Ways to soften water and lower pH

[Ami]

Where I live in Farborough, the water is fairly hard. Not so it leaves that nasty lime residue on the drainging board, but enough to make my pH test read 10!

My LFS is in the same area and acclimitises (sp) their stock to the local water (ie they don't do anything to fix it!), but I'm still concerned that my fish will suffer. Especially seeing as I tend to lean towards the softwater varieties.

I know that bog wood leaches tannins into the water, thereby softening it and lowering the pH. I also know that rotting organic matter can do this, but this is not an ideal solution!


I've been told that using a specific type of sand substrate, instead of gravel, will help but am having problems finding out what it is! Will play sand do the trick?

Also that CO2 thingimybobs for your plants help to lower the pH - but I get the idea that they're too expensive for me.

Finally, I'm in the process of buying some peat filter material (granules) and wondered if anyone had used these and whether they were successful or not?

Cheers!
Ami

 

[SarahBravo]

My PH is around 9 and I have set up a tetra tank with peat granules in the filter. I haven't checked the ph yet, I am about to do it this afternoon. I'll let you know how much it dropped!

 

[SarahBravo]

Okay, this is interesting. I set up a new tank at the office the middle of last week. As the PH at home and the office is about 8.5 to 9, I decided to try and create a lower PH tank right from the start and maintain it. So I added PH Down till the water was 7 to 7.5 (with the idea of adjusting every bucket for water changes). Last night I added a Sera CO2 tablet, enough for 3 -4 days for a tank of this size, and I tested the PH this morning fearing a PH crash.... ha! PH is back at 8.5 to 9.

A month or 2 ago I set up a tetra tank and wanted to give the little beggars a treat. So I added one small bag of Sera peat granules to their filter. Their water is now a lovely peat colour (need to buy better lights ) but tested their PH 10 minutes ago and it's 6

So from the evidence of my 2 tanks, don't bother with any chemical PH adjusters, just go for peat. Cheaper too - I think it was only £1.25!!

Does anyone have any experience as to how long peat lasts? I guess I should check the PH weekly (I haven't been cos I didn't expect it to make that much difference!) and swap out a small amount of peat every time it starts to go down.

 

[The-Wolf]

I use peat in two of my tanks
it is recomended that you change half the
amount of peat every 6-8 weeks or when you
notice that your pH is rising, whatever comes first.
It is also recomended to do weekly pH tests for just this reason.

 

[rdd1952]

The problem with lowering pH is that high pH and high KH go hand in hand. With a high KH, you have great buffering capacity. That means lowering the pH AND keeping it consistant will be all but impossible. I think you will find that getting a consistant pH using chemicals is completely impossible. I have never had the problem you have but I believe that The_Wolf's solution of peat is your best bet and even with that, I doubt you will ever get any where near a neutral pH of 7.0. On a good note, most fish are very adaptable and can live in water conditions that aren't ideal for them.

 

[SarahBravo]

I was pretty amazed with the effect of the peat I must say. It's been 5 weeks since it was set up in the tank, and the ph has gone from 8.5 to 6. It's really easy to use too, just put it in a little bag and stick it in the filter.

 

[Ami]

Ah ha! Peat is the way to go then I guess.

I am trying to use pH Down to bring it within safe limits at the mo but think I'll just order the peat and give up on the chemicals.


Sarah, are the CO2 tablets just like having a CO2 thingie? Still can't work out what to call them.

Oh, and any ideas with the playsand yet?

Cheers!

Ami

 

[SarahBravo]

I think playsand will be fine. Anything as long as it is inert. I think some gravels and specialist sands will raise PH - I don't know any that will bring it down, so you need to get the stuff that won't have any effect and as far as I know play sand fits the bill.

The CO2 thing from SERA is a little plastic box that sits unobtrusively in your tank, and every few days you stick a CO2 tablet in it. It dissolves and fills the box with CO2 which gradually dissolves into your water. It's less expensive than getting a CO2 cylinder and doing it 'properly' but more expensive than going the DIY yeast route. But it's less hassle! You can buy the box and a supply of tablets for £20 or they do a plant care set which has the box, 20 tablets, a bottle of liquid fertiliser, a packet of root tabs and a packet of dissolvable tablet fertiliser for £25, which is a good deal.

HTH

Sarah

 

[tttnjfttt]

I am trying to use pH Down to bring it within safe limits at the mo but think I'll just order the peat and give up on the chemicals.

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I have heard the pH altering chemicals are dangerous because they can lead to large pH swings within your tank. I tried using one called sodium biphosphate, the owner of a private LFS swore by it. Every week, I would add enough to bring my pH down to 7 (tap is 9+, off the chart). A week later, I would check it again, and it would be up to 7.6. What I found out was my water is soft enough where after sitting out for an hour or two, the pH will naturally come down to 7.6. My point...the chemicals did nothing long term.

have you ever specifically checked your KH? I didn't see that posted anywhere.

 

[Ami]

tttnjfttt, yep, checked the KH. Test kit took 10 drops before the colour change even started, therefore KH is above 10. This was approximately 10 days after cycling.

I have Interpret pH Down, which you add slowly over a number of days depending on how high the pH is. It guarantees to not take it lower than 6.5.

Thing is, there's no point in using it continuously as the KH means that there are too many buffers in the water and it will just keep increasing again. Hence the question on softening.