Help lowering the pH of my aquarium

[electromango]

Hey everyone

For my 40g breeder I really want a lot of Amazonian soft-water loving fish. Unfortunately my pH out of the tap is about 7.6+. I've been doing a lot of researching and came to the conclusion of using mineralized top soil with potassium chloride and clay for my planted tank substrate capped with an inch of floramax black sand.

Could I add some peat to my soil substrate to lower my tank's pH? If so, how much? Would the peat adversely affect the soil mechanics/ plant health?

Also, does adding peat moss maintain a constant pH of, like, 6.5, or does it fluctuate with water changes? Also, does the peat moss's effect wear off after a while? Is it safe? Or are there other safer alternatives?

Thanks so much!

 

[coralbandit]

Your best bet at consistent pH reduction is by mixing ro with your tap IMO.
This eliminates any water change issues and allows you to choose exactly where you place you parameters.
What fish are you considering?
Unless breeding or very sensitive you really may not be all bad with 7.6.
You need to take GH/kh into account also(mostly gh IMO).

 

[jarrod0987]

Yes people use peat for this all the time. Just be aware it turns your water yellow. There will be some fluctuations. In my opinion don't worry about lowering ph that much. Stable pH is more important then a specific pH as far as fish goes. Unless you find data that states a specific species has problems at your pH and see evidence of that for yourself then I recommend not adjusting ph down. The high it is the more stable it is. I would examine alkalinity (KH) and GH. That is more important in my opinion.

 

[Fel]

What pH do you want? For most fish a pH of 6.5-8 is plenty good enough. It's more important to have a stable pH than one that you are constantly playing with.

You can also injection co2 to reduce pH, but the pH will go up as soon as injection stops.

Also you can simply top off the tank for a while and let the pH drop due to nitric acid the nitrogen cycle produces. Assuming your other parameters are good and you add micronutrients as needed.

Sent from my HTC6515LVW using Tapatalk

 

[raccioppi83]

driftwood and almond leaves will also help lower pH if you're absolutely set on it. Keep in mind these things will only lower pH for so long before their effect wears off. As everyone has stated above, most fish can handle most pH levels, as long as they're constant.

 

[mrvincent]

RODI water... but try to keep that PH constant, fishes don't like varitions in params...

 

[trennamw]

What is your KH? That's a critical component.


Sent from my iPhone with three hands tied behind my back.