# How To Lower Ph A Bit?



## ...Jay... (Nov 2, 2006)

I finally got around to testing our well water, and ph is 8.0. Being at the high end of what it should be, is it anything to worry about? Doesn't driftwood lower it a bit? I was thinking about setting up a drip system, but not sure if thats going to be to high. I imagine it would be hard to control anything if the water is always being swapped out.

I forgot that there is nitrate, and nitrite, and dont know which one I tested







. So now I'm either gonna have to do both again, or dig the test things out of the trash. whatever one I did, it didn't change the color of the water at all. So I have no idea.

Lastly, anyone know of some species of freshwater fish that 8.0 is perfect for? I HAVE to keep the piranha(cause I luv em), but might set some extra tanks up for which kind of fish has not been decided. I have many tanks at my disposal. From 10-75 gallons.


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## Tensa (Jul 28, 2008)

african cichlids prefer higher ph. but you need to test the water in your tank to get a accurate ph because there is some chemistry involved im bad at but the ph doesnt stay at 8.0 just because you add water to the tank that is at 8.0 the actual ph in your tank is most likely much closer to the 7.0 range especially if you have driftwood in the tank. the key really is to keep things simple and not really mess with chemistry such as ph. if you have a way to store the water you can use a tub and add driftwood to buffer it down to a more reasonable ph. but honestly retest all the params of the tank water and post that here so people can give a opinion.


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## ...Jay... (Nov 2, 2006)

ok, I went the trash picking route. I had tested nitrite, and just now tested nitrate. Neither change the color even a little. So I'm guessing thats a good thing.

I guess I kind of figured that if I set up a drip system, it would stay pretty close to whats coming out of the faucet. So wanted to know what that would be. My Ps are babies at this point(dime sized), in a 20 gallon. I haven't even got the 75 set up yet. But I plan on doing that this week, so once it gets cycled and stable I'll come back.


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## Tensa (Jul 28, 2008)

are better off setting up the 75 asap and moving all the filters from the 20 onto the 75 along with whatever filter you plan to use on the 75 and let it cycle that way. im guessing you haven't had the fish long that is why you don't have any nitrates in the tank yet. you need to test ammonia nitrites and nitrates. get those numbers and post here. also test the ph in the tank so someone can answer that question for you too.


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## ...Jay... (Nov 2, 2006)

the plan is to set up the 75 in the next day or 2, then use gunk from the filter on the 20, and another bigger tank that is established, and probably throw some poor goldfish in there until it cycles. I know they grow fast, so I wanna get this rolling quick.

I haven't tested the 20. I know its cycled now, and I do a lot of water changes. I probably should check that out though. It was ruff going. I told my uncle who I stay with that I wanted to get piranha again because I miss them. So he just came home with them one day! no warning. didn't even have a tank set up. I had to use another filters gunk that time, and when it cycled the fish had a really hard time. almost didn't make it. It got bad enough that I had to fill a 15g and put the fish in there with a heater and air bubbler, no filter, and just change a bunch of the water every day while the 20 stabilized. They are back in there now except for one who has almost no tail I left in the 15 for now. Everyone is doing good now, eating like beasts again, putting on size, and swimming right again. It got really bad for a while there and I cant believe they all made it. 8 babies, and still there.

I'll go test the 20 in a few and see whats what in there.


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## ...Jay... (Nov 2, 2006)

ok, i'm going to assume this is bad. I tested the 20. This ghetto tester doesn't measure very high or low, so some stuff didn't even read.

ph= went down, but I dont know how much. tester goes from 7.8-8.6 its well below 7.8
ammonia= 0.0 is supposed to be yellow, then different shades of green as it goes up. stayed perfectly clear(wtf?)
nitrate= tester goes 10-20-40-70-100. I was inbetween the 40&70. right in the middle so I'd say 50ish
nitrite= off the chart! tester goes from 0.2-2 up to 1.0-10 and it turned reder than 1.0-10. does this mean its not cycled or what?!?!?!

I put the fish back in there days ago, and they are all acting good. Looking healthy, active, eating great. When it got really bad they were having trouble staying upright, and one of thems eyes were bugging out really bad. Now they look good, but this test is kinda freakin me out. any suggestions?

by the way, when I feed them I usually rip little bits mouth sized bits a few at a time, then when they are slowing down, I'll drop one bigger piece for them to chew on, then half hour later go net out whatevers left. I fell asleep last night and didn't get it out. So that might be the problem. Guessing a water change is in order now.


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## Tensa (Jul 28, 2008)

you need to have a tank cycled for the bioload doesnt matter if your fish are in a 20 or a 75 it will be the same bioload on the media that is why i am saying put them in the 75 also in the 75 all the waste becomes more diluted as you can see your nitrates are high and the tank already isnt cycled so if you move the filters over to the bigger tank its not going to hurt anything. it is easier on the fish in the 75 then in the 20 no matter how you cut it. get the 75 setup add a dechlorinator drip acclimate the P's to the 75 and then move the filters over to the 75 after that just leave a little salt in the tank to help with the nitrites and let nature take its course. the tank will cycle just as fast. you really dont want to add diseases goldfish to cycle a tank when you are going to add fish you love later that are already in need of the larger tank. cycling really only works if the fish are stable that you want to move into the larger tank or if you dont have the fish yet. they need to be in the 75 asap.


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## ...Jay... (Nov 2, 2006)

yea i hear ya. the biggest hold out on the 75 was that I was going to drip system it, and dont have the glass cutting thing. I guess I'll just do it regular so I can get it going today. I was also worried about trying to feed them in a tank that big. And them possibly getting sucked up a filter. I have a few options on filtering the 75, and they are much bigger than whats on the 20. These guys are about as small as you can buy them.


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## Tensa (Jul 28, 2008)

put a stocking over the intake on the filter or a durable piece of cloth or something. you should be able to find something laying around to restrict the intake on the filter. i usually dont have a problem with my filters sucking fish up even when i have baby guppies in a tank with a xp3 and ac110. but i usually play it safe with my p's. if they are at least 2 inches they should be fine no matter what.


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## ...Jay... (Nov 2, 2006)

they aren't remotely close to 2 inches. dime sized at best. I'll do the stocking thing I guess. I did that when I had guppies/convicts breeding. Dont wanna mess the filter up by restricting flow though. These are more expensive then the little hobs I was using for the other fish. And they aren't mine, they are my uncles, so I'll be borrowing whatever I use.

I'll figure something out when I get that far.


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