Ph not going down

[wertyu5555]

I have ph 7,6 - 7,7 in my 135 litre tank and even though i add PH DOWN (Aquarium Pharmaceuticals) ig goes down no more than 7,4. Is there any other way to lower it.
Fish in the tank: Two ramirezi, 1 betta, 1 catfish, 4 guppies, 1 platy and two arlekins
All other tests (NO2, No3, GH and KH) are ok

 

[impur]

Why are you trying to lower it? Are your fish not doing well?

 

[Bol]

Chances are, the carbonates in your water (as measured by KH) are 'fighting' to keep the pH up, as the phosphates (in the pH Down) are trying to lower it.

But, as impur mentions, if you don't have a specific reason to lower the pH, it's probably not a good idea to try.

 

[WheelmanCA19]

Yeah, general concensus is its better to let the fish adapt to your tap water parameters that alter what you have to better suit the fish.

Most common fish seem to adapt fairly well

 

[FishDan]

It would be nice if I could get my pH that low. Mine is about 8.2. I agree there is little point in trying to adjust the pH. It opens up room for disatster. For example if the pH crashes you could have a number of sick or dead fish. That's just not worth it. And using chemicals to alter pH is the worst, as they often work for a littlw while, then stop all together. If you really must change the pH for some reason, try using RO water during water changes or one of the other natural methods like peat moss (though I am uncertain how well this works). I don't bother trying to adjust my pH, I just spend an extra thirty minutes aclimating my fish to my pH, even though I buy locally and the LFS probably has a similar pH.

\Dan

 

[ger87410]

I had the same problem. If you got fish that can't really handle the high ph, like I do, then you need the dilute the tap water with a good source of bottled water. Make sure you ask the supplier or better yet test it yourself to make sure that it's no got any ammonia/nitrite/nitrate and the ph and alkalinity is at the lowest. The hardness is what's doing it. The alkalinity is what keeps your ph stable.

 

[bgraber]

What kind of substrate(gravel)? Peat in a filter bag or something would lower it.. Bogwood also does a good job and fishies love it