Really high pH- Close to 9.0

keithk831

keithk831

Medium Fish
#1
Jun 15, 2008
74
0
0
Provo, UT
#1
So the water that we have in our apt has a really high pH...between 8.6 and 9.0. I think there's a lot of lime and calcium in the water. I have tried pH down, but it doesn't help too much. What are some other ways of safely lowering the pH? I heard a piece of driftwood in the tank will help?

I don't have access to any RO water (unless I can buy it), but we're planning on getting a Brita pitcher. Will this help?

I should say, so far the cories have been ok in the 5gal. But we're moving everything to the 26gallon once it's cycled and getting more fish, so i'd like to have a better pH for a "community tank"
 

Last edited:
W

wondabread

Small Fish
#2
Jul 12, 2008
48
0
0
Reading, PA
#2
Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but, the reason pH down doesn't work is because your water is probably extremely hard (calcium/magnesium).

Peat in the filter will soften the water, and lower pH. There are also water softening pillows that exchange the calcium for sodium, softening the water. Driftwood can lower pH because of the tanins that are released. Depending on how many tanins, it can make your water yellow/brown. Charcoal clears this up, but may defeat the purpose (unsure on that one).

Here is something that I am assuming, hopefully someone will chime in with accurate information. My tap water is very hard as well, I bought some plants from the LFS, and found after a week or so, I had a nice snail colony. Here is what I am thinking happens: The snail population exploded, a result of this was a significant lowering the hardness. The snails have to build their shells somehow, and I think they use the calcium from the water.

It's super easy to harden tap water, it very hard (and can be expensive) to soften your water the right way.

Good luck
 

keithk831

keithk831

Medium Fish
#3
Jun 15, 2008
74
0
0
Provo, UT
#3
Yeah I have heard that peat moss can make your water dark; that doesnt sound too exciting. What about distilled water from the store? Mix some of that in with tap water?
 

W

wondabread

Small Fish
#4
Jul 12, 2008
48
0
0
Reading, PA
#4
keithk831 said:
Yeah I have heard that peat moss can make your water dark; that doesnt sound too exciting. What about distilled water from the store? Mix some of that in with tap water?
Click to expand...
That works too. I would start with 25% distilled, take your measurements, and go from there. Distilled water has NO buffering ability, so don't use it completely.
 

Lotus

Lotus

Ultimate Fish
Moderator
#5
Aug 26, 2003
15,115
13
38
Southern California
home.earthlink.net
#5
You can usually buy RO water at the supermarket/Wal-Mart from the water machines (the ones where you buy a refillable container and fill it). Or, you can buy an RO unit and make your own. The Brita pitchers don't remove hardness from the water, just heavy metals and chlorine.
 

keithk831

keithk831

Medium Fish
#9
Jun 15, 2008
74
0
0
Provo, UT
#9
I bought some test strips and found my water to be very hard....readings at like 300. I am using some distilled water to bring the readings down. Also, I found out my local grocery store has a RO water machine (it was in the back of the store so that's why I hadn't noticed it before), so i'll just use water from there from here on out.

Thanks for your help!
 

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