How do I lower my pH?

[RazzleFish]

So how would I test if the TDS are rising and falling? I don't want to do a water change to find out so would just hooking up an air stone in a bucket and adding water allow for the same change in TDS?

PS: I would test as soon as I put it in then again every few hours.

 

[jm1212]

i had rams breed within a week of introducing them to my tank with a pH that was the same as yours. dont mess with your pH. most fish that you will buy in the store have been raised in captivity for generations and are used to our hard water. attempting to change your pH will only cause more difficulties when it begins to fall and swing after each water change, etc. you will be much happier and so will your fish.

 

[dundadundun]

Our PH in our town is ridiculously high too. Perfect for livebearers, but kills tetras. I would dump tons and tons of pH down or other pH drop stuff into my tank and nothing would work. I just started buying the 2.5g plastic jugs of "drinking water" from Walmart for all of my water changes. If you go this route be sure to get the "drinking water" and not the "spring water". The drinking water is just RO water. Before, when I used tapwater and dumped a bunch of pH down into the water my neons would die off at a rate of one a day. I started doing the Walmart jugs of water last year and haven't lost a neon in over a year.

that is expensive... i could pay for my r/o unit in less than a month and have free water for the rest of the year in comparison.

Well that will be something to consider. What is the pH of RO water usually?

it would depend i'd think. i haven't tested mine cause i don't use it for my tanks really but it's got to be just below neutral. rain (pretty clean) here usually measures ~6.4.

Around neutral depending on the efficiency.

Did you by chance test the pH of the tap after letting it sit out for 24 hours or so? Dissolved CO2 in the water will off gas and cause the pH to rise.

I've kept various "soft water" fish in water with a pH around 8.2-8.4 and never had issues but never kept tetras myself. Knowing the GH and even KH of the water would make more of a difference. Your livebearers love this type of water anyways.

But if you are truly going for the biotope for the cichlids, corys, and tetras than mixing some tap with RO might save some money in the long run for a smaller tank.

this is a very efficient system... 100gpd... very solid... for very cheap... not retail prices for sure! it's definitely made a huge difference in the taste of water alone. we had a cheapy under counter system, pur filters, brita filters, etc. over the years and just judging by taste, the difference is almost magical. we filtered one gallon or so from the tap with our old pur system... then 3 X's through our neighbors brita pitcher and did a side by side taste test... what a difference.

it's also great for cp's, mosses and liverworts. :dance2: my ping, mosses and riccia in my terrarium seem to love it.

also great for plants in general... especially so you start with a blank slate and know what's in your water. i know people who use the msu ferts and have a system just for that.

 

[RazzleFish]

i had rams breed within a week of introducing them to my tank with a pH that was the same as yours. dont mess with your pH. most fish that you will buy in the store have been raised in captivity for generations and are used to our hard water. attempting to change your pH will only cause more difficulties when it begins to fall and swing after each water change, etc. you will be much happier and so will your fish.

I am now trying to keep the swing from happening. I didn't add anything to the tank to make the pH come down, it just did. In this specific tank pH isn't all that much of a concern as long as it's stable which as I just saw it wants to be but can't because the water from my tap is too high.

If the TDS arent swinging like the pH, is it still causing stress to my fish or will it be ok as long as that is stable?

 

[RazzleFish]

Also, thank you all for the help so far!

 

[BBN]

that is expensive... i could pay for my r/o unit in less than a month and have free water for the rest of the year in comparison.

it is kind of. I spend about $10/mo on water so it isn't a major investment.

 

[dundadundun]

I am now trying to keep the swing from happening. I didn't add anything to the tank to make the pH come down, it just did. In this specific tank pH isn't all that much of a concern as long as it's stable which as I just saw it wants to be but can't because the water from my tap is too high.

If the TDS arent swinging like the pH, is it still causing stress to my fish or will it be ok as long as that is stable?

should be fine. tds from the tap should be relatively stable.

 

[Canuck]

The pH of RO water is hypothetically 7. Pure water has no buffers, therefore it takes on the pH of anything that is added to it, so high quality pure water is going to be next to impossible to measure pH. Rain water is low in pH because it picks up a lot of acids and dirt falling through the air.

For the poster, get a gH and kH test kit before you do anything. A pH measurement by itself is pretty meaningless. I kind of expect BBN did more harm then good with the pH down. If your fish are fine and it sounds like they are then don't make problems for yourself. "If it ain't broke don't fix it."

 

[BBN]

I was pretty worried that I did more harm with the pH down so that's why I went with the RO water and did one major water change followed by frequent water changes until I had an even 7.0. Now I cruise at 7.0 and everything's been healthy in there for over a year now. Haven't lost a fish since last year.

 

[bettabeats]

have you looked into Almond Leaves?
any of the over-the-counter ph Down/Up products will be taken out gradually with water changes. Almond leaves are particularly cheap and maintain a low pH.