Tropical Tony
Fish Crazy
Hi guys. My PH is around 7.2-7.4 and i want it to be more on the acidic side. Apart from ph buffers what natural things can I put on to bring the PH down a bit? Am I right in thinking peat will bring it down?
What will naturally reduce PH?
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And what is the GH?
The pH is part of the GH and KH relationship, and then CO2 factors in. The GH and KH serve to buffer the pH, preventing fluctuations and changes, which is usually why the chemical adjusters do not work long-term and should never be used. Decreasing or increasing pH involves increasing or decreasing GH and KH, depending upon these levels.
The pH is part of the GH and KH relationship, and then CO2 factors in. The GH and KH serve to buffer the pH, preventing fluctuations and changes, which is usually why the chemical adjusters do not work long-term and should never be used. Decreasing or increasing pH involves increasing or decreasing GH and KH, depending upon these levels.
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Tropical Tony
Fish Crazy
GH is 60ppm. Not sure what the KH is.
KH is also termed Alkalinity, if you can track this down from your water authority. But for the present we'll assume it is comparable to the GH, on the low side.
As organics accumulate in the aquarium, primarily in the substrate, bacteria break them down, producing CO2. The CO2 creates carbonic acid, which lowers the pH. This effect is resisted by the GH/KH but here this buffering is likely fairly minimal, so once the aquarium is established the pH may begin to lower below 7.
Adding additional organics may lower it faster, or more estensively. Wood, dried leaves, peat are the usual organics used for this. Obviously the more fish the more waste which is organic matter, but you do not want to be overstocking or overfeeding just for this, as these cause other serious issues. But adding dried leaves may speed this up. Once the tank's biology is stabilized it tends to act as its own buffer, though one does not want to push thee envelope on this. If you let the aquarium stabilize on its own, using the source water, it will be far more stable and safe for the fish. Adding leaves, etc is not going to cause trouble for this, even if the pH lowers.
You can lower the pH by lowering the GH and KH together. If you dilute the source water with "pure" water such as RO, this will lower the GH and KH and pH proportionally. The only problem with this is that water changes become much more involved, as you need to preparee the replacement water outside the aquarium for each water change. The GH/KH in the source water willnot usually adjust much if at all, unless it is targeted by some means such as this dilution, or in reverse, increasing GH/KH/pH with calcareous substances.
As organics accumulate in the aquarium, primarily in the substrate, bacteria break them down, producing CO2. The CO2 creates carbonic acid, which lowers the pH. This effect is resisted by the GH/KH but here this buffering is likely fairly minimal, so once the aquarium is established the pH may begin to lower below 7.
Adding additional organics may lower it faster, or more estensively. Wood, dried leaves, peat are the usual organics used for this. Obviously the more fish the more waste which is organic matter, but you do not want to be overstocking or overfeeding just for this, as these cause other serious issues. But adding dried leaves may speed this up. Once the tank's biology is stabilized it tends to act as its own buffer, though one does not want to push thee envelope on this. If you let the aquarium stabilize on its own, using the source water, it will be far more stable and safe for the fish. Adding leaves, etc is not going to cause trouble for this, even if the pH lowers.
You can lower the pH by lowering the GH and KH together. If you dilute the source water with "pure" water such as RO, this will lower the GH and KH and pH proportionally. The only problem with this is that water changes become much more involved, as you need to preparee the replacement water outside the aquarium for each water change. The GH/KH in the source water willnot usually adjust much if at all, unless it is targeted by some means such as this dilution, or in reverse, increasing GH/KH/pH with calcareous substances.
@Tropical Tony If you are with United Utilities, do a search on their website for water quality report. You need to enter your postcode, then click on 'full' rather than 'summary'. The second line down is alkalinity aka KH.
If your GH is 60ppm your water is soft. If you are trying to reduce the pH it is likely you have or are planning sofwater fish. The GH is far more important than the pH in this regard. Is there a specific reason you want to reduce the pH? Most softwater fish will be fine in water that is slightly basic as long as it is stable. I would just leave well enough alone.
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Tropical Tony
Fish Crazy
thanks for this! I’ve just checked and it says 32mg/l.
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Tropical Tony
Fish Crazy
yes exactly just tetras mostly but I know they do like the PH a little lower than what it is at the moment.
Boil some clean oak leaves or india almond leaves for several minutes...let the water cool and a cup or so in the water. Whenever you do a water change, add some more of the tannin water to the tank. I use it in my betta tank. You could also put in cut up leaf in the tank and it will gradually release tannins and lower the ph.
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