Best way to Lower Ph

[Numero111]

I have a 30 gallon aquarium and the water at our house is well water, and its got a ph of around 8-8.2. Is there any easy way to lower the ph without using chemicals or turning the tank dark brown? Any thing would help because it would be awesome to be able to get a wider variety of fish.

[LordBarron7692]

I would say peat moss or add drift wood but both of those will give a brownish tint to the water

[johnnymisty]

Dont worry about a brownish tint to the water if that happens get some purigen and thatll clear up the tannins

[New_Cichlid11]

So why is the tank dark brown? Because of the dirftwood??

[madehtsobi]

options

1. get an ro/di unit

2. alder cones or indian almond leaves help lower ph

3. purigen to help clear brown water

[crazy42bmx]

Question, what type of fish are you keeping that u need to lower the PH for ?

[troy tucker]

RO/ID is the best way to lower PH. You can us alder cones. they will lower PH a little. Almon leaves, peat bog, even banana leaves will help But will tan the water. Purigen will remove the tanning.
The Question is what are you wanting to keep in such low PH water? We all seem to do just fine with out it. I my self have low PH fish in water that is 8.2 PH. they do just fine.

[LooksLater]

Easiest way is to start with low pH: RO/Di water. Use neutral substrate and minimal or no rock to avoid it buffering back up. If you need to go lower than 7.0pH for something in particular, also use a reducing substrate, like ADA Amazonia or Brightwell.

[mnemenoi]

Easiest way is to start with low pH: RO/Di water. Use neutral substrate and minimal or no rock to avoid it buffering back up. If you need to go lower than 7.0pH for something in particular, also use a reducing substrate, like ADA Amazonia or Brightwell.

+1 We have a few low Ph tanks and they are difficult to maintain and come with their own assortment of very unusual issues. I would recommend researching the connection of TDS (total dissolved solids), Hardness Gh & Kh (the measurement of those solids), and Ph (the ions present in water) as they are all interconnected. The easiest manner is to use a Ph reducing substrate as she suggested and only use RO/DI water (distilled water can work as well) for any top offs or water changes. Do not use any rock/gravel in the tank as these could leach minerals into the water column and inadvertantly increase the TDS and Ph. We have achieved a stable 6.0 or less (our test kit low is 6.0). CO2 injection can also reduce the Ph with the creation of carbonic acid, but the equipment needed is expensive and the minerals are still in the water column and cuase swings overnight as the water tries to shift back up.

[Jozle]

I go to the store and just buy distilled water there.

[Numero111]

I was wanting to keep angelfish but have settled with rainbowfish which i have come to really enjoy. I am currently setting up a 20 long britstlenose pleco breeding tank. I have peat granuels and driftwood in it right now and will start using the RO filter that i already have attatched to my sink. the problem is it will only put out about 1.5 gallons before it must refill. How effective is using purigen at clearing up the water? Also is there anyone who has experience breeding these plecos or any helpfull hints.

[mistahoo]

Re: Best way to Lower Ph

I was wanting to keep angelfish but have settled with rainbowfish which i have come to really enjoy. I am currently setting up a 20 long britstlenose pleco breeding tank. I have peat granuels and driftwood in it right now and will start using the RO filter that i already have attatched to my sink. the problem is it will only put out about 1.5 gallons before it must refill. How effective is using purigen at clearing up the water? Also is there anyone who has experience breeding these plecos or any helpfull hints.

Buy a water jug and store the water before hand. Problem solved. Purigen is magic beans! It polishes water the best! However if the water is dirty, I'd do a water change. Clear water is not the same as safe/clean water.

Regarding the BN plecos, give them a cave per male and let them do their thing. A simple PVC pipe will suffice.

Sent from my spaceship using Tapatalk 2.

[Jozle]

Purigen is magical, that's all you need to know.

[Darbex]

RODI will lower pH by stripping out all of the dissolved solvents that cause tap water to be high. However, I would not use this on a tank without treating it. There are many studies on the properties of RODI water. Fish get some of their minerals from the water so if you give them only RODI water then they will be lacking a source of their daily mineral intake, which can be detrimental to them. Angelfish can do fine on 8 pH water.

[troy tucker]

I was wanting to keep angelfish but

You can still do Angelfish. I have been breeding Angelfish in 8.2 ph water for years and have a breeding pair forsale.

I am currently setting up a 20 long britstlenose pleco breeding tank. I have peat granuels and driftwood in it right now and will start using the RO filter that i already have attatched to my sink.

You don't need to do anything specil for Bristlenose Pleco's either. Mine breed in the same water as my angels. The peat is not needed. the driftwood they do. Also a cave. As Mista said a small PVC pipe with a cap at one end works great.
As for RO-ID you need to be careful. Lowering PH can be good but it can kill. Ph can become to low and start dropping fast. the hole tank crashs and thin all you fish will be dead.