Muratic Acid

[ITHURTZ]

Anyone here use those 1 gallon jugs of muratic acid to lower there ph? 2$ for a gallon vs 3$ a little bottle of PH down doesnt make sense.

 

[Tessla]

Wouldn't recommend adding any chemical solutions to a tank to adjust pH, a stable pH is more important.

The best method for adjusting pH if your choice of fish absolutely requires it would be to use RO water and add your own minerals. For tweaking a pH down a bit (for instance, my water comes out of the tap at a pH of 8 ) bogwood and peat added to the filter are perfectly fine, also tap water mixed with some RO water during water changes to acheive a more reasonable pH. I've had tropical community tanks using this water source for a couple of years now, with no fish deaths related to pH or other water stats and completely disease free. Adding acid to my water is silly as it would stay lower for a few minutes but just get buffered right back up to near the original pH, and that pH swing is bad for my fish.

Edited for unexpected smileys.

 

[ITHURTZ]

I looked at pet stores online for this peat, no luck. Any links?


And its not easier to figure out how many Ml's or drops of acid per gallon it takes to get the ph to around 7-7.5? I dont like my ph at 8.4

 

[newtotropical]

Wouldn't recommend adding any chemical solutions to a tank to adjust pH, a stable pH is more important.

The best method for adjusting pH if your choice of fish absolutely requires it would be to use RO water and add your own minerals. For tweaking a pH down a bit (for instance, my water comes out of the tap at a pH of 8 ) bogwood and peat added to the filter are perfectly fine, also tap water mixed with some RO water during water changes to acheive a more reasonable pH. I've had tropical community tanks using this water source for a couple of years now, with no fish deaths related to pH or other water stats and completely disease free. Adding acid to my water is silly as it would stay lower for a few minutes but just get buffered right back up to near the original pH, and that pH swing is bad for my fish.

Edited for unexpected smileys.

Im with you on this!!

And you have cold water fish in 75deg??!!

 

[Tessla]

Dumping acid in your tank will cause the pH to go down immediately, yes. But then buffers in your water will bring it right back up. You'll be subjecting your fish to pH swings which are much more harmful than a constant pH of 8.4. If you want to change your pH, do it by adding pure RO water mixed with tap water, that will get rid of the buffer problem.