# best way to lower ph?



## 0123 (May 18, 2004)

its not for piranhas really but looking at getting discus but i have a high ph and need it to be about 6.2 (thats the ph of where im looking at buying the fish from) my ph is something like 7+ (not sure stupid test doesnt read higher than 7)

got to pick up a ph test kit...

there is a guy locally that breeds discuss and i know he has like a 1500gal water storage that he lets his water sit for 24 hours or something and it drops the ph alot but not sure about that cause im limited on space

looking for ideas.... thx!


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## myles (Feb 27, 2005)

i second this, i have well water so my ph is super high too, and using ph downer is kind atricker speacialy because i use a python.


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## hrdbyte (Feb 2, 2005)

black water extract or peat moss......


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## 0123 (May 18, 2004)

yea im not going to use a python because i want to be damn carefull with such expensive fish


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## 0123 (May 18, 2004)

myles said:


> i second this, i have well water so my ph is super high too, and using ph downer is kind atricker speacialy because i use a python.
> [snapback]938477[/snapback]​


dont these two things change the color of water?

im going to try what the breeder does around me but in a 5g bucket just to see how well it works lol if i have to ill buy a rubbermaid container and do that or something but hopefully it wont come to that... besides i first need to pick up a cheap (hopefully) ph test kit


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## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

123 said:


> im going to try what the breeder does around me but in a 5g bucket just to see how well it works lol if i have to ill buy a rubbermaid container and do that or something but hopefully it wont come to that... besides i first need to pick up a cheap (hopefully) ph test kit
> [snapback]938505[/snapback]​


Just putting water in a 5 gallon bucket will not lower ph, it might raise it a little bit as the CO2 leaves the water, but that's all.

Soak big clumps of peat in a bucket for a week and you have a mixture of very low ph solution, which you then add to your tank in *measured amounts* to lower your ph. You do not dump the whole thing in as your ph will crash, and you monitor your ph level in the tank water to make sure you don't add too much. It will discolor the water slightly though.


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## 0123 (May 18, 2004)

sorry should have said more about it

im not 100% sure but your suppost to like aerate it or something and it supposedly lowers the ph? ill have to look through the thread again (damn) lol

im hoping that i can avoid chemicals and other things that discolor the water (it will be in the living room and my parents wont like the tea looking water)

thanks for the help


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## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

123 said:


> sorry should have said more about it
> 
> im not 100% sure but your suppost to like aerate it or something and it supposedly lowers the ph? ill have to look through the thread again (damn) lol
> 
> ...


Aerating won't lower the ph either. It will get chlorine out, but it won't lower the ph at all. If you're really stuck on not changing the water chemistry you can mix R/O water with your tap water to bring down the hardness and make it more acceptable to your discus. It gets a bit expensive though


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## Curley (Aug 4, 2004)

yea I read the same thing about lowering ph, by leaving it out and exposed over night. I tested to see if it worked and it did. I only tried it in a little mason jar though. Some discus breeder dude told me about it to. 0123... I have been trying to get my ph down now for awhile and finally its going down. get yourself a nice peice of driftwood and soak it for awhile and some discus ph stabalizer. Put it in everday for a week and then just add some when u do those water changes. Beware of discus pickyness of there water. they get stressed easy and need perect water. There is a breeder that has his discus in 7.0. crazy huh???
good luck bro


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