How to lower pH?

[catfishmike]

i just want to echo what red and andy have both said.and in case anyone is wondering,all of my acid loving fish are quite healthy and well colored and my water is a ph of 7.8 gh 18 dgh(sorry i can't remember the ppm conversion at the moment)and a kh of 8 oh and did i mention i have blue rams and neons.so there you have it.all of these different people have had sucsess with acid loving fish in hard water.whats the secret: water changes.

 

[Fishman_2000]

I keep one of my tanks at 7.0. I use Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Proper pH. It works pretty good but all my other tanks I keep at 7.8 (tap water). Really I agree with everyone else not to mess with the pH unless it's necessary. RO units work well but are expensive to maintain. I've been thinking of getting some kind of sediment filter from lowes or home depot like you would install to a house with a well and hooking that up somehow to a faucet and see if can lower the ph of the water even more. I'm sure it could lower the ph but I'm not sure how much. That would be easier to maintain I think then an RO unit.

 

[AndyL]

CFM conversion tables I have:

Take your dgh or dkh, or mg/L and multiply:

x 0.056 = dH or gH degrees
x 0.07 = Clark H degrees
x 0.1 = fH degrees
x1 = hardness degrees
x 0.02 = mEq/L

Fishman - sediment filter / household filter will not help to lower the pH. Most contain simply a filter to remove sediment, and a carbon block, to remove chemicals/metals. Neither would remove any appreciable amounts of the compounds which contribute to hardness, thus they would not help you reduce pH further.

Andy

 

[bestshooter]

I have PH problems too..

I am also having problems with water and keeping fish alive. I have well water as I am out in the middle of nowhere and have no city water. The PH out of there is 7.8 or so. I have 4 tanks going right now. I have a 55gal fresh, 55 gal salt, 125gal fresh and 300 fresh. I have tried to keep angels in my 55 gal fresh and all have died. I have brought water from my moms to mix in with my water to try and get it less hard and lower the PH a little as her PH is 7.0 and I NEVER once lost a fish when I lived over there. I still can not lower my ph it just sticks at 7.8. I bought an RO filter hoping to soften the water and lower the PH .. and has not worked yet.. Lost 3 angels that lived for about 3 days..UGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHh

 

[littletankbigworld]

I would not add chemicals, as they make the pH very unstable. Try naturally lowering the pH by placing driftwood in your aquarium. Don't forget to let the tanins in the wood soak out before adding it to the water, unless you are going for a South American biotype and want tea-colored water. Good luck!

 

[littletankbigworld]

I have well water. My pH is 8.5 and my gH is 4 dh. I have successfully kept larger tetras. I had a school of neons, but possibly due to the high pH, they all died off within a week. The main thing about fish is, the general majority do not care what the pH is, as long as it's stable. Frequent water changes also lower pH by refreshing buffering ions in the water.

 

[littletankbigworld]

I heard bog wood works well.

Yes. Any type of driftwood will naturally and safely lower the pH. It's a bit strange that people are recommending complex things and a simple answer is driftwood.

 

[dusty123]

i recomend seachem netral regulator. it does two things-it lowers or increses ph to 7.0 AND it removes ammonia. double plus!

 

[littletankbigworld]

i recomend seachem netral regulator. it does two things-it lowers or increses ph to 7.0 AND it removes ammonia. double plus!

Sorry, but I don't recommend the use of chemicals, as they make the pH terribly unstable. Having an unstable pH is way worse than having a high pH. A pH swing from 8.2 to 7.0 would be stressful, if not deadly.

 

[Creamcrop]

South American Rams

I have 3 40-70 gallon planted tanks with all kinds of Mikrogeophagus ramirezi in them and all have been doing fine until about the third month ive had them they all are gasping for air as well as slowly dying one by one over the past few weeks. I have air stones in all of them and also have home made co2 systems attached to powerheads set on low as not to create too much current. i purchased a co2 tester to see if i was putting too much into the water, but it reals low levels. I have used fertilizers in the past even though i do a water change about once every 2 or 3 weeks and my nitrate levels are above 200 ppm!?!?!? obviously this is a huge issue that i believe can be fixed with water changes but should i purchase a denitrate solution of some kind? and looking online said rams prefer ph of around 5.5 while mine is at a high 9. i tried lowering the ph but reading these threads shows that my hard water is not allowing me to drop the ph which i have already discovered after wasting API ph down... is the ph a problem? or am i worrying for the wrong reasons? help all my rams are dying!!! thanks!

