Lowering Ph Query

[tony2501]

Hi

I'm tring to lower the Ph of my water from 7.4 to 7, for my Clown Loaches. and have read that bogwood can do this.

The question is dose it have to be a fresh peice, still full of tannins, or can you use a peice that it has been leeched from.

The tank(100L) they are in at present has a ph of 7, but I would like to move them to the bigger tank (200L).
The 100L been set up since August last year, while the 200L onlt been on the go for a month, and only contains some neon tetras moved over from the 100L.

200L tanks filter was run in on the 100L for a month prior to setting 200L up.

Other reading for both tanks are the same, Amonia 0, Nitrate 0, Nitrite 0, Gh 80 Kh >10.

 

[Bloo]

7.4 is a great pH - really don't worry about it. Your Clown Loaches will be fine. However adding bogwood will slowly slightly reduce this

 

[freddyk]

Agree with bloozoo, worrying about the water parameters can sometimes make things worse, and clownloaches have proven to do well in water with a ph up to 8.

As far as wood goes, it will continue to affect the water after the tannins have been leeched out, but the type of wood you use makes a difference too - the harder woods will have less affect.

 

[riverman444]

I agree. 7.0-7.4 isn't too much of a worry.

Bare in mind that the larger the wood, the darker the initial leech water will be.

 

[theamazingmaise]

what about the ph deacreaser chemicals does that stuff work?

 

[Captain Retardo]

what about peat moss, or peat as a filter media

 

[Bloo]

what about the ph deacreaser chemicals does that stuff work?

Those chemicals are far to unstable to provide a stable living environment for fish. The majority of people find that they continually have to top up "pH up" or "ph down" type products. Continual swings in pH and water parameters are often lethal for many fish - and too much stress for most fish at best.

 

[tony2501]

Thanks for the reassurance, i'll move them today. then decide what to do about the bogwood tomorrow,

I agree with the comments about chemicals I've used it, and all it seems to do is mask any problems, not sort them.

Again Thanks all for the advice.

 

[Captain Retardo]

anyone who know about peat moss:

Is there an amount of peat that lowers a certain amount (e.g. 1 pound of peat lowers your pH down so and so)?

 

[freddyk]

Is there an amount of peat that lowers a certain amount (e.g. 1 pound of peat lowers your pH down so and so)?

That depends on the water - the harder and more mineral rich the water, the harder the peat has to fight it and the more needs to be used. The problem with peat is that it's like having permanent tanins in the water and you need a filter big enough to put it in.