mineral content, and that makes it very difficult to "alter" the pH, since the buffers keep it high. So, yes, to a certain extent, he was right about highly buffered water being difficult to change the pH.
I keep tannin rich drift wood and add peat tea in fixed amounts with water changes to keep the PH steady. My fish are all blackwater compatible so they love it. That's only something I use because of a PH of 10 from the tap though. not for everyone obviously.
BMcAfee;4858485; said:
He's right. This is called your buffering capacity, or your kh readings. My advice, leave it alone and don't add ANYTHING. You'll do more harm than good.
but will it do any harm to the fish short or long term? Right now im keeping african peacocks in water that is 6.8, i believe that they need like 8 or 8.2.