Lowering My Ph By 0.6

[mickspark81]

Hey guys

Sorry for posting yet another PH question (ive read alot of the others)

The reason why im posting is this:

I have my heart set on a pair of german blue rams (Ive researched them in depth and believe im up to the challenge )

However...My tank ph is 7.5 (tap ph 7.3)

I know changes in PH are not recommended as fluctuations are much more dangerous to fish. However. I am also aware of people often commenting that things such as driftwood can be added to the tank to naturally lower the ph levels by a few notches.

I was just wondering what may be best to add to my tank in order to lower the ph around 0.5 or 0.6 which wouldnt cause big fluctuations

Most of the other post ive read are for ph jumps of around 1.0 whereas mine is only 0.5 - 0.6

Oh my GH is 7 degrees naturally

ty in advance

 

[indigoj]

Is that the ph of your tank, your tap tested straight away or your tap after letting it sit for an hour?

Doh, just re-read sorry.

What substrate/decor do you have?

 

[minxfishy]

Ive had rams in the past, my ph naturally being 7.8 - 8.0 with no problems at all, I see no reason to change yours. But if your worried, bogwood will lower it a little, my largest tank has a ph of 7.4 because of the amount of bogwood in it.

 

[mickspark81]

My substrate is gavel from LFS which is totally aquarium safe.. I washed gravel also prior to placing in tank
I have medium planted tank..7 plants (unsure of the names)
1 piece of wood about 1.5 kilo in weight (unsure of the type of wood but again purchased from an active tank in my LFS)
About 5 round flat pebbles (hopefully a spawning site for my rams)
Plastic Cave area (looks like real rock)

My tap water test was done 24 hours after settling in a bucket (as build up in pressure sometimes releases gases into the water which directly affect ph (so i beilieve)

I want to lower my ph so i can breed rams

Do u think bogwood is a good idea then to naturally lower ph a few notches?

 

[waterdrop]

What *would* be the ideal tank conditions and situation for German Blue Rams? We have an awful lot of interest in these here in the beginners section and it would be fun if someone who knows them would write up a nice paragraph or two for us. Wouldn't have to be a repeat of the stats site type listings but I guess should include some of the most important parameters...

~~waterdrop~~

 

[three-fingers]

Don't know if I can write a decent paragraph or two on them, but I've had them a couple of times in the past and I've read up quite a bit a while back...their preferred water parameters are like that of discus.

Being that the like soft acidic water and warmer temps than usual.

Ideally they would have a temp of around 30*C, pH 6.0 (can even go lower down to around pH 5.0, and I had them breed at less than pH 6.0) and water that has a very low hardness.

But like most aquarium fish, they don't need these things. Of course it helps with breeding, but being cichlids (even peaceful dwarfs) - you probably don't want them breeding in a regular sized community tank anyway - unless you like stressed parent rams and disruption for all the other fish.

They would be fine to keep in hard alkaline water provided that the temperature is high enough for them, and that your water stats are very good and stable. They really don't do well with high nitrate levels compared to other fish IME, if your water is otherwise less than perfect for them (high pH, hard) try to keep nitrate levels under 20ppm, as they can suffer easily at upwards of 40ppm from what I've experienced at the LFS.

If you must change your water stats for them (say you want a tank dedicated to breeding them but have hard alkaline water), try to use methods like putting peat in the filter, using half RO and half tap water for water changes and using bogwood for decor in the tank. These methods together will provide a stable soft acidic environment, while using powdered/liquid chemicals has the potential to let the water stats swing wildly, which would stress the fish. There's also the disadvantage of having to pay frequently for the chemicals at the lfs...and it looks like the prices are only going to get higher.

They love planted tanks and in nature live in very weedy overgrown areas, here's a video: http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpGyXBNpERw...re=channel_page
Another advantage of live plants is that they lower the nitrate levels in the water (floating plants are exceptionally good at this).

So some bullet points:

• If you cant keep your water quality up to scratch, don't bother trying to keep them. Not an ideal first fish, it would be better to wait until the tank has been stable for a few months before adding them, to avoid killing them with even small ammonia spikes.
• Don't try to change your pH and/or hardness levels for them, they can thrive without the ideal parameters as long as the water quality is good and the stats are stable.
• They wont thrive long-term at lower temps, so try to keep the temperature quite high, 27*C would be a personal minimum.
• Because of the above, they aren't ideally compatible with certain fish like white cloud mountain minnows, ottos, hillstream loaches, some corydoas (like peppered corys)...check the temperature preferences of all your other fish fish and stick to them (or rehome incompatible fish), don't compromise with a temperature in between.

 

[mickspark81]

Thankyou for all that information

I have today purchased a nice big piece of bogwood and i actually prefare the tannin in the water anyways (only been soaked 3 days)

Hopefully this may lower the ph slightly

Water quality wont be a problem as 2 x weekly water tests and weekly 35% water changes are being performed (dont let my nitrates past the 35 ppm mark )

I also have a planted tank which helps

My tank temp was already and is staying at 27 c

I totally understand that these fish are not meant for beginners but..Thing is though..At what point are you no longer a beginner? I consider my knowledge already to be very very good (specially as ive only been keeping fish a very short time)

Ill take on board everything you said because you just cant beat the feedback from experienced aquarists

Is there a chance i could breed them if the water ph was a neutral 7?



Thanx again

 

[waterdrop]

A round of applause for three-fingers!

What a great write-up, enjoyed every word!

~~waterdrop~~

 

[rabbut]

The rams that were in the plant tanks at work a couple of years back were breeding like rabbits in a pH of 7.5, so I can't see your tank being an issue if you jest leave the pH alone. Actually, it's the hardness that affects your breeding success more than pH anyway, as the higher the KH the thicker the egg shells are and the harder it is for the males sperm to fertilise the eggs Get a KH test kit if you can, and if you find low fertility rates when you breed them, test and pull the KH down to two german degrees of carbonate hardness, using RO water. Once the KH is set, leave it there, and move the fry into a seporate tank with normal tap water to grow on once hatched and free swimming

All the best
Rabbut

 

[mickspark81]

Thnanks again for the brilliant feedback

Oh and just so you know. My GH is around 6 - 7