How Do You Lower Ph?

I want to breed tetras and I read that they need lower ph. I'm not sure what level of ph but I need some ideas on how to bring it down. Thanks!

 

In the wild, what triggers breeding in many freshwater tropical fish is rainfall. Rain has an acidic pH and dilutes bodies of water. So gradually cutting your water with RO or Distilled (pH of 6) will simulate heavy rain. You can also add leaf litter and pieces of tannin-heavy driftwood like mopanI or Malaysian bog wood, which will stain the water and also lower pH.

Do not use chemical agents such as Perfect pH. These cause unsafe parameter swings and are temporary solutions.

I will caution you to do a lot more research on the subject so you don't accidentally kill your fish. Most captive bred fish (99% of what's available) will breed in your tap water no problem, anyway.

 

In the wild, what triggers breeding in many freshwater tropical fish is rainfall. Rain has an acidic pH and dilutes bodies of water. So gradually cutting your water with RO or Distilled (pH of 6) will simulate heavy rain. You can also add leaf litter and pieces of tannin-heavy driftwood like mopanI or Malaysian bog wood, which will stain the water and also lower pH.

Do not use chemical agents such as Perfect pH. These cause unsafe parameter swings and are temporary solutions.

Thank you

 

What is your ph?

 

What is your ph?

7.5

 

7.5

What exactly are you trying to breed?

 

What exactly are you trying to breed?

Ember tetras

 

Adding peat to your filter and using RO/DI water for your WCs will simulate their natural environment and might encourage breeding (as well as lower the ph). Driftwood and leaf litter will also release tannins which is natural and good for the fish, but probably won't do much for breeding.

 

Also dealing with high pH and interested in lowering it to stimulate breeding. Any advice of % of RO water to add to bring down pH from 8.5 to around 7?

 

RO filter off mineral from water ,and your fish need them to grow strong.Even thought ,fish need acidic water to breed some how ,but using RO water for the tank is not a good choice.I read few artical about it ,but no one mention is how much % of RO water mix with Tap water to be safe.It just only say adding slowly ,but if your fish is not happy then back up percentage while you breed them.
On what I understand,fish in the wild breed in rain season to get acidic water condition from the rain.So! The best natural way is use all method to low Ph including RO ( very less ) then back them up to normal ph water to live for their better health.If the fry require acidic to live for while then use very very less RO water...But use rain water instead..

 

RO (distilled) water water has a pH of about 7. So you'd need to go 100% R/O. Lots of research though because you'll need to augment the water with minerals (magnesium, calcium, manganese etc.) and some electrolytes like potassium. And then add peat, wood, IAL and hope that brings the pH down further.

 

I want to breed tetras and I read that they need lower ph. I'm not sure what level of ph but I need some ideas on how to bring it down. Thanks!

You can try some of these safe methods:

• Peat Moss
• Driftwood
• Cappata Leaves
• Reverse Osmosis

Read few stick up threat on this sub forum to understand it better.If you want to low ph to 5-6 ph you might use all method above..but very less in RO water .Your fry need minerals and RO water has it very very very less

 

Slowly introduce rain water (test it first) or RO water until you reach your desired pH. At the same time you should add a little peat moss to the filter and a couple of IAL. you'll want to do this slowly so they don't go into shock. Having java moss will be helpful too though it won't interfere with the pH.

 

RO (distilled) water water has a pH of about 7. So you'd need to go 100% R/O. Lots of research though because you'll need to augment the water with minerals (magnesium, calcium, manganese etc.) and some electrolytes like potassium. And then add peat, wood, IAL and hope that brings the pH down further.

if fish live in 100% RO water,we need to suply mineral and vitamin through foot sources so fish / plants can grow

 

It depends on the fish. Black water fish come from very acidic conditions with very little carbonate.

if you want to breed your ember tetras try a cool, 2-3 degrees cooler, water change and then turn on lights. If they will spawn this is when they will do it. Good luck!

 

Mp