Decreasing PH Question

[Trillianne]

First off, thank you to all the help I've been getting on setting up this tank correctly.

I've noticed in my tanks that the ph of my water is a bit high for the type of fish that I want to keep longer term. Its between 7.2 and 7.8. This is the same as when I test my tap water prior to using the de-chlorinator.

I've been looking at a few posts and suggestions on how to lower this number slightly. One post suggested rain water, which near Seattle at various times of the year could be completely do-able. Has anyone used this technique to much success?

Additionally in some of the comments I have read, it seems like perhaps I'm hurting my ph by having a couple of airstones in my planted tank. Will removing my airstones help lower my ph? or will it stay about the same since that's where my tap water level is now?

Here's a photo of my current set up:

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I realize I currently have a couple of the foreground plants that turned out to not be aquatics (curse you similarly named plants and me without my notes!) however, I didn't want to reduce the plant cover until I am able to get some replacements in the next week or so. (And yes one is a fake, but I didn't have more fake short plants)

[Irish2539]

Hey,

Erm what type of rock is that? it could be raising the PH...

I use indian almond leaves or peat to lower the PH... works well.

[Time-Out]

I use API pH Down to lower it. I have the same problem as you, my pH is ridiculously high and the water is stupidly hard, which doesn't help. You just have to keep at it until the pH gets to a suitable level. After that, for water changes, you could consider buying RO water, or just preparing tapwater in advance. If there are no fish in the water, you can dump a load of the pH Down in it. I recently put a water softener pillow in and that has really helped with the speed at which the pH is coming down (sent my conductivity through the roof though!).

[Trillianne]

Hey,

Erm what type of rock is that? it could be raising the PH...

I use indian almond leaves or peat to lower the PH... works well.

I'm not exactly certain what type, I bought it at the lfs where it was grouped with their other rocks for tanks. (I liked the cave spots of this one in particular)

Its been in the tank for nearly a week and this has been an on-going higher ph issue. I've been treating it slowly with some ph down I bought at the pet store, but I was wondering if there wasn't a better more natural way to bring down the ph.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll keep an eye open for those at the fish shop when I head back there :)

[Irish2539]

Yeah,, personally i prefer natural way opposed the chemical.
U can get Indian almond leaves on Ebay pretty cheap.. they lower PH. However they Tan the water... Another method is adding peat to ur filter. you can get this at most garden center's.. i put it in a sock when adding it to filter. Oak leaves also work.

If u dont like tanned water then RO water works which Time-Out suggested.
Yeah i think that rock could also be raising the PH.... maybe sum1 esle could confirm this..

[fish00053]

You can lower your PH with alot of different products. Read the instructions and pay attention not to drop PH to quickly or it may cause issues with the fish. Same if you plan on raising the ph. Also I would mix what ever liquid you might choose to use with a small container of water from the tank. Add a little and refill container and add a little more. Don't drop ph levels to fast though. If your at 7.8 drop to 7.6 then next day drop to 7.4 or desired ph level you want.:22:

[rich311k]

I am going to say it. Let it be, it probably will not matter. Trying to adjust it will cause more problems than just leaving the water alone.

[Rhaethe]

I am going to say it. Let it be, it probably will not matter. Trying to adjust it will cause more problems than just leaving the water alone.

I'm agreeing with rich.

What fish are you looking at keeping long term? Many tank-bred fish species adapt readily to a variety of pH levels (certain species like discus being the exception) ... the key is to keep a stable / continuous pH and not one that fluctuates wildly.

[terrapin24h]

I'm agreeing with rich.

What fish are you looking at keeping long term? Many tank-bred fish species adapt readily to a variety of pH levels (certain species like discus being the exception) ... the key is to keep a stable / continuous pH and not one that fluctuates wildly.

agreeing with agreeing with Rich. You have wonderful ph for 99% of the fish out there. Also, i've found that once a tank gets fully stocked and running its ph tends to drop slightly anyway(at least mine have). Also, consider this:

The fish you'll be buying from LFS are already in your water. If you were to alter your tanks too far from what comes out of the tap, youll have to worry about acclimating alot more than you otherwise would.

Another thing to consider, is that your water may have a nice ph, but it could be totally unbuffered(like mine) so the ph is fine until any ions get in it at all, then the ph will drop like a rock. I actually need to use crushed coral to keep mine UP otherwise it will drop like a rock.

if you are fortunate to have stable ph, don't mess with it

--chris

[sailor]

agreeing with agreeing with Rich. You have wonderful ph for 99% of the fish out there. Also, i've found that once a tank gets fully stocked and running its ph tends to drop slightly anyway(at least mine have). Also, consider this:

The fish you'll be buying from LFS are already in your water. If you were to alter your tanks too far from what comes out of the tap, youll have to worry about acclimating alot more than you otherwise would.

Another thing to consider, is that your water may have a nice ph, but it could be totally unbuffered(like mine) so the ph is fine until any ions get in it at all, then the ph will drop like a rock. I actually need to use crushed coral to keep mine UP otherwise it will drop like a rock.

if you are fortunate to have stable ph, don't mess with it
chris


The problem with hard water with a high ph is that you are constanly fighting a loosing battle with the ph slowly rising back to where it was origionaly when using the ph buffers. It is stressful on the fish with the constant fluctuations. I found this out the hard way when I first ventured into the realm of discus. Mixing RO water with your tap water will be helpfull and so will driftwood. What type of fish are you wanting to keep. Many fish will do absolutley fine in water that is not in their ideal ph range. As long as it is stable that is the key here.

[Trillianne]

Thanks for all the replies! Here's some answers to your questions. Additionally we actually have soft water, not hard water. (If that makes a difference)

Stock now:
5 Bloodfin Tetra
1 danio that ended up in the bag -.-

Future Plans:
Neon Tetras
Cory cats for bottom feeding
More plants

Super Long term Plans (a year or more down the road):
Determine if my tank space will be a good long term home. Its a rather awesome place to put a large tank, but extremely well illuminated by indirect sunlight. As you can see from this picture:
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If the smaller tank does well (little/no temp fluctuations in the summer, not huge amounts of algae bloom, etc) then we have talked about building a tank for the ledge.

[Brhino]

Everything on your list should be fine with the pH of the water you have. I wouldn't worry about it unless you start considering more sensitive fish later. Awesome spot for a tank, though! Jealous!