# Lowering pH



## piranhachick (Dec 1, 2003)

The pH in my saltwater tank is now 8.6 I need it to be between 8.2 and 8.4. I have no fish in it, and I just set up the tank. It's a 55 gallon, and has 50 lbs of live sand in it. How am I supposed to lower the pH?


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## Lahot (May 20, 2003)

did you do something to buffer it to get it that high?

I wouldn't worry about it being 0.2 higher than what you want if you just set it up.


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## piranhachick (Dec 1, 2003)

Nope, I didnt do anything. haven't added any chemicals, nothing. I just set the tank up yesterday. Our water around here has a pH of 7.2 if that makes any difference.


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## Kory (Jun 5, 2003)

Check at your LFS mine have stuff called Ph up and Ph down. Might want to give that a try . I've never used it so I really don't know how well it works though.


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## Lahot (May 20, 2003)

the next question would be what do you plan to put in the tank?

but I wouldn't worry about it myself unless whatever you are putting in the tank is super sensitive


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## piranhachick (Dec 1, 2003)

Damsels, two dwarf angels, yellow tang, maybe some gobies or firefish


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## Andrew (Mar 3, 2003)

what is your Salinity?


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## Chad_linden (Dec 3, 2003)

If you have plants it might be an idea to invest in a CO2 system. Some of them are pretty decently priced. Otherwise there are some tablets you can drop in your tank that dissolve very slowly and release CO2 over time. Check with your LFS.


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## thePACK (Jan 3, 2003)

do not i repeat do not use any of that ph stuff...tablets or drops...you run the risk of screwing up the tank before you even get fish in there.yes 8.6 is a tad bit high but as lahot mentioned it not a disaster..lets start from the beginnning,this is a new system so first give it time to settle in( a couple of days)..doing a water test right away will not give you an accurate measurement of ph..so do another test and see what you get?


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## o snap its eric (Feb 19, 2003)

if you must you can do the PH buffers. Many water senitive fish keepers use it. I used it for my breeding rams, rays and discus. Ph down or other acidic drop and etc are really bad for the fish. Its really hard to target your PH with doing that. Plus it flexuates the water too bad causing your fish to go in shock

Use PH buffers!


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## piranhachick (Dec 1, 2003)

The pH is fluctuating quite a bit. I am going to assume that it's just cycling, and since there are no fish in there yet I will just check it every few days until it levels out. I can't check the salinity because we broke the hydrometer(it was one of those cheap glass ones). I have ordered another and it will be here on Friday.


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## Andrew (Mar 3, 2003)

In the evening right before your lights go out, your pH will be at it's highest, first thing in the morning before your lights turn on, your pH will be at it's lowest.


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## piranhapat (Oct 11, 2003)

What brand of ph test kit are you using? Your tap water is 7.2 a little high that might have something to do with it. Try some RO/DI water if you can. And what brand salt did you use.


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