natural PH modification question

LunchBox

LunchBox

Me fail english? that's unpossible!
Feb 7, 2006
645
0
0
Kalamazoo, MI
is there a way to lower the PH of my tank water without resorting to chemical treatments? I thought I'd read somewhere that things like driftwood and corals could affect the PH just by being in the tank, but it may be my imagination.

the reason I ask is my ph is hovering at 8.0, which is a little more alkaline that I would like (would like to be more around 7.5), but I would like to find a natural alternative to dumping chemicals into the tank.

any advice would be greatly appreciated. :)
 
Unless you are raising very picky fish like Discus the high pH would be fine and the fish can live a long and happy life at 8.0. But if you insist on lowering your pH naturally and safely, Driftwood and Peat in the filter would do the trick (just make sure you secure the peat to prevent strands from damaging the impellor.) Another way to lower the pH is to dillute the water with RO water (Aquafina has a TDS level of 4 ppm and is acidic in nature). Or if you are lucky, your grocery store has an RO unit attached to produce cheap RO water for yourself. Even though RO water is chlorine free, I would still dechlorinate it incase the grocery strore uses a CTA membrane and does not regularly change their post filter carbon. Distilled water is another choice but many distillers use copper condenser tubing and I am afraid that the purified water would dissolve some of the copper metal off the tubing raising copper levels in your tank.
 
thanks for the info :) the bloodfins I have in the tank now don't seem to care that the water is at 8, but some of the fish I was considering adding say they like around 7-7.5 so I was looking for "safer" alternatives to adding chemicals to the tank. I'm going to probably leave well enough alone though and see what happens... if any fish I add seem to not like it I'll probably start with a little driftwood and take it from there

thanks again!
 
I would probably just do a slower/longer acclimation when you first get the fish. Do drip acclimation or something similar just to allow them to make the transition to the higher pH.
 
FYI - fish do not read pH. They do read osmolarity or the osmotic pressure in relation to their internal osmolarity. Some blackwater fish do require low-GH (calcium and magnesium hardness) water for breeding, as their eggs are sensitive to those divalent cations, but the adults don't care so long as they are not osmotically shocked when introduced to the water.

Take-away lesson: Don't do water modification unless you absolutely must.
 
Just Let if Drift Down Naturally

All the chemicals that you are afraid of using to lower pH are the same chemicals that make natural waters acidic.

The word chemical does NOT always mean artificial.

But why don't you just let the pH drift down naturally. MY tap water is pH 7.8

I let my main tank slip to pH 7 over a few weeks. I then do the weekly 20 percent waters changes and the pH stays in the 7 range.
 
RustyRay said:
All the chemicals that you are afraid of using to lower pH are the same chemicals that make natural waters acidic.

The word chemical does NOT always mean artificial.
Click to expand...

point taken ;) I was looking at the differnce between putting in a piece of driftwood versus stirring in a cup full of acid :rolleyes:

But why don't you just let the pH drift down naturally. MY tap water is pH 7.8

I let my main tank slip to pH 7 over a few weeks. I then do the weekly 20 percent waters changes and the pH stays in the 7 range.
Click to expand...

the thing I would be concerned with there is my ph doesn't seem to drift down, unless it just hasn't been enough time yet or something. every time I test it's at 8, and doesn't really move. However, I haven't previously tested my tap water and am in the process of letting some sit overnight so I can do a tap test tomorrow ;)
 
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