 

[Creamcrop]

one of the tanks has other fish in it as well and all are doing fine. just the rams are failing.. what am i missing?

 

[OrangeCones]

I would not worry about the pH of your water. Most fish can adjust to whatever the normal pH of your water is. It is the changes in pH that can be stressful and deadly to your fish.

Nitrates of 200 are alarmingly high. What test kit do you use that measures that high? Mine only goes up to 160.

What are your readings of ammonia and nitrite?

I would do 50% daily water changes, making sure to match the new water's temperature to the tank water, and I'd drip the water in instead of pouring it in quickly.

P.S. You might want to make your own thread. This one is from 2003.

 

[Creamcrop]

http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/fre...uth-american-cichlid-problems.html#post609106


new thread with updated stuffs

 

[Charmander4]

i just got my first tank, it is a 10 gallon tank and my ph tester only goes up to 7.8 and it always reads that when i test the water and i know people are saying that its fine but all my fish died and i had a couple platys and tetras and a placo and they all died within a week. now the only fish that seem to be okay with my tank are my catfish and i now have 4 of them but would like some more fish that arent bottom feeders so my tank looks like theres actually fish in it. i think its a ph problem and nothing ive tried has lowered the ph at all for more than 10 minutes. there doesnt seem to be any other problems with the tank, ive got a filter made for 10 gallon tanks and all the fish i have clean up the tank. any ideas?

 

[PlecoCollector]

i just got my first tank, it is a 10 gallon tank and my ph tester only goes up to 7.8 and it always reads that when i test the water and i know people are saying that its fine but all my fish died and i had a couple platys and tetras and a placo and they all died within a week. now the only fish that seem to be okay with my tank are my catfish and i now have 4 of them but would like some more fish that arent bottom feeders so my tank looks like theres actually fish in it. i think its a ph problem and nothing ive tried has lowered the ph at all for more than 10 minutes. there doesnt seem to be any other problems with the tank, ive got a filter made for 10 gallon tanks and all the fish i have clean up the tank. any ideas?

You may be best off starting your own thread instead of reviving an old one

It sounds like you had too many fish for your 10 gallon tank and that it's still in the cycling process. A pH of 7.8 or more is rather high, but tolerable for many fish. However, there are ways to lower it naturally if you're truly concerned. It seems you have quite a few things to be addressed, so your own thread would be the best way to go!

 

[Thyra]

You probably need to start a new thread also, but you say you just got your tank. Did you cycle it and then test the water? If you don't understand about cycling (don't feel alone, many people, even the ones working in fish stores; don't) read the "Stickies" at the beginning of this forum.

 

[Charmander4]

You probably need to start a new thread also, but you say you just got your tank. Did you cycle it and then test the water? If you don't understand about cycling (don't feel alone, many people, even the ones working in fish stores; don't) read the "Stickies" at the beginning of this forum.

i set the tank up about 2 weeks before i put the fish in, ive probably had it about 2 months so far. i tried to follow everything my marine teacher told us about setting the tank up.

 

[KcMopar]

You have come to a great place with a ton of knowledge. You are going through what a lot of new tank owners have. Yes, it does include sick or even death of fish but, you are on the right track. You are seeking help. There are a lot of good spots to read up on here. FreshWater Beginner Information/Questions . pH is the last of your worries. Getting your tank prepared for you FIRST fish or TWO is the biggest step in your success of caring for fish. The clickable link I posted has a ton of into you might need. Cycling of a new tank is very important to read up on and understand. Its like the 101 for keeping dogs and cats alive but for fish. One important tool to have when keeping fish is knowledge and knowledge of the water conditions. Its great to have one of those master test kits for checking the water. Do some reading and post more questions. There are a bunch of here willing to help and get anyone successful at keeping fish as this is what we love too. Feel free to post even if you think its silly or even dumb. I speak for us all when I say we are willing to help if you are willing to try and learn a new and successful hobby.

 

[Floster939]

If you have properly soaked your drift wood and perhaps even boiled it to get rid of the excess tannins will it still have the ability to lower ph?

 

[Kiara1125]

Mini question (I don't want to start a whole new thread for this): Can you raise pH with a bit of baking soda?? And how much per gallon??

Thanks in advance and sorry for intervening in this post but it does involve pH sooo......