Loaches Online Forum

What do most of you use to stabilize the ph in your aquariums, my 55 gal seems to always be on the higher side?

I am is awe of the knowledge & beautiful aquariums in this forum!

Thanks, DI

What's "on the high side"?

Personally I feel that stability is more important then the actual ph...within reason of course. I like drift wood and Indian almond leaves.

The last few weeks ph has been 7.6 or so. I already have driftwood in there & have tried ph down in the past. Are the buffers good for the fish?

DI

How clean is your gravel? What is the tap water ph there? Buffers suck unless aa a last resort. Tell us about flow and filtration to And what rocks are in your set up.

7.6 is cool. you're fine.

7.6 is fine for most fish. If you are trying to breed some wild caught Discus or Angels you might want to work at lowering it.

Buffers and similar additives are NOT good:
Most aquarium water contains carbonates. (KH)
Carbonates are a rather efficient buffer that will stabilize the pH at various levels depending on how much KH there is. With a pH in the mid 7's you likely have enough KH that changing JUST the pH with additives (strong acids) will only temporarily alter the pH, then the KH will remove the excess hydrogen, and the pH will bounce back up to the mid 7's.

If you seriously need to alter the pH the first step is to lower the KH to around 3 degrees by diluting your tap water with reverse osmosis water. The next step is to circulate the RO+tap blend with some peat moss. This will lower the pH and add some organic acids that the fish from soft acidic waters like.

This is not hard to do, but creating and re-creating a recipe for every water change is a bit much, if your fish will be happy enough with tap water.

Diana,
I am so glad that you are here. I have learned so much from reading your posts.

When I started back into fish keeping last year, I was pouring additives into my well water to lower the pH. It always popped back up to around 7.6. Finally, I read somewhere that fish will adjust to the higher pH, and it was better that way than having all the fluctuations. The article I read explained why it was happening, but it was way over my head.

You explain things so well. I finally understand it.
Thanks

Gee... thanks

I agree with loachmom that Diana has been very helpful in a lot of different threads. We appreciate it. Thank you Diana.

Thanks for all the info!! Sorry for the delay in more facts on my 55 gal. I have a Penquin 330 & an Emperor 280 w/maxijet 1200, my gravel is clean & I have assorted river rocks. My tap water changes, but is between 7.6-7.8. Also, I was thinking about adding a Rena X2 for extra filtration. Can you ever have TOO much filtration? Thanks again for all the responses, I shall try to maintain the current ph. DI