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What do you use to lower water PH

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  • What do you use to lower water PH

    My tap water is 8. something I need 6.5 in the tank. Distilled vinegar is not working so well. What do you use? Pros and Cons?

    Thanks
    Smokin_Cache
    Planning a new 150+ tank. Any suggestions?
    Lets see what the imagination fruits.
    Check out my last tank

  • #2
    Re: What do you use to lower water PH

    I use peat in my filters, right now the media made by fluval. And, although I've heard some people say it's bad, I use rainwater that I collect in my fish buckets when I'm not using them (a little less than 1 gallon per 10 gallons of the total water). When it's been dry, I find some RO water in the grocery store. That seems to do the trick.

    The only problems are, I think, the problems that you're going to get with almost any way to lower your pH: trying to keep it consistent with every water change. With the peat, after a while it wears out, so you just have to replace it. However, as long as you're regularly doing water changes and cleaning your filters and all that good stuff, it's not really that much more to add to the regimen.
    "Millennium hand and shrimp!"

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    • #3
      Re: What do you use to lower water PH

      I thought about peat, but I don't have a filter running on my change water barrel.
      Smokin_Cache
      Planning a new 150+ tank. Any suggestions?
      Lets see what the imagination fruits.
      Check out my last tank

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: What do you use to lower water PH

        I have never tried these but I heard almond leaves work. You can buy them on aquabid.

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        • #5
          Re: What do you use to lower water PH

          the leaves do not work that well and they mess up your water as they rot.
          Changing the ph with out lowering the tds in most cases really does not help much, but if you really want to do that muratic acid works well, the problem is that the water bounces back with aeration. You would need to set up your water storage circulate it, wait for the ph to rise and then stabilize, once that occurs add your murtic acid, use small amounts until you get it down to where you want it. then circulate it for an hour and check it again, if it is stable where you want it, you will now have a reference for how much acid to use in the future. I use muratic acid all the time, I use ro water at a 75/25 ratio with filtered city water and use the muratic to get the ph where I want it and the ro city water mix to get the tds I want, works well.
          GIVE NONE, TAKE NONE - BE FREE, HAVE FUN

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          • #6
            Re: What do you use to lower water PH

            I have a 700gph pump and two air lines in the 55g barrel I use to store/adjust my change water. Muratic sounds good. I will try that this afternoon and see what the water looks like tomorrow. I will be moving into a house in the next year where I will have a whole house softener and RO setup, but I have to figure something out untill then while I am in a very tank unfriendly apartment.
            Smokin_Cache
            Planning a new 150+ tank. Any suggestions?
            Lets see what the imagination fruits.
            Check out my last tank

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: What do you use to lower water PH

              Like I said, I never used them. I use ph down by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals. My tap water is 8.4 and I work it down to 7.2 in about a week.

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              • #8
                Re: What do you use to lower water PH

                I have used one almond leaf in a 10g tank to lower the pH and induce spawning.

                I also have a rain barrel in the back yard with 6" of oak leaves in it that produces really great water for my wild rainforest fish.

                I have been told that the peat pellets sold to sprout seeds make an excelent water softner as the plastic mesh around them keep them from scattering all over the tank..

                For those of you who do not like brown water.   I use an old diatom filter pump to remove all the suspended solids and make the water pretty again.  This is the same typ of filter that is used to keep swimming pools clear and remove the haze from beer before it is bottled. (all organic)
                'Dear Lord,' the minister began, with arms extended toward heaven and a rapturous look on his upturned face. 'Without you, we are but dust ...'
                He would have continued but at that moment my very obedient daughter who was listening leaned over to me and asked quite audibly in her shrill little four-year old girl voice, 'Mom, what is butt dust?'

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                • #9
                  Re: What do you use to lower water PH

                  I use CO2 to lower the PH and also as a supplement food source for my plants. The PH in my planted tank is constantly around 7.0 with the help of a PH controller and solanoid.

                  Tin

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                  • #10
                    Re: What do you use to lower water PH

                    I have a tank,controller and such at Walter's just haven't had time to get it yet. I was counting on that to take care of the main tank, but I am concerned about change water at 8+ PH. I am planning on doing at least weekly 50% changes on the tank until the discus are grown. That may increase in frequency in order to keep the nitrates down.
                    Smokin_Cache
                    Planning a new 150+ tank. Any suggestions?
                    Lets see what the imagination fruits.
                    Check out my last tank

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: What do you use to lower water PH

                      I use SeaChem Discus Buffer works great, just add some at water change, no ph rebond. I also have Co2 injector to help. I also use their Discus mineral Subpliment for the plants.
                      Hope this helps  

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                      • #12
                        Re: What do you use to lower water PH

                        the other day at petsmart we got some frozen good in and they came with dry ice.  My boss took the dry ice brick and tossed it in the plant tank. the results were...


                        the CO2 caused a HUGE decrease in PH, from above 8.4 to below 6.2 (the max and min of our test strips)
                        it also dropped the hardness significantly.
                        Though I wouldn't recomend this  for anything but amusement. would kill any fish you have
                        "Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety" -- Benjamin Frankli
                        n

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