How Do I Keep Ph Low?

[maca9]

Hi

I have a 300l tank with discus etc

Aiming for a ph of 6.5.

My issue is that the tap water is very soft (which is good for discus apparently) and has PH of 7.0/7.2.

So whenever I do my weekly 25% water change I have the PH getting back to 7.0 etc.

To date I have just used "PH down" each water change and over the next day or two i get it back to approx 6.5.

Is this the only thing I can do? Manually add a PH down product?

I am also using a bit of KH buffer lately to try and keep ph more stable. So have the kh from 10 to about 20/30 now.

Cheers

 

[TribeOfShroom]

Apparently, some boiled peat will do the job

 

[Larissa]

You can get peat to put in your filter - this softens water and will bring your pH down. Also, adding some bogwood will have a similar affect. You can get blackwater extract as well. All of these elements will probably turn your water slightly tea coloured, but fish from naturally blackwater regions actually benefit from this - even if your don't like the look. I wouldn't mess around with chemical pH alterers as they can be very unstable. Generally, a stable pH is more important than a perfect pH and your fish will most likely have been brought up in harder water so should be fine outside of their optimal pH level.

 

[Colin_T]

Your KH buffer will stop the PH from dropping. A PH of 7 is fine for discus as long as they aren't wild caught. Just leave it be. If you have to drop the PH then put a bag of peat moss in the filter. It will drop the PH slowly but it might make your water go brown.

 

[rocknurworld2006]

Hi

I have a 300l tank with discus etc

Aiming for a ph of 6.5.

My issue is that the tap water is very soft (which is good for discus apparently) and has PH of 7.0/7.2.

So whenever I do my weekly 25% water change I have the PH getting back to 7.0 etc.

To date I have just used "PH down" each water change and over the next day or two i get it back to approx 6.5.

Is this the only thing I can do? Manually add a PH down product?

I am also using a bit of KH buffer lately to try and keep ph more stable. So have the kh from 10 to about 20/30 now.

Cheers

DO NOT ADD PH DOWN PRODUCT!!!!
These will cause big fluctuations on ph and can be very lethal to fish especially something as delicate as discus.

Bog wood is a good thing to use and easy to use, but make sure you always keep an eye on the ph also