Using coconut substrate to lower Ph?

[destroy-ya-vampire-money]

I want to lower the Ph of my 5 gallon aquarium as it is quite high, about 8. I don't think my betta really likes it as the rest of the aquarium perimeters are fine, however he seems to be clamping his fins a little.

He is in a 5 gallon aquarium. He has a piece of bog-wood but I have boiled it so much over the years that it doesn't release much, if any, tannins.

I cannot find peat moss that does not have added fertalizers and such. However I was able to find pure coconut substrate.

Should I put some in a nylon sock and fit it into the filter to slowly lower the

 

[Scouser]

A steady pH is a lot better for the fish compared to a fluctuating one.

Adding something to effect the pH of a tank can go drastically wrong if not done properly.

If you're dead set on it, I wish you good luck!

 

[Rivercats]

If you really want to lower the ph and will be consistant in this so you don't have flexuating ph, which is really bad for fish, you can cut your tap water with RO water when doing WC's. It's safe and if done the same each week your ph will remain constant. I have a Fluval Edge 6 gallon in which I change out 3 gallons of water weekly. I add 1-1/2 gallons of RO water and 1-1/2 gallons of treated tap water. Gets my ph/kh/gh right where I want it. You would really only want to lower your ph to between 7 and 7.4. Your Kh and Gh needs to be at least 4. If Kh, carbonate hardness, drops lower than 4, then you run the risk of not having enough buffers in the water to keep ph constant. You need to understand your water and how this works before you decide to do this. Buying a Kh and Gh test kit from API would be a very good idea if you decide to use RO. Don't use any of those Ph down chemicals as they are hard on fish and usually after 24 hours your ph rises again.