Ph, and Nitrates

[Kasakato]

What are the best levels for pH, and Nitrates? I belive that the Ammoina, and Nitrite should still be keet at 0. My pH is 8 and Nitrates is 20ppm.

 

[travis simonson]

It depends on what types of plants you're planning on keeping. A pH of 8 is a bit high for most planted tanks, although, if you inject CO2, it will drop. Many plants do best at a pH of 6.5 - 7.0.

Nitrates are probably fine at 20 ppm. Ideal range is between 5-15 ppm for planted tanks.

 

[Kasakato]

How can I lower them?

 

[travis simonson]

Water changes will lower your nitrate levels, no problem. pH is another matter. The first thing I would do is test the pH of the tap water or whatever water you use to fill your tank. When doing this it's best to fill a container with water and let it outgas for 24 hours before doing a final pH test as pH can singnificantly increase as the dissolved CO2 in tap water leaves it. This test result will determine what the pH of your tank water will likely be. You can lower the pH by injecting CO2, but that is really the only 'safe' way to go about it. I would not ever recommend using the pH softeners that are available at your LFS, I've seen too many people kill fish with those products and, IMHO, they are to be avoided. You should also test your KH (carbonate hardness) if you plan on keeping plants and/or injecting CO2. Cross referencing your pH value with your KH value will give you the total dissolved CO2 levels in your tank. Hope this helps

 

[Jchillin]

It depends on what types of plants you're planning on keeping. A pH of 8 is a bit high for most planted tanks, although, if you inject CO2, it will drop. Many plants do best at a pH of 6.5 - 7.0.

Nitrates are probably fine at 20 ppm. Ideal range is between 5-15 ppm for planted tanks.

As Travis mentioned it can be done with CO2 injector if needed.

It's best to use natural methods to lower your ph and never use additives such and ph up/ph down. What is the ph level of your tap water?

 

[Kasakato]

I will not be injecting CO2 because it will be a low light tank. (.9WPG) Any other ideas?

 

[Jchillin]

Here is the best information on reducing ph naturally:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=40

HTH

 

[malkore]

Is your tap water also a pH of 8.0 if you let it rest in a bucket overnight?

If your tap water isn't 8.0, and is actually lower, then it's probably a build-up of carbonate hardness (alkalinity) which commonly happens when your tank evaporates, and you top off with more tap water. Only H2O evaporates, so the hardness goes up a little...and then you add more hard water.
The only way to avoid this is to reduce evaporation, or top off with distilled or RO/DI water, which have no hardness.

 

[Kasakato]

The tap water is 8. Now what?

 

[malkore]

ok, so you have reasonably hard/alkaline water from the tap. Only way to fix this is to use some RO water to fill your tank, like a 75% tap 25% RO mix. That should at least drop you to 7.8pH over a few water changes.

Do you have a Kh test kit? You'll need that if you want to do CO2. you undoubtedly have a high enough Kh to safely inject CO2, but you need Kh and pH in order to determine your CO2 levels, so you don't overdose it.

 

[BASSNMAN]

I put 2 pieces fo malayan drift wood in my 50 gal. In 2 days, it lowered the ph from 7.2 to 6.8. I had to take one piece out so my co2 system would work.

 

[Scuba_dude]

Wow this brings back memories. I used to live in Kitchener Ontario where the water is coming out of the tap at a ph of about 8.0 and it is super hard. (That water can clog a coffee machine in weeks).

I try keeping amazonian type fish but I woke up one day and saw the ligth. Choose the fish that fits the water.

I kept african cichlid which absolutely thrived in this water (lot of babies). Yes I know, kiss the plants goodbye but cichlids are so much fun to raise.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[BASSNMAN]

I put 2 pieces of malaysian drift wood in my 50 gal. Within 3 days, it lowered the ph from 7.4 to 7.0 and GH from 26 to 16. I took 1 piece out so my monitored co2 would work.