How To Lower Ph?

[nikkifro8994]

I have a 10 gallon tank currently cycling for a dwarf puffer and Pygmy Corys. It had a dwarf puffer but he died so I broke it down, cleaned everything, and set it up again. I checked the ph and its off the charts. The high ph API liquid test was deep purple. The test only goes to 8.8. I want a ph of around 7.5. How do I lower the ph in this tank? Ammonia is .5, nitrite 0, nitrate 5. My tap water has a lot of ammonia so I'm using bottled spring water. The ph of that is 7.2. I have no idea how my tank is so high. How do I fix it?

 

[techen]

The first thing I'd be looking at is, Why is your tap water off the scale? It can only go so far before it comes undrinkable due to the acidic level...
 
I think the test kit may be off but then again, If theres a way to check your water via your water supply website that's what I'd do.
 
Anyway, The only way to get lower PH is by buying a RO unit which will run off your tap and give you a PH of around 7.5

 

[nikkifro8994]

It's the fish tank that is so high, not the tap water. My water ph is 7.2. The tank is 8.8+.

 

[TallTree01]

Why is the tank got so high ph if the tap water does not? Driftwood and peat are the only ways I know of lowering ph safely.

 

[Noahsfish]

Here's my advice to using spring water. Let it sit for 24 hours open so that the ph will stabilize so your fish don't go into shock...oh and try adding peat moss that should soften your water..( didn't work for me) and almond leaves are supposed to help also if you don't mind the tea color..

 

[nikkifro8994]

Why is the tank got so high ph if the tap water does not? Driftwood and peat are the only ways I know of lowering ph safely.

  
I have no idea how the ph got that high. I let the water sit for 24 hours. Then I added prime conditioner to the jug and shook it to mix it. Then I added it to my tank. When I added the water it stirred up my sand. Once the grossness settled I used a siphon to get the debris off the top of the sand. Could that be what raises my ph?

Here's my advice to using spring water. Let it sit for 24 hours open so that the ph will stabilize so your fish don't go into shock...oh and try adding peat moss that should soften your water..( didn't work for me) and almond leaves are supposed to help also if you don't mind the tea color..

Where might I find peat moss or almond leaves? I'm hesitant to use the ph down or a ph stabilizer because I don't know how it might affect my fish or plants. This tank will have a dwarf puffer and pygmy Corys when it's done cycling.

 

[MBOU]

Personally I would advise not messing around with your water parameters until your tank has fully cycled or you might end up inadvertently messing up the cycle. You might well find that as your tank cycles and ammonia breaks down, your ph level comes down a little as well. Either way, without fish in there, there is no point messing around with it yet.
 
What substrate and décor have you got in the tank, what gravel, rocks, shells etc?

 

[TwoTankAmin]

As someone who actively works to hold down the pH level in tanks, I can tell you using peat in the filter, almond leaves, alder cones and bogwood is a far from ideal control method. You will have regular pH swings with every water change.
 
Changing pH is not the problem, controlling it so it stays within the range you want it to be is. I use a mix of ro/di water, muriatic acid, a mix of things used to stain the water and act to reinforce what else I am doing (almond leaves, alder cones and rooibos tea). I also use both a TDS meter and a pH meter to control what I am doing.
 
The reason for the RO/DI water is more than helping to soften it by lowering TDS. pH and KH are closely intertwined. You can not effectively manage the first without managing the second. Adding acid to water may drop the pH, but it also raises the TDS. RO/DI water has 0 KH and 0 GH. The 0 KH is essential to being able to lower pH effectively. Spring water, imo, is not what should be put into a tank.
 
As MBOU asked, we need to know what substrate and rocks you have in the tank as these are the most likely culprits in raising your pH. The amount- either too much or too little- of dissolved co2 in one's tap is also often the culprit. To much and the water comes out at a lower pH and as the excess co2 out gasses, the pH it rises. Too little co2 and it comes out at a higher pH and then drops as co2 in gasses. You can check for such a discrepancy by placing some tap water in a clean contained and then adding an air stone and letting it bubble for an hour or two and then test.
 
Before adding "spring" water to your tank, you might want to read this http/www.mnn.com/your-home/at-home/questions/whats-the-difference-between-distilled-water-spring-water-and-purified
 
You can also read here which has the following info:

5)Whenever possible, buy refrigerated bottled water and keep it refrigerated. Storage at or above room temperature promotes bacterial growth and increases leaching of plastic contaminants from the container into the water.

from http/www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=13&ved=0CFMQFjACOAo&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.extension.iastate.edu%2Fpublications%2Fpm1813.pdf&ei=cxKRUc-dCeLD0gH-74GgAQ&usg=AFQjCNGXBQEPZYPXQWAs-TCxB_1nvXsg8Q&bvm=bv.46340616,d.dmQ&cad=rja

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Not only is spring water a bad idea, but it might even have a higher pH and more TDS than the tap?  There's no way of knowing what is in the spring water?
 
 
You can buy "distilled water" from the local grocer and use that, which is essentially the same thing as RO, but its gotten differently.

 

[nikkifro8994]

My tank currently only has sand and 2 caves. I'm going to add some of the plants tomorrow. Half of them are in the puffer's temporary 3 gallon.

I tested drinking, distilled, purified, and spring water. All of then except spring water had extremely low ph.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Exactly, spring water is usually going to have a higher pH, because as it percolates through rock, sediment, etc, it is going to pick up minerals - its also probably fairly hard as well.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

How were the bacteria counts in each one?

 

[nikkifro8994]

I don't have a test kit for bacteria count.

 

[nikkifro8994]

I tested everything again today. Ph is 7.8. Ammonia is a little less than .25. Nitrite is 0. Nitrate is 20. I think I may have tested the ph wrong the first time around.