How To Lower Ph

[hives]

hi, my ph is reading at 8.4 and my tank is currently cycling, with 2 dwarf frogs in, is the only way to lower the ph by doing water changes? ive done about 2 litres of change so far today in myy 10g and wonderd whats the max you can do in a short time without stressing the fish

 

[IMCL85]

whats ur local tap water's ph? Best and fastest way to lower ur ph is probably using ro2 unit if you have. A mix of 75% of ro unit with 25% tap water will give u a pretty low ph. Another natural way to lower ph which is using peat moss in ur filter and have a driftwood in ur tank to soften the water.

 

[hives]

whats ur local tap water's ph? Best and fastest way to lower ur ph is probably using ro2 unit if you have. A mix of 75% of ro unit with 25% tap water will give u a pretty low ph. Another natural way to lower ph which is using peat moss in ur filter and have a driftwood in ur tank to soften the water.

bought some drift wood today, and its lowerd it a tiny bit... surely tap water comes at a low ph anyway... just wanting to know how much water i can change at one given time? ive been told to water cycle till the ph level is low. dont know what a ro2 so cant comment

 

[SkiFletch]

RO water is deionized/distilled water. Just pure water, no solutes, no calcium, nothing in it that could possibly raise the pH. As for getting your pH down, why do you want it low? And have you tested your tapwater. Dont just assume that your tapwater pH is low, it could be quite high (mine is 7.8-8.0 depending on the day). Unless you're trying to keep discuss or some other south american species that requres acidic water most fish can tolerate higher pH's.

Also remember that while your tank is cycling in the presence of ammonia and nitrite your pH will be artificially higher than it will be when cycled because ammonia and nitrite are basic chemicals (force high pH).

As for changing your water out, try not to do more than 50% changes at once unless there is a real emergency reason for it. Thats my rule of thumb at least

 

[nino]

I would NOT recommend cycling with frogs... they're sensitive little buggers.

 

[freddyk]

surely tap water comes at a low ph anyway

Low ph water is acid and corrodes the pipes, so you'll find most tap water tends to be more alkaline (higher).

 

[Barry P]

I cycled with frogs once......it was in Paris!!

 

[julia298]

 

[Fishkeeper2004]

You can buy phdown from any LFS. Just ask them what treatments they have to lower PH, it is very cheap to buy, and extremely effective.

 

[The-Wolf]

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=59467

 

[kimbowee]

You can buy phdown from any LFS. Just ask them what treatments they have to lower PH, it is very cheap to buy, and extremely effective.

But it can cause quite a shock to the fish with every water change. Say tap water pH is 8.0 and the tank with pH down is 7.0. You change 50% of the water in the tank which leads to a pH of 7.5. Changing drastically from 7.0 to 7.5 can send the fish into shock.

I don't think adding any unneccessary chemicals to the tank is likely to help anything. As long as you will not be keeping any fish that require a certain pH such as discus or certain cichlids your tap water is fine. Most likely the fish at your local LFS are in the same pH already and have become accustomed to it.

Also, buy a test kit & test your tap. As Skifletch said while cycling you will have pH fluctuations. Also Wolfs link gives some great ways to naturally lower pH without adding chemicals.

 

[rdd1952]

You said you were cycling which could somewhat account for a pH that is higher than your tap water. Ammonia will raise pH some depending on how high the ammonia level is. Definitely stay away from the pH adjusting chemicals. They will cause far more problems than a high but stable pH. Your pH will take large swings everytime you do a water change. Most all fish can adjust to consistant water parameters.

 

[Fishkeeper2004]

You can buy phdown from any LFS. Just ask them what treatments they have to lower PH, it is very cheap to buy, and extremely effective.

But it can cause quite a shock to the fish with every water change. Say tap water pH is 8.0 and the tank with pH down is 7.0. You change 50% of the water in the tank which leads to a pH of 7.5. Changing drastically from 7.0 to 7.5 can send the fish into shock.

I don't think adding any unneccessary chemicals to the tank is likely to help anything. As long as you will not be keeping any fish that require a certain pH such as discus or certain cichlids your tap water is fine. Most likely the fish at your local LFS are in the same pH already and have become accustomed to it.

Also, buy a test kit & test your tap. As Skifletch said while cycling you will have pH fluctuations. Also Wolfs link gives some great ways to naturally lower pH without adding chemicals.

That point being true, however, the chemical I use only brings the PH down .2 every dosage, and you add this treatment every other day, meaning there is only a .2 change every 2 days.

This treatment has worked for me, and has never caused me any problems.

 

[modernhamlet]

Adding chemical solutions to effect pH is almost always a bad idea. Stability is far more important than getting a specific pH level.

 

[kimbowee]

That point being true, however, the chemical I use only brings the PH down .2 every dosage, and you add this treatment every other day, meaning there is only a .2 change every 2 days.

This treatment has worked for me, and has never caused me any problems.

Lets again use the tap average of 8.0. With adding pH down every other day to lower your pH by .2 You are averaging .6 per week. So with a 50% water change you are changing your water from 7.2 to to 7.5. Most people don't change 50% of their water but this is just an example. If you do a weekly water change this amount can still drastically affect your fish. They are technically incurring a pH shock every week, which leads to increased stress.

Most commonly available fish are aquarium bred in a different pH than their native environment. Most fish that are sensitive to pH are wild caught. It is best for the fish to not artificially alter the pH with every water change. Most fish will become accustomed to the higher pH if kept stable, unless the are highly sensitive to these conditions as previously mentioned. As also mentioned the pH will be higher while the tank is cycling. After the tank is finished the cycling process the ammonia and nitrites will not be forcing the pH up and it will become stable in the tank.