Lowering pH

[jdheff1982]

I was wondering.... (pH topic)

Since all of the lfs's in my town have a pH of about 7.8 (including me) would it be possible to lower the pH to the species natural pH w/o causing arm to them since they have already been living in the higher pH?? If it could be done, what would be the safest and most appropriate method??? Thanks!

 

[djlen]

Why?

Why would you want to change the Ph of your tank if the fish are doing well at all the LFSs in your area at 7.8? If you lower(I'm assuming that you're talking about lowering) the Ph in your tank, every time you purchase new fish you run the risk of shocking the new arrivals. Ph is not nearly as important as clean water, so every time you do water changes you then have to mess with lowering the Ph to keep it at what you think is the "natural" Ph of the fish.
Example: One of the most common mis-conceptions around is that Discus "need" to be kept in 6.4-6.6 Ph water, so people work so hard at lowering the Ph of the tank to accomodate the fish, when many of the tank raised Discus are spawned and raised in 7.0-7.4 water in this country. These breeders often do 50-60% water changes DAILY to keep the water "clean" for new spawns and in grow out tanks. And also it's, IMO, much easier for a fish to acclimate itself to a slightly higher Ph than a lower one.
My conclusion(for what it's worth) is, if the LFSs in your area are at the same Ph as yours, leave your water alone, and the fish will probably be fine.
Len

 

[Richer]

I agree with djlen... unless you have some very special requirements, don't bother with adjusting your pH... it will only bring more headach to you.

That said, there are few things you can look into:
1.) Peat filtration. Sticking a bag of peat may help lower the pH of your tank. I've experimented with it once, and it did nothing to my water, just stained it brown.
2.) Putting a large piece of driftwood in your tank. Same affect as peat filtration (more or less). Same thing with me, did nothing with my water, just stained it brown.
3.) R/O + tap water mixtures. Mixing R/O water and your tap water in differing ratios will help lower the kh of your tank water and thus lower the pH of your water. Make sure you keep your kh at 3 or higher to insure some stability. It can get expensive if you purchase your water from a water place (ie. the supermarket, bottled water company, lfs, etc.). You can also purchase your own R/O unit.

HTH
-Richer

 

[Cichlid Woman]

Hi, Silver Shark,

You and I are in the same boat. My tapwater is 7.8, and I know tampering with pH is a no-no; but I wanted my fish to live in as close a natural habitat as I could get for them. I know they can survive ("adapt") in unnatural (higher) pH levels, but some can't breed in it, and I also wondered if they wouldn't have better colors, better activity, just better fishie happiness in their preferred pH. I also want lots of types of plants that do not do well over a pH of 7.4. So ...

A recent visit to an lfs introduced me to Sodium Biphosphate. It's a granular pH reducer made by Wardley. The label says it "reduces alkalinity--increases acidity." This lfs owner swears by it and uses it in all her tanks. Her tapwater comes out at 9.2 ... and she keeps her tanks at 7.0 with this stuff.

I questioned her closely about it; she says this is the only thing she puts in her tanks to adjust pH, and with my water's KH of 8, I "should have no problem using it." With fish in the tank, she recommended using it at half strength--a 1/4 tsp. dose per 20 gallons no oftener than every 12 hours or so.

So I'm trying it. So far, the tank is holding at 7.2, and the last dose I put in was yesterday. All the fish are showing no ill effects. With my KH level, it should buffer and hold at that level without additional doses, according to the lfs owner. But when I researched it on the net, I found that some folks add a buffer (a companion product by Wardley--can't recall the name of it right now) to keep the pH from creeping up after they've reached the desired pH, if their water's buffering capacity isn't enough to hold it there.

Could it be? Is this actually a safe, reliable way to lower pH?! I sure hope so, it's in my tank ...

-- Pat

 

[wetmanNY]

What softwater fishes are actually responding to, is low total dissolved solids. The pH is low because there are natural humic acids in the water and very little carbonate buffer to raise the pH.

In other words pH is a symptom of soft water, but what makes it "soft" water is that it has very few dissolved ions and salts in it.

The biphosphate buffer that Cichlid Woman has added to lower the pH reading may encourage algae in a couple of months. The sodium and phosphates have actually added to the ions dissolved in the water.

Two simple ways of getting soft water or softened water (besides expensive high-tech solutions) that I know of are rainwater and peat filtration. There's a link to Mark Burningham's peat-bucket technique at www.skepticalaquarist.com in the "Water" folder on the "Softening" page. And in the opening "Water" page you can look into what possible pollutants in rainwater are, and how to filter them out.

HTH!

edit I hope this link to Mark Burningham works: http://fp.marksfish.f9.co.uk/diy/peat.htm

 

[djlen]

Caution.......however, a suggestion

Again, I'd be cautious adjusting Ph if you intend to be adding or changing fish in your tank, however what you might consider is waiting until you have all or most of the fish you want to keep in that environment, and THEN slowly working at lowering your Ph gradually. IME, in many cases once I've started changing the natural qualities of my water it's a constant adjustment process thereafter.
For that reason I always suggest that people go with what they've got water-wise. Hope this help some......
Len