Ok i'm going to try to breed my apistogrammas. problem is to get them to spawn, depending on the species, they need a ph of 4.0-7. my ph is higher then 8.6 according to my high range test kit, which is as high as my test kit measures. does anyone know how to safely and slowly lower the ph to my desired levels? I can achieve the soft water aspect that i need very easily but the ph is the tough one as i need my plants and fish to slowly acclimate to it. I'm wanting to get down to 6.0 to 7.0. slightly acidic to neutral. anyone have any ideas?
lowering ph?
- Thread starter exhumed07
- Start date
You'll need a lot of peat, it will discolor your water, and it might not drop you to where you want to be. I recently used it as a last ditch effort to lower the ph of my water for some new Tetra's. I too max out the high end ph scale of my test kit at 8.6, 3 gallon qt tank, with 16 oz of peat dropped it to 8.2, which was enough for the Tetra's, however it also caused a spike from 0 to 4 ppm in ammonia, the tetra's are now back at the pet store until I have my own RO unit.
I've also discovered that Terracotta pots, if you think they are tacky or otherwise ... do wonders for softening water. I added 6 6" pots and made holes in 3 of them for caves for my Parrots, and my water hardness is down from 8.5 to 7.5. A really weird thing too, my Nitrates are lower than my tap water too, All I have are 2 8 " bamboo stalks, I swap out every week due to their leaves not reaching the surface of the tank, so they are a week in, and a week out.
I have the same problem with ph levels. My tap water is naturally over 8.0 and my fish like the 7.0 range. I use Seachem's Neutral Regulator and Seachem's Acid Regulator. It is a powder that you add to the water. The neutral regulator is supposed to adjust your ph to 7.0 no matter if your water is basic or acidic to start off with. I haven't noticed a drop in ph using this by itself so I also use the acid regulator. My water is between 7.0 and 7.5 now and is easy to maintain at that level just by adding a couple of TBSP's to my tank. The neutral regulator says it will also remove chlorine, chloramine, and ammonia although I don't see any change in my ammonia levels after use.
I don't know why, but I always seem to have traces of ammonia in my tank. I did a 50% change 2 days ago because it measured at what looked like 1.0 and today I did a 75% water change. Took a reading an hour later and it measures at .25. My tank has been up and running since February. I had the tank in use for a few months (bought it used) and then moved across the states. It was empty for not quite 3 months. I changed the substrate and bought a new canister filter and I let the tank run for about a month before I started to put fish in it. Never saw any kind of bloom and figured all the good bacteria was in the canister so I started to add fish. I don't have the test kit for all the parameters, only ammonia and ph. My fish will start to behave differently when the water gets bad (usually around 1.0) so I know I have to change the water, which I usually do that same day. I have not gotten a 0 reading for ammonia yet. It is always a trace amount. So I change the water about every 2 days. Its frustrating. I know I should be able to go longer. I just don't know what is wrong. I even have zeolite and carbon in the filter.
As far as the Ph goes, I have had a hard time keeping plecos. It seems like after about 2 weeks, they die. It was suggested to me that I try bristlenose plecos as they are more tolerant of water parameters. So, that's what I did. I have two and they are doing really well, but I am keeping the water closer to 7.0 to please them. I don't want to take any chances.
As far as the Ph goes, I have had a hard time keeping plecos. It seems like after about 2 weeks, they die. It was suggested to me that I try bristlenose plecos as they are more tolerant of water parameters. So, that's what I did. I have two and they are doing really well, but I am keeping the water closer to 7.0 to please them. I don't want to take any chances.
Relying on your fish to show behavior changes as the ammonia climbs is not a good way to guage when to do water changes. This constant stress will shorten their lifespan and could lead to disease.
If your tap water has chloramine, be sure to use a dechlorinator that binds ammonia. But, as stated before, this ammonia amount when bound will still show on your test kit. I would recommend using Seachem's Ammonia Alert Disk to monitor free ammonia 24/7. They last a year or more, and will only alert you when the ammonia is the 'free' (toxic) type, not the bound-type. I've helped several schools that have class aquariums successfully keep fish healthy by using them.
If your tap water has chloramine, be sure to use a dechlorinator that binds ammonia. But, as stated before, this ammonia amount when bound will still show on your test kit. I would recommend using Seachem's Ammonia Alert Disk to monitor free ammonia 24/7. They last a year or more, and will only alert you when the ammonia is the 'free' (toxic) type, not the bound-type. I've helped several schools that have class aquariums successfully keep fish healthy by using them.
The easiest way to troubleshoot why, is to get yourself a test kit that allows you to measure for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Many of us use the API Master Test Kit. They're about $22-25 at stores and can be a bit less online.
Generally speaking, ammonia in a stocked tank means you don't have a proper nitrogen cycle established. That is a very dangerous thing. You should never see ammonia in a healthy, stable, established tank.
Generally speaking, ammonia in a stocked tank means you don't have a proper nitrogen cycle established. That is a very dangerous thing. You should never see ammonia in a healthy, stable, established tank.