Dooper

Hey everyone,

I'm having issues with my pH of my acquarium water. I have listed values below, maybe you could help with ways to lower it. I have tried stuff like correct pH, doesnt work.

pH 7.5-7.7
ammonia 0
nitrite 0.3
nitrate 10

GH= 60mg/L
KH= 70mg/L

Tap Water used for water changes

pH=6.2
GH= 40mg/L
KH= 20mg/L

Shawnie

are you cycling with or without fish? if without, dont worry about the ph as it will continue to change thru out the cycle..if with fish, im sure they have acclimated to that ph but to naturally lower it, some driftwood with tannis helps alot!! but you do get a tea color in your tank for a few months

Dooper

yeah im cyclin with fish. So driftwood/peat moss is the only way to go eh, I dont really want discoloured water

mathas

Why do you want to lower it? In general, a stable pH is far better than some mythical "perfect" number.

aquarist48

Carbon in your filter will help remove the tannis caused by the driftwood.

Dooper

so you think a ph of 7.5 is acceptable/

Chrisson

7.5 is a great ph for almost every fish. I have mine on 7.5

mathas

Certainly. My pH used to be around 7.9 before I began adding pressurized CO2 for my plants, and I raised several species that supposedly prefer acidic (sub-7.0) water.