PH PROBLEM

[claycam11]

I have a 10 gallon freshwater aquarium with an aqueon filter and i cannot get my ph to lower. I have tried treating water with ph down before water changes and adding it but it still rises back up. I am not using any co2 at the moment but i am adding thrive. The ph from my tap comes out at 8.2 ph and i try to drop it to about 7.2 before putting into the tank with a water change of 50-60 percent. But as always the ph still rises to 8.4 to 8.7. i am hesitant to buy peat moss but i have not tried it and i also have a java fern and dwarf glosso carpet that are not doing very well as you could imagine. no fish yet because i cannot figure out the ph situation and the last ones died within weeks... please tell me what i am doing wrong and how to fix it...

 

[lilirose]

I recommend avoiding products like pH Down- as you have seen, especially in small tanks, it will cause the pH to bounce all over the place. It's better to have a stable high pH than it is to constantly chase a lower number using chemicals.

Is the high pH caused by hard water? If so, then you're going to have a rough time lowering it even with peat.

You have three good options that I can see: you can either buy fish that do well in a higher pH, like livebearers or African cichlids. If your water is hard, you might consider "cutting" it by mixing it with purchased RO or distilled water. Or you can do as I did and buy an inexpensive RO unit, and use remineralised RO water. I got my RO unit on Amazon for €55 (I think that's around $70? not sure!) That might be too much trouble for a single ten gallon tank, though- I have four tanks and am in the process of setting up four more.

 

[claycam11]

do u think those fish species could survive an 8.0 to an 8.7....and if so are their anymore? and would mixing store bought or ro water affect be official bacteria/ nutrients?

 

[lilirose]

The beneficial bacteria live in the filter, not in the water. Mixing purified water with hard tap water will not affect them negatively. However, if you go that route, you will need to make sure the water is well aerated, as both distilled and RO water are stripped of literally everything including oxygen. I do this by mixing my water in a bucket and letting it sit for 24 hours with an airstone hooked up to a small pump.

I can't advise on hard water fish for a 10-gallon tank, other than livebearers. I keep soft water fish and shrimp.

 

[claycam11]

Thankyou so much for your help and knowledge, I really appreciate it.