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Hello all

Here are my readings currently and from the tap.

Tank Water

Ammonia .1ppm
Nitrates 10ppm
Phospates 0.5 - 1 ppm (was unsure of exact color)
Non-Chelated & Chelated Iron - 0
KH 200
GH 200
Ph 8.2
Ca 240

Tap Water
Nitrates, Nitrites, Ammonia 0
Chelated & Non chelated Iron 0
KH 150
GH 100
ph 7.8
Ca 200

I was told to use Peat Granules to lower the PH, but im having a hard time locating the granules locally. However it was suggested to me to use Peat Moss instead. Does anyone use this? How much should i use for a 35 Gallon tank? How much affect does it have on lighting?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

Shane

Thanks for your input as always, Shane
http://thetanklog.blogspot.com/ - [ Thanks to ScottF ]
http://www.natureaquariumclubofutah.com/main.html

Theres not really an answer to that question, because of you use a real organic substance there will be a lot of inconsistancy in its effect in different batches, you can only experiment on how well it works with your particular combination of water hardness and ph, so if your gonna go that way, start off with a little and build up slowly to get the desired effect without turning the water coffee coloured. Take a looky in your other thread, I posted some alternatives there that should be widely available and can be ordered online.

Well your water isn't as hard as mine but your still gonna need a lot of peat to make an impact. I'd actually suggest diluting half with RO water. I packed 4 media sections in 2 filters full of concentrated peat granules, had a black tank, and my ph did not budge from 8.2. Water is way too hard. You'd be better off diluting it first and then using peat. It can be effective once you soften the water a little but I suggest getting some heavy duty chemical filtration to remove the color or you'll have a black tank eventually. Carbon wasn't enough and got expensive throwing it out every week so I went to seachem's purigen since it's much stronger and rechargeable. Probably have to order granules and purigen online. I've mostly given up on finding anything here and get 90% of my supplies online.

You might also find that diluting half with RO is actually enough of a ph drop for whatever your planning. It will probably bring the ph down to around 7.6-7.8. RO is $.25 per gallon at the refill stations around here. Alot of grocery stores and some fish stores especially those with saltwater will sell RO refill.

Why do you want to lower your ph anyway? It's a real pain and after numerous attempts in every common way I've decided to only keep fish that can live in my hardwater. Which is nearly all the fish out there. Unless your trying to breed fish or keep sensitive wild caught species it's not an issue. Even rams spawn in my water and the kh is over 300ppm. The only reason I use softer water is because I always got a low hatching rate in hardwater. For just keeping fish and not breeding it doesn't really matter.

I'm just wondering why your tank water has higher KH and GH than your tap water. You must be adding something to the tank that is raising it or have something in the tank that is leaching minerals into the water.

Well thats what i am wondering about carissa. The only thing i can think of is the substrate that i put in that tank is leaching the calcium. or it could be the larger rocks. Either way i think im gonna have to change out my substrate as i know the rest of my tank isnt the problem.

Shane

Thanks for your input as always, Shane
http://thetanklog.blogspot.com/ - [ Thanks to ScottF ]
http://www.natureaquariumclubofutah.com/main.html

What's the substrate and where did you get the rocks? If in doubt pour a little vinegar on them and see if they bubble. If they do they have a high ph and are reactive so are likely raising the ph of the tank. If not they are probably not the cause.

Are you using tapwater to top off the tank and how often do you do water changes? With hardwater the hardness of the tank often increases over time. That is helped along greatly if you don't do frequent water changes and especially if you top off with tapwater.

I dont top off the tank what so ever, And i do regular weekleyt water changes. Usually about 25%. I am going over there tomorrow to do another water change and I will try the vinegar and see what happens.

Shane

Thanks for your input as always, Shane
http://thetanklog.blogspot.com/ - [ Thanks to ScottF ]
http://www.natureaquariumclubofutah.com/main.html

Hi,
When you perform the "vinegar test" take a knife
or file and scrape the surface of the rock to obtain
a fresh surface, then dribble a few drops of vinegar
on the newly exposed surface. If it bubbles, then
the acid in the vinegar is breaking the chemical bonds
and carbon dioxide is being released.

Vinegar is generally the strongest acid commonly found
in the home and is usually used by the lay person for
the test. However it is a very weak acid and many
carbonate rocks have stronger chemical bonds. Geologists
generally use a weak solution of Hydrochloric Acid (HCL)
in these tests.

In the aquarium, something similar could be happening
and the result would be an increase of hardness and pH.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Well i missed your post tonight Frank and I tried the vinegar test with no fizzle. However I will use a knife on the rocks next time to see if they do Fizzle. I have added an ion exchange pillow to see if that will help temporarily and lower the PH and KH/GH enough to change my water.

Thanks for your input as always, Shane
http://thetanklog.blogspot.com/ - [ Thanks to ScottF ]
http://www.natureaquariumclubofutah.com/main.html

Try putting some of the rocks by themselves into some distilled water (just enough to cover the rocks) and then test the water for KH after letting it sit for a day or a week or whatever. If any registers at all, that's your problem. If you upped your water changes to 50% it would probably solve your problem though irregardless.

If this is a new setup it will probably leach a lot for a while and then it might slow down or stop, so keep checking it.

Well guys i found my problem which was the substrate was leeching Calcium. So i am switching out my substrate for some eco complete


Thanks for your input as always, Shane
http://thetanklog.blogspot.com/ - [ Thanks to ScottF ]
http://www.natureaquariumclubofutah.com/main.html