"Proper pH" question

[Lady Hobbs]

Today I used Proper pH 7 to bring pH down. Worked great but then right back up again one hour later.

Apparently I need to soften the water first so what should I use?

[Chrona]

Use Seachem's Acid Buffer. I have REALLY hard water, and so had the same problem bringing pH down for my tetra tank. The buffer will neutralize most of the hardness, releasing CO2, and keep a buffer in place so that if for like, evaporation water additions, you don't need to worry about the additional hardness all of the sudden raising the pH again.

For partial water changes, test to see how much of the stuff (should be very little, I use like 4-5 grains of the salt for my 10 gallon) you need to get to the desired pH for a 5 gallon bucket or whatever you use for water changes. Then you'll just go by that in the future and not have to be testing pH constantly. After about a 2 weeks, I guess I was adding a little too much each time, since the pH was gradually going down, so I went and bought the Alkaline buffer, which, when added in a self-determined ratio, does a good job of keeping the pH steady. I know, pain in the a$$ right? I should have gone with cichlids...lol

[cocoa_pleco]

ive seen water softener pillows at some lfs's

[Chrona]

ive seen water softener pillows at some lfs's

Yeah, I tried those too. Takes like, 48 hours or more for really hard water....lol. Plus, you still have to use the pH down solution, and theres no acid buffer, so your pH will bounce around with water changes and whatnot.

[Nautilus291]

I use peat in my filters to bring my ph down. It seems to work pretty well, I just add a little bit at a time untill I get it to where I want. But I have canister filters. I thought about using ph buffers to put in my water for water changes.

[Chrona]

I use peat in my filters to bring my ph down. It seems to work pretty well, I just add a little bit at a time untill I get it to where I want. But I have canister filters. I thought about using ph buffers to put in my water for water changes.

I thought about peat too, but I didn't want to have to deal with the pH going up after a while and having to replace the stuff. Plus, for people with really hard water, I think you still need the buffers. My concern was that the hard water, when added, would instantly neutralize a lot of the acid and spike the pH.

[*Sarah*]

I was thinking about trying to find ways to soften our water so I could keep different types of fish..but I soon realized that it's just too much work for what I can handle right now, so I stick to hardwater fish.

[Chrona]

I was thinking about trying to find ways to soften our water so I could keep different types of fish..but I soon realized that it's just too much work for what I can handle right now, so I stick to hardwater fish.

See thats the beauty of this acid buffer stuff. I was ready to sell my fish and get cichlids until I tried it lol. The grains are all similar in size, so I found like 5 grains of the stuff would bring a large washbowl I use for water changes for the small tank to 6.8-7.0. And because the hardness has to be neutralized for the pH to fall, I know the water will be fairly soft after that. It takes about as much time as adding the dechlorinator. MUCH better on the wallet (since a bottle of the stuff will last you forever) and on time than other methods imo, since one product takes care of hardness and pH at the same time.

[Lady Hobbs]

My pH is really not all that bad and my fish have all apted well to it. It's 7.6 all the time and not all that high. I thought that just maybe my angelfish would appreciate a neutral pH and wanted to see how they would react to it.

I have never messed with the pH before just because of all the guess work that goes into it and buying this and that to get it to where it was neutral. Their tank will soon be planted which will lower the pH so I guess I will just leave it as it is and forget the chemicals.

I thought this Proper pH was the magic bullet, however, and there would be nothing to do but drop the little pellets in the water. So goes for wanting to take the easy route!

[Chrona]

My pH is really not all that bad and my fish have all apted well to it. It's 7.6 all the time and not all that high. I thought that just maybe my angelfish would appreciate a neutral pH and wanted to see how they would react to it.

I have never messed with the pH before just because of all the guess work that goes into it and buying this and that to get it to where it was neutral. Their tank will soon be planted which will lower the pH so I guess I will just leave it as it is and forget the chemicals.

I thought this Proper pH was the magic bullet, however, and there would be nothing to do but drop the little pellets in the water. So goes for wanting to take the easy route!

OH, my mistake. I should have read more carefully. I thought you were using the pH down stuff by API. Proper pH will work much like the acid + alkaline buffer combo I was talking about. You just happen to need alot more of it due to the hard water. Keep in mind Proper pH can't be used with real plants (thats why I had to go with Acid Buffer)

[Lady Hobbs]

Naw. I just got the Jungle Labs Proper pH and thought I'd give it a try. And now I am stuck with 5 boxes of it. LOL

[xoolooxunny]

I'm currently cycling a 10 gallon for some guppies. im using a penguin biowheel 100, 100w heater, and 1 bag of eco complete substrate. its does contain calcium, however, it continuously advertises that it supplies calcium to the plants [I]without[I]raising the ph. i cant figure out why my ph keeps rebounding every time i use the acid buffer to get down to 7.0. next morning, even a couple hours later its up to at least 8.0!! whats going on?? my hardness comes up moderate on the test strip... any suggestions?

[Chrona]

You are using the Seachem Acid buffer?

Put your water in a small bowl and add a tad of the buffer. If it rebounds, then you are not adding enough to compensate for the alkaline buffering effect of the hardness. If it stays constant, then you know eco-complete is a load of bs.

[xoolooxunny]

The eco-complete is out! My Ph was way up there, so now i'm cycling again with aquarium sand. Don't use the eco-complete substrate unless you're putting ONE bag into an aquarium of 75 gallons or more, and you dont mind a ph around 7.5!! As for me, I'll never waste 30 dollars on a bag of that again!