Thatfishfreak91
Aquarium Advice Regular
- Joined
- Aug 11, 2013
- Messages
- 60
I need to bring down my pH what is the cheapest way beside water changes
Water help needed!
- Thread starter Thatfishfreak91
- Start date
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
matthew_raw
Aquarium Advice Activist
- Joined
- Jun 16, 2013
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- 187
whats your ph at now, colour and number ?
OP
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Thatfishfreak91
Aquarium Advice Regular
- Joined
- Aug 11, 2013
- Messages
- 60
Color???? pH is 8.1 yes I know its high
Actually most fish can acclimate to a high ph. It's better to have a stable ph than try to mess with it. The only reliable way to bring ph down and keep it down is to cut your water with RO water which you already said you don't want to do. Don't use those water softner pillows they sell for aquariums because they replace calcium and magnesium ions with sodium ions which is not good at all for most all fish and plants. Chemicals are also another no-no as they are just a temporary fix and ph usually rebounds with a day or two.
Cactuspixie
Aquarium Advice Addict
What fish do you have/want? They may not need it lowered by much if at all.
Drift/bogwood is good for maintaining a lower ph.
Not all DW releases tannins which is what helps lower ph. Bog wood is the one wood that really will drop ph and keep it low but you have to keep the tannins in the water which most people don't like. The same goes for using peat and Indian Almond leaves.
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Thatfishfreak91
Aquarium Advice Regular
- Joined
- Aug 11, 2013
- Messages
- 60
I'm planing on getting one green Severum 1 firemouth 10 rummynose tetra 2 cories and 1 pleco
This is why I need to lower the pH because it is at 8.1 and it needs to be some where at 6.0-7.5
I'm not a big fan of larger cichlids but you can't keep the firemouth eith the smaller rummy's and cories. Not sure about the severum so I strongly suggest either posting this in the cichlid forum where all the cichlid people are or doing a lot of reseach before buying anything.
As for ph, what your read on species information is what the preferred or wild ph is, depending on which site you look at. BUT if your getting them from a LFS most likely their water is close in readings to yours and the fish are already acclimated to a higher ph. I've been in this hobby for well over 30 years and the important thing is that ph is constant no matter what the level is. If you try messing with it you being to make it unstable, jumping it up and down, and that is very hard on fish. Unless you commit to using RO with tap water every single WC so the ph stays constant then just leave the ph alone or risk losing the fish you do buy.
As for ph, what your read on species information is what the preferred or wild ph is, depending on which site you look at. BUT if your getting them from a LFS most likely their water is close in readings to yours and the fish are already acclimated to a higher ph. I've been in this hobby for well over 30 years and the important thing is that ph is constant no matter what the level is. If you try messing with it you being to make it unstable, jumping it up and down, and that is very hard on fish. Unless you commit to using RO with tap water every single WC so the ph stays constant then just leave the ph alone or risk losing the fish you do buy.
