Help With Ph In Store

[aussieaquatics]

Hey everyone,

I look after 20 tanks which is divided into 4 separate systems. Each system holds approx 430 litres. Im having alot of trouble maintaining a consistent pH level because its a retail store we do 20% water changes every 2 days. We keep all the bread and butter species but also keep alot of Americans, including discus. Our pH always reads 7.5 to 8.5. I have tried pH down, Proper pH (API brand) and nothing is working. I would at least like to get it down to 6.5. Any tips on how i can do this? Iv also added a fish bit of driftwood but it dosent help much. All our fish do quite well but our discus really suffer and are EXTREAMLY shy and are constantly lying on their sides not to mention never eat.

HELP!!!!!

 

[Juggler75]

Use RO water or rainwater for water changes? Alder cones in filters? just two things that sprung to mind, sure others will have some too. What is the pH of water that you use in water changes?

 

[drobbyb]

Messing with your native pH can be difficult. Ph up and down are bad bad things. They don't work well as you have discovered becayse they do nothing to buffer your KH and GH allowing your pH to swing wildly back to it's original value. But you should test the water in which your stock comes shipped in to see if you need to adjust your tank water at all. But don't only test the pH, test the hardness levels. pH is an overrated value to test, hardness is what's important. Often fish die to what people call pH shock, but it's really too quick of a change in water hardness values. If the fish are shipped in water that is of a much lower hardness than your native water, you might want to try using a mix of reverse osmosis water and your local water. This will reduce the hardness values without the use of extra chemicals.