Reducing Ph.. How To?

[Channti]

Before someone jumps down my throat about this one, the pH in my tank has always been very high, ranging from 8.4 to 8.6. This exceptionally high pH has made keeping certain fish almost impossible in this tank.

Is there a way to reduce pH, but keep it stable?.

 

[This Old Spouse]

Adding bogwood.

 

[Channti]

Tank already has two large pieces of malaysian driftwood.

 

[bristlenoseitplecoman]

maybe you could get ph decreaser or get perfect 7.0 to get it down to perfect.

 

[This Old Spouse]

Here's six ways

 

[200sx]

always good to watch there videos

 

[StandbySetting]

You could use a pH decreaser but that would mean adding a volume of pH decreaser relative to the volume of water you're replacing whilst doing a water change to maintain the desired pH, so preparation techniques must be good.

An easier way would be to add bog would or peat as above, or you could use RO water but you'd need to add remineralisation powder.

 

[markandhisfish]

maybe you could get ph decreaser or get perfect 7.0 to get it down to perfect.

messing with ph using these products isnt really a great idea tbh its just so difficult to keep your levels stable .

an ro unit as mentioned is a possibility but this has its drawbacks too . the aforemention remineralising being 1 of them , along with the initial cost . also ro units produce a lot of waste water .

another option is simply to taylor the fish you keep to your water stats . yours would be great for african cichlids , which also happen to make an impressive display too .

 

[AvidD]

Here's six ways

I use the 2nd suggested method in the video, peat moss. I buy a peat moss bale (it comes in bales of 3 cubic feet) at my local home improvement store from the gardening/landscaping section. How long a bale will last you depends on the size & number of your tanks & how often you perform water changes. I have 3 tanks (a 40, 20, & 10 US gallon) that I perform water changes on about 2x per week (on average). My tap water has a pH of 8.0 - 8.2. However, I like to keep the pH between 7.0 - 6.5 on these tanks & a single bale will last me well over 1 1/2 years (just to give an idea how long it might last you). 1 bale costs me about $9 USD.

I make my own peat balls using nylon stockings. I use to keep the peat balls right in the tank, they float at first but eventually they will sink. I didn't like the space they took up in my tanks (especially the smaller ones i.e. 20 & 10g) so now I just keep about 2 - 3 peat balls in two 5 gallon buckets of water (each) & I aerate them with standard airline tubing & an airstone. I use the water in these buckets for my water changes. It works for me & I'm able to keep my pH low & stable this way.

If you do decide to purchase a bale of peat moss just make sure that it has not been treated with fertilizers, pesticides etc. It will say so right on the "packaging".

 

[Channti]

Thank you all!. I'm going to keep all of this in mind. My tanks are all undergoing some very large changes, and as such, this information is exceptionally helpful. Thank you!