[Mechanicalleon]

my two tanks read at about 8.0 Ph, what is the best, or safest method on lowering it? Also, the ammonia is in the stress level, on my 20 gal tank I bought a sack with ammo chips that goes inside the filter, but I just did it 20 min, ago, so I'll wait a couple of days to retest.

 

[timbo83]

you could add some peat in your filter

 

[archer772]

Why are you wanting to lower the PH and down to what??

 

[timbo83]

unless your putting certian fish or inverts that are ph specific your ph is fine. my tap is 8.2 and i breed both fish and shrimp. to get your ammonia down do a water change. when you do your water change treat with Seachem PRIME. ive been using it for years and its saved my butt a few times. if you start using things like ph down and others your asking for trouble. yuor fish are better off at a stable level then for it to keep bouncing around

 

[archer772]

Exactly timbo most fish are being bred and raised in a PH of about 7.8-8.2 and the only way I would feel safe about lowering PH is with peat or by mixing RO/DI water with tap water. When useing peat I would think you would need to filter your make up water and the water you would use for WC's to be able to match your tanks PH but its JMO

 

[timbo83]

i completly agree with making the water up first but thats the whole reason why i dont have a SW tank. its much easier to use what you got and keep it stable then mixing tap with RO water or using peat and always testing to see where your at. thats just my opinion

 

[woodyg3]

It has been my experience through the years that most fish are just fine in water with a slightly high pH, even those from the rainforest regions where water is normally acidic. Also, a stable pH is better than trying various methods to lower the pH, only to have it bounce up and down all the time.

The key, of course, is to keep the water clean and have a good live filter culture to eliminate ammonia and nitrite.

 

[Dmaaaaax]

Lower ammonia by doing water changes until your de-nitrifying bacteria are established. You can add Prime to a tank (daily) with ammonia and nitrite, and it will detoxify it.

As far as pH most fish can survive a wide range, but I have noticed that some become more vibrant and colorful when they are close to their ideal pH. It really depends on the fish you have. My pH fluctuates between 6.8 and 6.2 daily. When I do water changes, I buffer the new water to an exact pH using acid buffer and akaline buffer from Seachem. This also raises the kH (carbonate hardness).