ErnieG
Members
What items can I use to lower my ph besides chemicals and drift wood?
zackcrack00
Members
some kind of shell, I forget the name. Google is your best friend, though!
jonclark96
Past CCA President
mchambers
Former CCA member
You can treat the water with peat, in theory, but it's not easy to do.
Avatar
Plenipotentiary-at-large
Go outside
Shells/coral take it the other way and also increase hardness. Hardwood leaves ike the ones leftover from last autumn work really well, have oak leaves gathered from street-side in almost all my tanks - just go where the dogs haven't and/or rinse them before immersion. Understand that letting water sit with aeration will also do a bit as it speeds formation of carbonic acid.
Shells/coral take it the other way and also increase hardness. Hardwood leaves ike the ones leftover from last autumn work really well, have oak leaves gathered from street-side in almost all my tanks - just go where the dogs haven't and/or rinse them before immersion. Understand that letting water sit with aeration will also do a bit as it speeds formation of carbonic acid.
ErnieG
Members
Ro water is not an option lol, but the leaves area good idea thanks avatars. About how much does it drop the ph? My ph is 7.3 and I want to get it to at least 6.6?
Avatar
Plenipotentiary-at-large
Home brew
Depends on water change frequency/amount and number/type/period of immersion for leaves. I find that I can get pH down to around 6-6.5 in a10 gallon with a handful of oak leaves if I don't change the water for a month+, but for precision one has to test unless you're using known buffers/additives where the formulas have all been worked out with respect to required amounts per volume.
Depends on water change frequency/amount and number/type/period of immersion for leaves. I find that I can get pH down to around 6-6.5 in a10 gallon with a handful of oak leaves if I don't change the water for a month+, but for precision one has to test unless you're using known buffers/additives where the formulas have all been worked out with respect to required amounts per volume.
Greengirl
Members
Why do you want it so low? What kind of fish are you keeping?
ErnieG
Members
Well I have a planted 20gallon will a piece of driftwood in it and the ph is 6.5 in there, and like I said my ph straight from the tap is 7.3. The driftwood does a good job in that tank, even if I do a water change the ph will go up to 6.9 and drop back down.
ErnieG
Members
That's not really low but I'm breeding apistos and they love the ph in the mid to high 6 range. The reason I know this is I have a pair of triple reds in my 20gallon that I got 3days ago and the ph started at 7.3, I put in A piece of driftwood the same day I got the pair and on the third day they bred for me and the ph was at 6.4.
