# How do you lower ph?



## Jawang26 (Mar 12, 2008)

Hi I have a 29 gal with a marineland 280 and a cpr bak pak 2 , my ph is at 8.6 i would like to lower it to 8.2-8.4 how would i do this, I did a water change yesterday and it helped it go to 8.2 but today its risen back up to 8.6 any ideas why it jumped up?


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## Fat_Fender_40 (Sep 10, 2007)

check you gH and pH of the water your filling you tank with. If your gh is high, then buffering your pH lower will be difficult. If it's low, then lowering your pH won't be bad. You can buy over the counter pH reducers, but as I stated if you general hardness is high, you'll just be getting head aches.

If all else fails, you can buy purified water and starting during water changes with that and it will steadily fall.


Plus, what's in your tank? Some decor like rocks will raise your pH. If you have live plants, adding a C02 system can help lower it.


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## MattD (Apr 25, 2007)

What kind of water do you use? If it's tap water or anything other than RO, your salt mix may be having problems buffing it if there are chemical/parameter conflicts. I'd say do what Fat suggested and use RO water for your water changes from now on and you will notice the pH should stabilize. . . unless there are specific materials in your tank causing the destabilization - that's a whole different ballgame. It must be identified and removed/corrected to prevent further flux.

Good luck.


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## Fat_Fender_40 (Sep 10, 2007)

Sorry, too early in the morning. I didn't even realize it was the saltwater forum.


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## MattD (Apr 25, 2007)

I knew you thought it was fresh when I read your info on the rocks, live plants and the CO2 system, but your advice on using purified water is still good advice. :wink: :wink:


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## Jawang26 (Mar 12, 2008)

I have live rock in my system, does anyone know where i can buy RO water? or should i just buy salt water they sell from petco or something? Ive been using tap water with water purifier and salt ive noticed that when i do water changes the ph drops but being that my tank is about 5 -6 weeks old ive only done one, I will began doing them weekly after 8 weeks


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## MattD (Apr 25, 2007)

Hey.

There are some ways you can go about meeting your requirements for obtaining your water.

Your grocery store should sell RO water. This is usually one of the more common ways to get it. Depending on how much you need, this option may get costly, so you could save money by . . .

. . . purchasing an RO unit for your house. It's initially expensive, but will save you money over time. 

Or you can buy pre-mixed salt water from your local fish store. I'd suggest testing their water first, just to be sure it is healthy.

Good luck. 8)


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