Best way to lower pH

[travie]

My pH is 7.4 to 8.0 with my test kit. I'm looking for ways to slowly lower it to at least 7.0 and will keep it there. If not, I guess I will just be happy with a stable pH in that range. Thanks for the ideas.

[sailor]

What is your ph out of the tap? I have found out the hard way there is no easy way to consistantly keep your ph low if it is high out of the tap. Drift wood helps to lower ph but everytime you do a water change your ph would alter in the tank. There are chemicles to lower ph but they are a pain to get your water the same all the time. Water softening pillows are not worth a pinch of coon poop. They put to much salt into your system. Your best bet is to either stick with fish that will go with your ph or get an RO unit. The main key here is to keep your ph stable

As long as it is stable your fish will be fine. Less stress, which means healthier fish.

[doug z]

Best way would be CO2, would it not?

Could get a controller and just set it at the desired set-point..

Peat moss in your filter would be another method, no?

R/O water, which would give you 6.0pH, which you could then mix with tap water until you got the ratio that would give you your desired pH..

[sailor]

Peat moss works too but you have to change it out quite a bit I have heard. I didn't know that the CO2 lowers ph Thanks Doug:19:

[xoolooxunny]

C02 works great for lowering ph. IF thats the way you want to go, you may as well get some plants while your at it.....

Peat in the filter is what I hear a lot, and I've heard it works well also, but dont know from experience. Like sailor said, it is hard to keep it stable if it is high out of the tap, unless you have an expensive c02 unit that monitors it for you, but thats overboard.

7.4 - 8.0 isn't that high, and btw go ask your lfs what their ph is....most likely close to yours

[doug z]

No worries.. :)

Also lowers your buffer levels (makes it softer), so you have to watch for pH crashes, apparently..

Well, more so than hard, alkaline water.

I was wondering about water changes.. But Dave was saying that as long as you keep the increments small (10-15% a week, and with a well planted, under-stocked tank you may be able to get away with this), you should be ok (water would have to be conditioned and same tank temp, of course).

[xoolooxunny]

I was wondering about water changes.. But Dave was saying that as long as you keep the increments small (10-15% a week, and with a well planted, under-stocked tank you may be able to get away with this), you should be ok (water would have to be conditioned and same tank temp, of course).

This is exactly what I do. I have a well planted understocked tank, i actually have to add nitrogen to the water bc the plants eat it all up. Anyway, i take the thermometer out of the tank and run it under the tap until i have the right temp, and then hook up the hose...presto! same temp water change! I use the ph that comes out of my tap..around 7.2-7.4

[sailor]

I have liquid rock out of our taps. High PH 8.2 and very hard. My african ciclids love it. For my 55 gal GBR tank and 2 25 gal community tanks we had a water softener and ro unit put in.

[doug z]

Yeah, mine's fairly high, too (7.6-7.8)..

I was thinking I might have to get an R/O unit for the water changes, a thought I wasn't relishing..

(rented townhouse, no tap really available in the house, so I'd have to hook it up right off the HWT, which would mean lugging the water vats up the stairs every week, I'd have to find space for the water vats in an already crowded basement)

Was sounding like a bit of a head-ache..

So I'm glad I'll be able to just up the water change frequency..

[Incredulous_Ed]

Ive heard co2 only lowers the pH, not the hardness. The best thing to do would be to get an RO filter. Other than that you can use peat moss or oak leaves.

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

The CO2 actually does lower both pH and KH. The CO2 reacts with the dissolved calcium carbonate to form carbonic acid in small amounts and thus the pH is lowered.

[Incredulous_Ed]

Ah, thanks for clearing that up.