softening water and making it acidic...DIY style

[marsupialvomit]

my water from the faucet is a hardness or 12 and the ph of 8 and I curently have a African cichlid tank and want to make it South american. I know I shouldn't fight the water but I just can't resist. does anyone know of any stuff i could use other than expensive chemicals from fish stores to acheive my goal?:thud:

[NewLoverOfFish]

This is amazing I was just coming on-line to find out the same thing. Hope you get a reply soon. I want to get some bleeding heart tetras and thats what I hear they like.

[OrionGirl]

Do you want the fish to thrive, or to breed? Thriving is quite possible with a 'wrong' pH, as long as other parameters are kept up. For some species, they will attempt breeding, but eggs are more sensitive to pH and sometimes won't hatch. Bleeding hearts and most other soft water tetras, as well as many cichlids, will be fine at a higher pH and hardness than their native waters, as long as they are acclimated slowly to the new conditions. You may want to chat with your source to see what conditions they have the fish in.

There are many methods of reducing hardness, but what's important is how it acheives this, and how stable it is. Mixing Reverse Osmosis filtered water will lower both TDS and hardness, basically by diluting the existing conditions. Peat filtering (just what it sounds like--stuff a filter media area with peat and run the water through it, can be done in tank, or in a seperate system before changes) has the benefit of lowering hardness, pH, and TDS. Many commercial preparations increase TDSD, which is not beneficial to the fish at all.

Keep in mind that modifying water chemistry is tricky, and can be a pain since you have to filter all the water you use in the tank. Since most fish don't require the specific water conditions to thrive, it may not be worth the additional cost and effort. JMO!

[marsupialvomit]

yeah I want to breed them too, prefreably oscars, so I should just use peat then?

[OrionGirl]

Check around in the Cichlid forum. I don't think that Oscars require specific conditions to successfully breed. I think getting a male and female identified and paired up, and providing adequate space, is a much bigger issue.

[marsupialvomit]

couldn't find anything on breeding Oscars. But still I want to be sure about this so ill change the ph and hardness as well with peat. but how much peat should i use for 55 gallons?

[OrionGirl]

It depends--this is why this process is difficult. The amount of softening needed, and the volume of the water, are not just numbers. You'll need to get the peat and just experiment until you find the amount and time that works for you.

[marsupialvomit]

should i buy peat at hardware stores or at fish stores?

[marsupialvomit]

also how long is it's life without having to replace it?

[OrionGirl]

Peat from the garden center is fine, just make sure it does not contain any fertilizers or additives. Pure peat--should be cheap, about $2-4, and last you a while.

[marsupialvomit]

I have dolomite in my tank...will I need to change this? It's been in there for 1 year.

[DIYMatt]

Dolomite? Like the dolomite lime used in gardening to raise ph? I've never heard of that in an aquarium. Does it raise your ph and/or hardness? If it does and you want to soften/acidify your water............

[marsupialvomit]

it's what they use in reef tanks. I'm not quite sure what the hell is does so im asking.

[Slappy*McFish]

Yes, if you have dolomite in your tank, and want to soften your water/lower pH, then you would be wise to remove it.

[marsupialvomit]

could i use onyx sand or something else in conjunction with the peat treatment? possiably to make it better or more stable?