Lower My Ph?

[Twinklecaz]

Hi guys

Basically I've been wondering if I should try to lower the PH of my tank. Currently it's 7.5 quite steadily and I have Platys, Honey Gouramis and Pygmy Corys. In a couple of weeks I will also have some Green Neons and just read they actually need quite a low PH (5.5-6 apparently). Then it occured to me that actually all my fish bar the Platys do better in a lower PH and maybe I should try to do something about it. Who knows, maybe that's why my Gouramis haven't been so well. Also, Platys will be ok in pretty much any PH won't they so it's not like I'd be harming them

So is there a safe way to do this? I know we don't usually recommend the bufferers but why is that?

What PH do you think I should be aiming for to keep all my fish happy?

If it's relevant I already have 2 quite large peices of bog wood and my KH is 3 and GH is 8.

Thanks

 

[ian]

i wouldn't bother Caz, as long as you acclimatise the fish to you PH, it shouldn't be a problem. Its very rare for a fish in the wild to stick to one PH level. Green neons like others will addapt and should do well.

 

[PDSimon]

I think people worry far too much about pH and that yours is fine. Pushing over 7.5 would be pushing it though, but it isn't... Hasn't the bogwood brought the pH down at all? It brought mine down loads and I have similar water to you.

 

[markandhisfish]

spot on advice there from ianand simon. the only thing i would really add to that is to say that the best ph for any fish is a stable ph. messing with ph really should be avoided .

most fish can be acclimatised to most ph ranges as long as extremes are avoided. there are obviously exceptions particularly with wild caught fish , but for the main part the whole importance of ph is over exaggerated.

 

[Twinklecaz]

Hi, thanks guys

Simon, yeah it did at first. It was like 6.8-7.2 ish a lot but then it went back to my tap PH so I assumed the bogwood power had "run out". Is that odd then? I'd rather it did stick at 7 TBH.

 

[Twinklecaz]

WELL look at that......just tested and it's 7! It's been 7.5 for ages!

This is where it was before. Maybe when I do a lot fo water changes it brings my Ph up? That's bad though isn't it coz it means it's not stable?

 

[PDSimon]

Well bogwood is still breaking down as such but not really that odd for it not to effect the pH I don't think.

I wouldn't worry

 

[markandhisfish]

WELL look at that......just tested and it's 7! It's been 7.5 for ages!

This is where it was before. Maybe when I do a lot fo water changes it brings my Ph up? That's bad though isn't it coz it means it's not stable?

in most tap water , doing a water change will slightly raise the ph slightly but the swing shouldnt really be extreme , depending on how much water you change.

to test this for yourself fill a container with water straight from the tap . test the ph immediately . then leave the water to "age" for 24 hours . test it again and you will probably find its dropped slightly .

to back this up if you test the ph straigh out of the tap , then compare it to your actual ph ( that of your tank) more often than not the tank will be a slightly lower ph than the tap .

 

[Twinklecaz]

Alright thanks. I think I've been going a bit OTT with water changes recently anyway which I've decided is doing more harm than good so I'm gonna stop. I think I'm gonna do a little PH experiment too. Hopefully 7 is actually what it's settled which is much better for my fish in general I think.

Thanks for your help guys