# How to safely lower ph in an aquarium



## Steenbergen (Mar 10, 2007)

Hello the ph of my water is 8.0-8.2 and i was wondering what is a safe way to lower ph to around 6.8? Any suggestions or comments would be great thanks


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## MattD (Apr 25, 2007)

Adding reverse osmosis water. It may not be readily available for most people though. I have it since my water cooler uses large 5 gallon jugs and they are filled with water treated by RO units.


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## Steenbergen (Mar 10, 2007)

yes i havge thought of that, but like you said it is not readily avaliable to evryone, and it is alot very expensive. thanks for the comment though


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## MattD (Apr 25, 2007)

Well I believe you can buy RO water at your local grocery store. If not, bottled water IS distilled, so you could use that too.


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## Steenbergen (Mar 10, 2007)

is that very expensive?


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## MattD (Apr 25, 2007)

No. It costs like 10 dollars for a large 5 gallon drum. Even less for smaller jugs (2 and 3 gallons are pretty popular) obviously.


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## MattD (Apr 25, 2007)

Also, many bottled waters vary from oneanother. Some are hard, soft, more alkaline, acidic, etc... It depends really so maybe bottled water isn't the best option - unless you use your water test kit and find a brand which suits your tank best.


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## Amphitrite (Sep 8, 2006)

What size is you tank? Adding bogwood to the tank will help to lower the pH, but I'm not sure if it would lower it as much as you're looking for.


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## MattD (Apr 25, 2007)

You know you could also just go to your LFS and buy some pH stabilizer. They have it from 6.5 to 8.2.


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## MattD (Apr 25, 2007)

http://www.firsttankguide.net/ph.php

That's a good article. Should help you tons.


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## Steenbergen (Mar 10, 2007)

my tank is 112 gallons and i was thinking of using Seachem Acid Buffer for my tank, but i am not sure if it is good or not


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## MattD (Apr 25, 2007)

'Good' meaning a reliable brand and product, or good as in 'healthy for my fish to use artificial chemicals'?


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## Steenbergen (Mar 10, 2007)

> 'Good' meaning a reliable brand and product, or good as in 'healthy for my fish to use artificial chemicals'


good in that it would lower my ph, and keep it stable, i dont like harming fish with chemicals but a lower ph would be ideal.


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## MattD (Apr 25, 2007)

Thing is, your standard source of water (your tap, I assume), set your pH at 8.0 - 8.2 by default since that is the pH of your source. This means that, whatever you do to lower it now, you will have to do every week, with EVERY water change. Your fish will need to endure this pH fluctuation often (depending on how often you change your water), which is not good for them.


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## Steenbergen (Mar 10, 2007)

ok my tap water is high because i used hard water, from a well. I dont want to constantly keep adding chemicals to the water but i just want my ph to be like 6.8 because all the fish i want thrive in that ph. the fish i am interested in are: angels, balas dwarf gouramis, zebra danios, rummy nose tetra and clown loaches. so i just thought it would be better for my fish, but i am not sure if they will live for a long time and not be stressed in waters with ph of 8.0.


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## Falina (Feb 25, 2007)

MattD said:


> Thing is, your standard source of water (your tap, I assume), set your pH at 8.0 - 8.2 by default since that is the pH of your source. This means that, whatever you do to lower it now, you will have to do every week, with EVERY water change. Your fish will need to endure this pH fluctuation often (depending on how often you change your water), which is not good for them.


I agree.

Lowering/increasing Ph can be done but it requires a lot of very careful monitoring. You can reduce fluctuations by monitoring very carefully and always adding whateer you're adding whenever it increases again, but fluctuations will still happen and that's very bad for fish. Generally the best idea is to find fish that like the water parameters as they are, as I found out the hard way when I lost a molly due to my water being far too soft for her.

