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Right now, my pH out of the tap is about 8.2. The trouble is, I'm keeping fish almost entirely from South America, and they prefer acidic water. I've reasoned that such a high pH level is increasing my fish's susceptibility to disease, and so I want to lower the pH.
The carbonate hardness in my tank is high, as well. Is there a way I can lower that prior to bringing down the pH?

I've heard that peat is the best way to lower pH naturally, and that it is sold in quite a few stores. I'm told that I should buy the granulated form, and add one teaspoon of it per gallon into my filter. I don't mind the tannins that will be in the tank afterwards, I just need to lower the pH.
Do I have all the information right? Is there anything else that I should know?

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Actually, I THINK peat lowers hardness as well. 1 tablespoon per gallon lowered my pH about .4 to .6 so you might have to add more.

The main reasons that I want to lower my pH are because I am worried that the high pH is stessing my fish, and because I plan to eventually get a pair of rams (maybe Germans).
Since I keep fish that like acidic water, I want them to have what they like. Since my water is so basic, I'm worried that my fish are somewhat stressed because of it.
I want my water to be soft and acidic, since German rams tend to be picky about water conditions when first introduced to a tank.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

I tried peat from the garden center. Worked great. To good, my ph went so low I don't know why I didn't lose my fish. I took it out and just left things alone. I have made up my mind that a high ph is OK! As long as your high ph is not going up and down every hour.
When you get your Rams, just try to get them from a local breeder. I've only had my Rams two weeks and they have spawned and yesterday hatched the eggs! Now if the fry live, I'll be sooooooo happy. I've got all these little eyes peeking out of the tanks castle! I do nothing to this tank besides a once a week 20% water change and gravel clean, heat at 80F and add ick meds with a water treatment. And it has plants. A huge Angel and an Otto. See my other post about the bugs and worms to learn why my Rams spawned.

Well I have peat in my filter, probably over a tablespoon per gallon and it has done nothing for me. Mayb I should try more. What about doing water changes with such a major difference from the tap pH and the tank pH?

Yes, the water changes are a problem. This is one of the fundamental reasons why altering your tap water is a problem - because it means that you always have to alter your tap water to match.

A common suggestion I've seen for peat-users is to keep a garbage can or other large container - say, 30 to 55 gallons - for water with peat. You can then use that container to age your water, letting the chlorine outgas while the peat lowers your hardness and pH.

Personally, I think the whole thing is way too much trouble unless you're willing to devote physical construction to making it work smoothly and easily. If I'm going to start building infrastructure to support my water changes, it's going to be a continuous-drip system with an outflow siphon pipe.

Woah what do lfs do? Good thing my KH is really really high. The peat releases tannins and nutrients for the plants but doesn't alter my pH .

I've only had my Rams two weeks and they have spawned and yesterday hatched the eggs!

What's your pH and what kind of Rams do you have? Good luck, by the way

I am worried that the high pH is stessing my fish

Bah.. as long as you acclimate the fish to the pH slowly, and keep the pH steady, they'll do just fine.

Hi,
The general way to treat water with peat is to place a
small amount of peat in the toe of a nylon, or panty
hose, tie it off, and then stick it in the output side
of your filter.

The amount needed to lower the pH by any given amount is
reached by trial and error. That is because it depends
upon the "quality" of the peat used, the amount, the
flow rate of the filter, and especially - the KH of the
tanks' water. The higher the KH the more peat it will
take, all other things being equal.

Depending upon the size of the tank and how much the
filter could hold, start off with a small handful and
then wait a week, measuring the pH daily, and then
either add or subtract some.

A routine water change of 10-20% will not harm the fish
they get that kind of pH shift in a heavy rain. They
are "used" to that. I'd only worry about matching
the pH if I were doing a major water change and then
you need to match pH,and temperatures.

Frank


Last edited by FRANK at 05-Nov-2004 09:12

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Well, from what I'm hearing, lowering my pH might not be very important after all. I guess my fears were pretty much unfounded. I'll return the peat I bought, since I haven't used it yet. Thanks for all of the input, guys!

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."