Help Lower My Ph For My Cories!

[greenmumma141]

I currently am keeping pandas, broze, juliis, and sterbai cories. I admittedly never thought to check my ph as it's never been a problem, but recently have realized I have a higher ph water (7.8). My cories are all doing fine, but I am updating my tank to a larger size for Christmas, and would eventually like to breed cories and such. I was wondering if there was anything I could do to help lower my ph a bit, maybe without chemicals? I've heard that bogwood might help, has anyone had experience of this actually working? any help or info is appreciated

 

[techen]

I thought it was annoyingly hard to change waters PH.

 

[greenmumma141]

I thought it was annoyingly hard to change waters PH.

great. lol

 

[KrystaK]

It is terribly hard to lower pH and keep it at a suitable level. Removing any calcium based substrate helps, so does adding bog wood. It takes a long time but it does work. I've tried just aboug everything except putting a stump in my tank and nothing has really helped. Using Reverse Osmosis water helps, but RO filters are expensive, and buying it from the store on a scale to fill a fish tank can get expensive after a while. So I don't bother and just leave it.

I have a 30 gal with a half dozen Panda Cory's. My pH is 8.0, and they just laid some eggs last night. They generally breed every week (A different female every week, it's usually two to three weeks before the same female breeds again for me)

IMO pH doesn't seem to affect cory's so much as Ammonia level and Temperature. The ammonia has to be 0 or as near to it as you can get, and if you want them to breed add cooler water in your water changes, rather than tank temperature water, it will make them think it's the rainy season, which is when they breed in the wild. Also, an abundance of food makes them even more inclined to breed

 

[SombreroBanana]

Alder cones or hardwood leaves lower pH and stabilize it, but they also release a ton of tannins into the water.

 

[greenmumma141]

It is terribly hard to lower pH and keep it at a suitable level. Removing any calcium based substrate helps, so does adding bog wood. It takes a long time but it does work. I've tried just aboug everything except putting a stump in my tank and nothing has really helped. Using Reverse Osmosis water helps, but RO filters are expensive, and buying it from the store on a scale to fill a fish tank can get expensive after a while. So I don't bother and just leave it.

I have a 30 gal with a half dozen Panda Cory's. My pH is 8.0, and they just laid some eggs last night. They generally breed every week (A different female every week, it's usually two to three weeks before the same female breeds again for me)

IMO pH doesn't seem to affect cory's so much as Ammonia level and Temperature. The ammonia has to be 0 or as near to it as you can get, and if you want them to breed add cooler water in your water changes, rather than tank temperature water, it will make them think it's the rainy season, which is when they breed in the wild. Also, an abundance of food makes them even more inclined to breed

Very big help, great info and thanks alot. I was worried about my little pandas

Alder cones or hardwood leaves lower pH and stabilize it, but they also release a ton of tannins into the water.

I'm new to the very technical stuff, what exactly do tannins do? lol

 

[SombreroBanana]

It is terribly hard to lower pH and keep it at a suitable level. Removing any calcium based substrate helps, so does adding bog wood. It takes a long time but it does work. I've tried just aboug everything except putting a stump in my tank and nothing has really helped. Using Reverse Osmosis water helps, but RO filters are expensive, and buying it from the store on a scale to fill a fish tank can get expensive after a while. So I don't bother and just leave it.

I have a 30 gal with a half dozen Panda Cory's. My pH is 8.0, and they just laid some eggs last night. They generally breed every week (A different female every week, it's usually two to three weeks before the same female breeds again for me)

IMO pH doesn't seem to affect cory's so much as Ammonia level and Temperature. The ammonia has to be 0 or as near to it as you can get, and if you want them to breed add cooler water in your water changes, rather than tank temperature water, it will make them think it's the rainy season, which is when they breed in the wild. Also, an abundance of food makes them even more inclined to breed

Very big help, great info and thanks alot. I was worried about my little pandas

Alder cones or hardwood leaves lower pH and stabilize it, but they also release a ton of tannins into the water.

I'm new to the very technical stuff, what exactly do tannins do? lol

Tannins are the "juices" released by driftwood or leaves that stain the water.

 

[greenmumma141]

are tannins bad for the water quality?

 

[SombreroBanana]

are tannins bad for the water quality?

No, they are actually really good for the fish, but most people don't like the staining in their water.

 

[greenmumma141]

so any hard wood leaves? wish i found this out before winter lol

 

[iantaylor]

I use Alder cones in my Discus Community Tank
And my water looks like strong tea with no milk in.
i also have a large piece of bogwood in

 

[snazy]

I've got a ph of 7.4 and the corys breed just fine. There's another member around here that has bred corys for years with a slightly higher ph.
I haven't tested the gh and kh when putting almond leaves in my tanks, but I can tell you a ton of them didn't change the Ph one bit.
My advise, don't bother. Especially don't touch any chemicals, these don't work as the bottles suggest as not only you will not manage breeding the corys, but you'll kill them.
Most corys(if not all) are very adaptable and will breed in such conditions. The drifwood, almond leaves and similar stuff will soften the water a bit, but may not be measurable on the home tests. They are beneficial anyway, regardless.

 

[greenmumma141]

Thanks snazy, I wasn't planning on adding any chemicals, that's always a last case scenario for me, but was looking for more natural ways. But it seems like my ph is just going to be my ph, but it helps to know that I can still have my tank of cories and not have to worry about it thanks