# lowering ph for ray



## AzNxGuY2o9 (Jul 26, 2003)

hey guys,

i noticed straight from tap, my water is rougly 8.0 ph, maybe a bit higher (cant tell really well, with the color match test kits.) My tank water is roughly the same ph.

well i want to lower my 100 gallon tank to at least 7.0 ph for my ray.

i have Ketapang leaves and was wondering if this was very effective in lowering ph.

i was told to put it in water and boil in. then strain the water out and use that as ph reducer and etc.

can this work?
or should i put the leaves in a media bag, and leave it in my tank.

my main concern is adding tooo much leaves at once, and dropping the ph too quickly.

any tips is appreciated

thanks!


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## sourbugs (Aug 10, 2004)

first off, i have never cared for rays so maybe double check with an expert on this.
Ive never heard of what your suggesting, but I cant see why it would hurt them.

I dunno if driftwood in a ray tank is a good thing, but driftwood releases tannic acids into the water lowering pH, and putting peat moss in the filter will also lower the pH.

Stay away from actual chemicals though unless you absolutly need to. If you overcome the water's natural buffers your pH could go skyrocketing off in either direction.

Keep checking the pH level, but as you said those test kits are not very accurate... the only real accurate way i know of to check pH is with a titration, and most people dont even know what that word means


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## PunkRockSkater39 (May 31, 2004)

ur ph will lower over time if u have carbon in ur filter media..... Ph will lower in a week or two down to about 7.0-7.5, as long as u dont add any water.


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## dracofish (Jul 13, 2003)

Changing your pH can be quite detrimental if it isn't constant and maintained constant. You need to find out why your tap water is so alkaline. It is most likely due to hard water (lots of dissolved minerals that keep the pH buffered high). If you lower it artificially then it will eventually bounce back up due to it's high buffering capacity. That creates a pH roller coaster and it is very stressful to fish, especially Rays. Most of the time if a Ray is properly acclimated it should be able to adapt to higher pH's, provided it doesn't keep changing.


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## PunkRockSkater39 (May 31, 2004)

dracofish said:


> Changing your pH can be quite detrimental if it isn't constant and maintained constant. You need to find out why your tap water is so alkaline. It is most likely due to hard water (lots of dissolved minerals that keep the pH buffered high). If you lower it artificially then it will eventually bounce back up due to it's high buffering capacity. That creates a pH roller coaster and it is very stressful to fish, especially Rays. Most of the time if a Ray is properly acclimated it should be able to adapt to higher pH's, provided it doesn't keep changing.


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## illnino (Mar 6, 2004)

just use some driftwood, it will slowly, safely, and naturally lower your ph.


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## etb (Nov 6, 2003)

PEAT will do the same thing but faster and it's costs much less than driftwood.


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## dracofish (Jul 13, 2003)

etb said:


> PEAT will do the same thing but faster and it's costs much less than driftwood.


 Yes, but it will eventually stop working...thus resulting in the pH roller coaster that I mentioned above. I still believe the safe solution to the problem is proper acclimation and leaving things be so they stay constant.


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## dracofish (Jul 13, 2003)

illnino said:


> just use some driftwood, it will slowly, safely, and naturally lower your ph.


 The problem with driftwood is that you won't exactly know how much you need to lower it to the desired amount and how much it will go over the course of time.


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