about pH 7.0

[kcalbat]

i would like to lower my faucet water pH of 8.0 to 7.0( for a community tank) and i heard about this stuff but i have a few questions...

will i only have to put it in the water once for it to drop?

i heard that in some tanks the pH bounces right up in a few hours to a day later, will this happen with pH 7.0? and if so can i prevent it or stop it?

and what about when i do water changes..how do i stabalize the pH to 7.0 of the water i add before i add it?

details?

thanks in advance

 

[FishLuvr]

in my experience ph 7.0 sucks, it did nothing for me, and the problem with most Ph balancing chemicls, (specially since you have high ph to begin with) is that ph fluctuations are more stressful to your fish that the high ph to begin with.

I belive (and someone correct me if im wrong) that bogwood will bring down your ph level a bit, though, howmuch im not sure, calcium rock is good for this as well, or so i have bene told by my LFS

 

[dwarfgourami]

Bogwood brought my tank down from 8.4 to just under 8 in a few weeks. Why do you need ph 7; are you planning to keep very sensitive fish? Most of them can adapt to a ph 8, particularly if this was what they lived in at the lfs (well, they will have adapted already).

 

[steelhealr]

Hi..I have to agree with dwarf...many fish adapt very well if acclimated slowly. Sometimes the saying 'don't mess with success' holds true for aquariums. Unless there is a very specific reason you must lower the pH....I wouldn't mess with it. If you DO NEED to , a peat pillow placed in the filter will lower it over time. Sh

 

[kcalbat]

thanks for the replies...

i want a pH of 7.0 so i can have different breeds of tetras...such as the neon tetra who i see like acidic water much better.

well im setting up a tank right now so i dont have fish...i figured that if i were to lower the pH i would do it now

thanks for the advice

 

[Cheese Specialist]

I wouldn't alter the pH unless there reallty was a problem and even then I would use wood not chemicals. Wood is also a nice addition to a tank anyways.

Using chemicals is a risky business (margin of error and pH crashes likely) and is expensive to maintain. You'd have to change it every time you do a water change.

You mention your tetra, they'll be fine. Most fish can adapt to most reasonable conditions.

 

[kcalbat]

thanks for the advice...

i just figured 6.5 and 8.0 is a massive difference...but ill try it out!

wood is a good idea...but im not to sure how to use it

 

[Cheese Specialist]

thanks for the advice...

i just figured 6.5 and 8.0 is a massive difference...but ill try it out!

wood is a good idea...but im not to sure how to use it

You just put it in the tank.

Really be careful about altering the pH. Even the most experienced fish keepers avoid it.

 

[kcalbat]

i meant like in preparing it..cuz i heard some can discolor tanks..maybe not..i was just trying to get all info before trying something new...

maybe ill stick to my pH

 

[Cheese Specialist]

i meant like in preparing it..cuz i heard some can discolor tanks..maybe not..i was just trying to get all info before trying something new...

maybe ill stick to my pH

To prepare it you should soak it for a bit to let most of the tanin come out. The tanin won't harm your fish (infact some like it) and can be removed with water changes.

 

[pnyklr3]

I wouldn't use any chemicals. As a novice, I tried PH DOWN, and my water is so hard and buffered, that my pH ballooned back up within an hour. Very stressful to the fish in the tank. In most cases, the fish from your lfs are adapted to the local tap water, so you will be fine. I am breeding fish that prefer soft, acidic water (the EXACT opposite of what my tap is) so I mix RO water into the tap during water chagnes. Takes care of the pH problem without using chemicals. Also, so fish are sensitive to chemicals and meds, so you are better off leaving things alone.

 

[kcalbat]

thats great i was just about to ask about tannin..i didnt know what it was.....why would fish like it?

sorry to be a novice but what is RO water?

 

[Platinumpete]

I wouldn't use any chemicals. As a novice, I tried PH DOWN, and my water is so hard and buffered, that my pH ballooned back up within an hour. Very stressful to the fish in the tank. In most cases, the fish from your lfs are adapted to the local tap water, so you will be fine. I am breeding fish that prefer soft, acidic water (the EXACT opposite of what my tap is) so I mix RO water into the tap during water chagnes. Takes care of the pH problem without using chemicals. Also, so fish are sensitive to chemicals and meds, so you are better off leaving things alone.

Would mixing RO water with tank water of diffrent ph level harm the fishes? Doesn't it cause a massive change in the ph levels?

 

[steelhealr]

Adding RO water will not make any changes at all. RO water should be pH 7.0 or 50% hydrogen ions and 50% hydroxy ions. Adding this will not change the pH....a common and understandable misconception. It is not a good idea to use RO water because your FW fish need whats in regular water to survive (minerals) and RO water has no buffering capability. SH

 

[freddyk]

Many aquarists mix R/O and tap to achieve results and claim it works well enough. There would still be plenty of nutrients for the fish from the tap water, and there is always the alternative of nutrient additives.

The ideal choice of water for our tanks is the cleanest, purest source available. This would be R/O water. There are nutrient additives readily available that will re-vitalize the water. Buffering, as mentioned, can be an issue if water changes are not frequent enough. This method is more expensive and more work, so most go with tap water since it's proven perfectly adequate when dechlorinated.

Higher PH water has higher mineral content. The reason additives like PH 7 or ph down don't work is because they use outside elements to get it down. The minerals that caused the higher ph in the first place are still present and will end up bringing the water back up to where it started. What you end up with is a very unstable aquarium.

Driftwood has much less affect on tanks that are already alkaline. If certain wood brout the ph down from 6.5 to 6, for instance, it might only bring 8.0 down to 7.8, or have could have no affect at all. It certainly won't do any harm and does look great in a tank - it's also a necessity for many plecos.

My local tap water has always been consistant near 8 and I've never met a fish that couldn't handle it, though it does effect the breeding of some.