How to bring down PH?

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BlaxerGun93

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Jan 6, 2014
Messages
33
I need to lower my ph down. Last time i checked was at 8 - 8.2.

What are some ways to lower it?

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I dont know what other people think of this product but at my LPS I saw a bottle for that purpose there was one for ph up and one for ph down. I have no experience with it so if anyone else does please share.
 
I dont know what other people think of this product but at my LPS I saw a bottle for that purpose there was one for ph up and one for ph down. I have no experience with it so if anyone else does please share.

Iv'e heard it works but then it comes right back up after a few days.

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To lower your ph can be very harmful to the fish if you don't do it correctly. I would use Seachem discus buffer with Seachem neutral regulator can also be combined with RO water to achieve desired level of ph. I have never used ph up or down before but I know you need a good buffer to stabilize it or it will just bounce back to original ph. I also noticed it can add phosphate to your water so read the labels to know for sure because high phosphates are not good to have. Good luck and as always when changing ph you should research a lot good luck with this.
 
Oak leaves, peat, or driftwood are some natural ways to lower pH, but will color your water slightly brown. Honestly though, a pH of 8 is not bad. Most aquarium fish will be able to adjust to it just fine. A consistent pH is more important than a neutral pH.
 
Im in agreement with the adding a percentage of ro water. The other ways have a real possibility of ph swings. If you stuff your tank with wood and leaves they will need replacing as they lose their properties also water changes would need to be kept at a low % as swings would happen easily if changing put too much water.

So i would either use an ro mixture or leave it as it is. Better yet, keep fish suited to your natural tap water.

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Im in agreement with the adding a percentage of ro water. The other ways have a real possibility of ph swings. If you stuff your tank with wood and leaves they will need replacing as they lose their properties also water changes would need to be kept at a low % as swings would happen easily if changing put too much water.

So i would either use an ro mixture or leave it as it is. Better yet, keep fish suited to your natural tap water.

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I agree completely leave it as is it will be better then changing the ph and having it swing on you killing your fish. African cichlids love a hi ph that would be a good choice of fish. Most freshwater fish will be fine except Discus, Rams ect
 
I don't know about other but my rainwater is acidic and my tap water is really alkaline
 
Well do you have rain all year round, a way to keep it clean and free from nasties?
Mixing tap and rain is ok but if half of the year is dry youll have to resort back to tap and that would have to be done gradually.

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Not entirely we live in the middle of qld and we are in a huge drought and I haven't even nearly run out of water as for keeping it clean all that is in there is midges so the fish eat them.
 
As for parasites i would worry more about pathogens. What is it youre looking to keep? 8-8.2 isnt that high to be honest.

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Why mess with it? Fish will adapt to your tap conditions. I had my cardinal tetras in a pH of 8.8 maybe higher for a long time and they are still going strong. Unless you are messing with fish like discus there is no reason to mess with your pH. I use 100% RO water in one of my tanks Because I have really bad unstable tap water and I need to keep the nitrates down for my German blue ram. My tap can have up to 40ppm of nitrate, and I have never seen it go under 10ppm. It's a real PITA! I don't have the money or the room at this time for one of the under the counter units So I have to lug in roughly 20-25 gallon jugs of water in from the grocery store every week then it needs to be remineralized. I use Equilibrium because I have planted tanks. Which is like $12 plus shipping for a 600 gram bottle and to give my tank enough of the buffers to keep the pH from swinging too much, I use a double dose so my bottle only treats 300 gallons. So that comes out to $9.05 every week to do my water change on a 37g tank. Over a year that comes out to $470.60. So not only is it a pain to do but it is also expensive. Save yourself the headache. Just use your tap unless you have an actual issue with your water quality making it necessary.
 
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