Ph Levels

[Lt shinysides]

Hi
Put quite simply ladys an gents my ph is to high (7.6) and I want to keep discus. Any tips or ideas on how to lower the level, I'm told it needs to be around 6.8. Please help!!!

 

[ZoddyZod]

Hi
Put quite simply ladys an gents my ph is to high (7.6) and I want to keep discus. Any tips or ideas on how to lower the level, I'm told it needs to be around 6.8. Please help!!!

Have you heard of Reverse Osmosis (RO) water? You can either buy kit to produce your own from tap water, or maybe there is a LFS nearby that sells it?

Lowering the pH of your water by adding peat, lots of wood etc. can be done, but it's tricky to do and and maintain at the same level

 

[Tolak]

Discus can be kept at that pH, it only becomes an issue when breeding, as does hardness.

 

[raptorrex]

Hi
Put quite simply ladys an gents my ph is to high (7.6) and I want to keep discus. Any tips or ideas on how to lower the level, I'm told it needs to be around 6.8. Please help!!!

best bet is to find European breed Discus. apart from the use of RO, a whole world of pain. messin with PH is an up hill battle.

 

[elisew]

Hi
Put quite simply ladys an gents my ph is to high (7.6) and I want to keep discus. Any tips or ideas on how to lower the level, I'm told it needs to be around 6.8. Please help!!!

I`ve had the same problem lately and have lost some of my German Rams and Apistos due to what I believe is too high a ph in my tank. I decided to go down the route of buying an RO system, I mix 3 parts RO water with 1 part tap water and my ph test result is now at 6.8 instead of the 7.6 that it was previously.
The only downside I`ve noticed so far is that the ratio for wasted water to RO water that`s produced is approx 4:1 so for anyone who`s on a water meter it may work out quite expensive, but then again at a cost of 9.99 each for the first 125L drum of RO water and then £3.00 to refill each time, it may work out cost effective to produce your own. I have a 360L tank so it should work out cheaper for me in the long run to produce my own RO water.

Have a look in the Hardware section and Scientific sections of the forum and you`ll find some more info on the RO systems

 

[drobbyb]

You have to be careful with RO water. Since the RO process removes virtually everything from the water, this leaves you with water that is too pure for fish. Yep, too pure! You never want to use straight RO water, instead like the above poster said you need to mix it with tap water, or add the minerals yourself. Keep a close eye on your pH and hardness levels since too low of hardness can result in pH swings.