Lowering pH balance

many fish can adapt to 'hard' water or higher pH water.

Before you start adding stuff into your tank find out what the "something" in the water is. You can get that from your water supplier. Trying to balance pH is a never ending battle if you are using additives because it will eventually find it's way back to where it wants to be and fish have a better time adjusting to any pH easier than having a fluctuating one.

what the "something" in the water is

Click to expand...

it's called carbonate. there's no magic there. carbonate and bicarbonate are 'buffers'. think of a buffer as a large sponge. as more acid is added, the "sponge" absorbs the acid without changing the pH. the "sponge's" capacity is limited however; once the buffering capacity is used up, the pH changes more rapidly as acids are added. the ph may then drop rapidly and injure the fish. the next time you do a water change, you'll be adding those buffers right back and the cycle will be repeated. this yoyo effect is very injurious to fish.

Buffering has both positive and negative consequences. on the plus side, the nitrogen cycle produces nitric acid (nitrate) and free carbon dioxide can form carbonic acid .. both of which may potentially decrease the pH level. without buffering, your tank's pH would drop over time ... not a good thing. with sufficient buffering, the pH stays stable (a good thing).

hard tap water often almost always has a large buffering capacity. if the pH of the water is high, the buffering capacity makes it difficult to lower the pH. attempts to change the pH of water usually fail because buffering effects are not taken into account.

in freshwater aquariums, most of water's buffering capacity is due to carbonates and bicarbonates. thus, the terms "carbonate hardness" (KH), "alkalinity" and "buffering capacity" are used interchangeably. although technically not the same things, they are equivalent in practice in the context of fishkeeping. Note: the term "alkalinity" should not be confused with the term "alkaline".

moreover, there's absolutely nothing wrong with a pH of 8.2. the vast majority of fish in the hobby today will adapt just fine to such a ph.

Personally I prefer to lower my pH and hardness for tanks that have blackwater or acid loving species.

I don't really get any issues about pH swings and what not. I keep a steady peat filtration, and with every water change I make the slight change in pH and hardness is gradual and eventually assimilates into the tank within a few days.

I'm starting to think that the whole "don't mess with your pH" thing is treated like some manner of a forbidden fruit story.

When done with full knowledge of the mechanisms, and done gently and naturally, softening and acidifying your water is perfectly safe and stable.

most fish can adapt to most pHs, even wild fish.

if you need to lower the pH, dont add chemicals that will mess up your tank and stress your fish. driftwood is a much better.

jm1212 said:

most fish can adapt to most pHs, even wild fish.
if you need to lower the pH, dont add chemicals that will mess up your tank and stress your fish. driftwood is a much better.

Click to expand...

That probably explains my old tanks good ph it had a large amount of wood in it.

I disagree. I mess with pH.

I find it ridiculous that people will agonize about giving their cichlids the proper hardness and alkalinity but scoff at the thought of providing similar comfort for soft water fishes.

Sure they can adapt, but that doesn't mean they live a wonderful life like that.

Their bodies have to work harder to regulate their biological systems. It causes stress. Maybe not so much that you will really notice - but it's there. Oh and not to mention that a more acidic tank has increased resistance to viral and bacterial issues. The tannins in driftwood and peat are natural antiseptics.