pH is up to 9! How can I drop it?

[hadjici2]

I have a 30 gallon tank (120 litres) with the following setup for the past 4 years:

1. Layers of substrate and fine gravel, which I don't know what the substrate is.
2. A driftwood
3. 3 species of plants that are hardy since they are the only plants that managed to survive a period where I completely neglected the tank. One of the species is Valesneria I think which is a fast grower, green leaved long plant. The other specie I think is Baby Tears or something. Forgive me for I do not know the names of the three species of plant I have for 3 years now.
4. Just purchased 4 mollies and recently one of them gave birth to around 20 babies.
5. kH 4
6. pH 8 - 9
7. One 25 watt Arcadia fluorescent lamp (Pink colour)
8. Two 25 watt Arcadia fluorescent lamp (White colour)
9. The tank has no top and the lamps are adjusted 30 cm above water level, where the depth of the tank is around 42 cm
10. Due to the hot climate in the summer, now my tank has a temperature of 31 degrees celcius and is not exposed to any sunlight at all.

How can I lower the pH? The tank is running for 2 weeks now, is that enough time for pH to begin to drop? Does pH really begin to drop as soon as the tank is established?

PS: my local water here is pH 9

 

[kenneth_kpe]

hmm the baby tears ... take a look at er... bacopa monieri might be that one ? not sure...

anyways dropping ph..... dropping ph.... try injecting c02 to drop the ph or adding a tannin staining driftwood to make the water a bit more acidic... there are more ways i think... leaves i really dont know em all but hope this helps you start your research

 

[Fiori]

Is there a particular reason you want to change your pH? Are your fish showing signs of stress? Mollies prefer slightly alkaline water anway. IMO it's better not to muck about with pH if you can avoid it ; instead aim to maintain a stable pH. Don't know about the plants you have but if they are doing fine - again, its a case of "if it ain't broke....."

Your KH is fairly low (unusually, but not unheard of for high pH water) and therefore the buffering capacity of your water (the ability to maintain pH at a stable level) will also therefore be fairly low. This along with the wood you have in your tank may mean your pH may drop over time anyway - it might be useful to check your water stats and keep an eye on it, as a dramatic drop may be harmful to your fish. HTH

 

[IMCL85]

well that water is perfect for some african cichild. You can try to lower it with chemical which I dont like it. Or you can also try to add some idian leave. I will do the later one I hate chemical.

 

[hadjici2]

I dont want to insert CO2 by any means since my task is to create a low maintanence tank...I know everything about kH and pH and buffering ability and thats why I am not changing my pH technically and I only want to change it through the tank's ecosystem...I think the pH will drop overtime when the bacteria kick in....it is only running for 2 weeks now...that not long enough is it?

Mollies and plants are ok....plants could do a bit better I guess....

So anyone knows if in due time my pH will drop naturaly? Should I add more mollies?

 

[IMCL85]

Molly is hardy fish. Fish could get use to higher Ph no problem. But not constant changes of ph. Just leave the ph alone if I were u. It doesn't really matter if you just keep molly or some other hardy species they will do fine as well as those plants.

 

[rdd1952]

I have never used it (as my pH is low and I have to try to raise mine) but I understand peat is the best way to lower your pH. AS already mentioned, you will have to be careful because of your low KH. DOn't drop it too fast.