The only way you could stop this is by using bottled water but like Kate said you'd have to test loads of different brands to find out their Ph value. I don't know but I'm not sure all bottles of Evian for example would be exactly the same either. There are added vitamins and minerals in bottles water - you'd have to check out how they would affect your fish as well. I remember a post here one time advising against bottles water for tanks because of the added vitamins and minerals being bad for the fish.


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## Steenbergen (Mar 10, 2007)

ok so if i dont add chemicals, and i keep my ph the same will the fish i want live good in that kind of ph? I know that freshwater fish that like high ph are chiclids but i dont want chichlids, i want a tank that is based around angels. so do you think they would lead a good life in waters with a ph of 8.0?


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## MattD (Apr 25, 2007)

Angels can tolerate a wide range. Up to 8.5, iirc.


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## Falina (Feb 25, 2007)

Angels are cichlids BTW

I'm not saying that to be picky, I'm just saying it because I don't know what your reasons for not wanting cichlids are. A lot of people don't like them because they're nippy or agressive, so just letting you know...


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## Steenbergen (Mar 10, 2007)

i just dont want chichlids because i have a planted tank and i like other fish other than chichlids, and yes i know that angels are chichlids, but i was hoping to breed the angels but alot of sites say that they like water around 6.8 not lik8.0-8.2


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## MattD (Apr 25, 2007)

For breeding, yes they require a low pH. You COULD start a second, smaller tank and use that as a breeding tank. At least with the smaller one you could manage it easily, efficiently, and safely. Plus, any fluctuations won't hurt any fish because it will be empty most of the time.

PS

Secondary tanks are usually used when breeding anyways, as this also could act as an initiation tank for fry.


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## Falina (Feb 25, 2007)

This is mainly for wild caught angels. As a species they do prefer soft acidic water but if you find some that have been locally bred they will be acclimatised and much more adaptable.

Good luck with your tank


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## Steenbergen (Mar 10, 2007)

ok so yes you have a good point, i could get a smaller aquarium, but i just have a few last questions: will these fish be ok in my aquarium with high ph? angels, bala sharks, clown loaches, dwarf gouramis, rummy nose tetras, zebra danios, and some platies?


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## MattD (Apr 25, 2007)

Don't know with firsthand experience, but here's what I do know from my trusty Tropical fish book right here. Let's see. . .

Angels: Most likely.

Bala Sharks: Prefer up to 7.8, so I'm sure they will thrive in 8.0

Clown Loaches: Generally prefer soft water. Not sure they'll be too happy in 8+

D.Gourami: Prefer softer water, up to 7.5. Should be ok in 8.0. My friend's tank was 8.5 and they were fine for an extended period of time.

R.Nose Tetras: If you plan on breeding them, they REQUIRE soft water, since high levels of calcium ions induce sterility in this fish. They can tolerate up to 7.5, so they may be ok in 8.0.

Z.Danios: Prefer soft to neutral pH. You may be pushing it with 8+.

Platies: Will be fine in 8.0


Disclaimer: This is third-party info, so I'm not responsible if any go belly-up.


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## Falina (Feb 25, 2007)

Platties will do very well in this type of water. All livebearers prefer this type of water, especially mollies and guppies. The others prefer lower Ph values but can adapt. Again, if you go with locally bred fish, you are much less likely to have any problems.

If you are looking for other suggestions for your water then most rainbow fish (not threadfin althoguh again, they will probably be adaptable) do well in harder more alkaline water. Kissing gourami, paradise fish, pearl gouramis and blue gouramis also will do well that I can think of just now.

Hope that was of some help.


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## Steenbergen (Mar 10, 2007)

thanks this has been alot of help and i am sure my fish will do well thanks for your time and help if anyone has any more suggestions or comments feel free to post


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## MattD (Apr 25, 2007)

Yeah. Keep us updated, and post pictures if you can!


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## Steenbergen (Mar 10, 2007)

i can post pictures of the aquarium with the few inhabitants it already has but in the near furture ill post pics of the completed tank


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## MattD (Apr 25, 2007)

Yeah post some now, would love to see your setup.


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