i want to lower my ph.

Jun 6, 2006
43
0
0
#1
i just got off the phone with my girlfriend and shee said that the ph in my 55g went up from 7.2 to 8.2 over night.how do i lower it safely.and i have one more question,ph is not o2 is it.my girlfriend seems to think it is:eek: and shes really making me think
 

fishtrap

Large Fish
Mar 19, 2005
429
1
0
#2
Seems a bit odd to me. There is a chance that your water company adds Co2 to you tap water. Co2 will lower the pH of your water. It will eventually out gas from the water resulting in you pH rising.

Do a test. Put some tap water (or whatever your water source may be) in a glass. Immediately test the pH. Let the glass of water sit overnight. Test it again in the morning. Compare the results. They should tell you if there is Co2 in your source or not.

The goal is to maintain a stable pH. Your fish will adapt to just about any level providing it stays constant. I would suggest you try not to alter it. It may drop a bit after a water change, but it will quickly rise back up to it's sans Co2 level as the Co2 out gases.

Co2, or lack thereof, is altering your pH.
 

Pure

Elite Fish
Nov 1, 2005
3,216
7
0
Jacksonville, FL
#3
Never had a sig dedication to me before..kinda cool LOL thanks!*thumbsups

Like fishtrap suggested you need to test the tap water then retest it after it has sat for 24 hrs. this will also tell you if there is something in your tank that causing the PH to raise. If the PH in the glass hasn't gone up over night we need to take a look at what you have in the tank.

Currently your PH is fine for keeping fish, but as we have discussed in PM and your sig suggests you want to breed plecos. Unless you plan on only breeding BNs you do need to do something about the PH, and breeding most other species of pleco requires the PH to be altered to trigger the spawn.

The best and safest way to do this is to use RO water. It is much more easy to raise the PH of RO water than to drop the PH of your tap. Since you are dealing with a large tank your best bet is going to be to invest in an RO unit to make your own water.

Edit: Tell your friend that O2 has nothing to do with PH. Heat will reduce it's levels as hot water doesn't have as much as cool, but this doesn't alter your PH.
 

Last edited:
Jun 6, 2006
43
0
0
#5
well thats why i want to lower it pure becuase i want to breed plecos,would it be worth it to get an ro unit.or should i go to my lfs to pick some up because they sell it.
 

Pure

Elite Fish
Nov 1, 2005
3,216
7
0
Jacksonville, FL
#7
Peat will not lower PH as high as yours very much and honestly it doesn't give you the control over the PH that would will need to induce spawns.

For a tank as large as yours an RO unit...bout 70 or so bucks on Ebay, is the way to go. Your going to need about 140 gals of it to start out with the other 10 gals you can use your tap. My PH isn't as high as yours but it is close and that is about the ratio I use when dropping the PH for a spawn. Can you imagine how much all that water is going to cost, let alone lugging it..The unit will be cheaper and be a lot easier.
 

Pure

Elite Fish
Nov 1, 2005
3,216
7
0
Jacksonville, FL
#10
Yeah I have one. It works very well, but it doesn't last very long. I got about 60 gals out of it before I had to replace the filter cartridge. At 17 bucks to replace it, well an RO unit is still cheaper in the long run.