MikeWs Fish Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 is there some kind of substrate that can keep my ph around 6.2-6.5. Something ideal for peppermint BN. Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r.d.m Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 driftwood on standard aquarium gravel maybe ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeWs Fish Posted February 2, 2005 Author Share Posted February 2, 2005 I have a piece in there. How long does it take for the ph to buffer down? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r.d.m Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 i think when the water turns yellow,but you probly practise good husbandry and do regular water changes, which, living in sydney , will always push the ph back to 7.5 , a friend of mine used to breed discus(the king of aquarium fish-not) and used to run his water through an ion exchange resin , this worked in the south of england where water was kept in chalk reservoirs and the ph and hardness was of the scale ,is there any discus dudes out there can help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ducksta Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 An RO unit could definately help. It will remove the calcium from the water thus removing the hardness. Using wood to buffer the water is not the way to go in my opinion. What actually affects the hardness and thus pH from wood is the tannic acids released. The more tannic acids, the more affect on pH. However, as has been said, your water will be tea coloured. Tannic acids are impossible to control, and levels from a particular piece will gradually deplete. I would probably be looking toward CO2 injection to lower the pH. Sydney tap water has a ph of about 7.5, but last time I tested it, the hardness was relatively low. So the pH can be altered alot more easily, than if the water was harder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeWs Fish Posted February 2, 2005 Author Share Posted February 2, 2005 What is a RO unit? And how does a CO2 injector lower Ph and hardness? How much am i looking at. My tank is only 2ft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ducksta Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 RO:=Reverse Osmosis I am sure a quick forum search would uncover all the mysteries involved with how CO2 affects pH. I am not sure the exact scientific details, so I will leave it at saying somehow CO2 injection reduces pH. If you can't find it in technical forum, planted forum would have in depth discussion I am sure. They probably also have a detailed description of how to make a CO2 injector with a coke bottle some airline and yeast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeWs Fish Posted February 2, 2005 Author Share Posted February 2, 2005 Ive had a quick read and both of these methods definitely will reduce my pH. But from what i udnderstood, it will reduce the pH and/or hardness by quite alot, making it all a bit unstable. The ideal pH for the pepps is around 6.2-6.5 (to my knowledge) and they have been known to breed at 7 and even 8 sometimes. Am I on the right set of train tracks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlakeyBoyR Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 If a neutral PH was acceptable you could always take the easy way out and use Seachem neutral regulator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeWs Fish Posted February 2, 2005 Author Share Posted February 2, 2005 or just do frequent water changes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brett4Perth Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 Adding CO2 in such a small tank is going to be a real pain. I would think it would be too volatile. Unless you used a pH regulator which is big dollars. Traditionally producing soft acid water was done using peat. Yes it does soften the water and also release some tannins( but this is not the main mechanism). It is quite difficult to regulate in the tank. Usually the water is treated in a large drum and then mix with tap water to achieve the desired result. Pretty fiddly?? How important is pH anyway? As you said they seem to have been spawned at a variety of pH's. Cheers Brett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nannat Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 how about discus buffer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeWs Fish Posted February 2, 2005 Author Share Posted February 2, 2005 Whats discus buffer? Is it like a pH minus product? Brett4Perth, I think the pH is is moderately important, but even more important is the softness of the water. I have read that water softness is a prerequisite for them to start breeding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fins Posted February 3, 2005 Share Posted February 3, 2005 Mike, Sydney tapwater is classified as soft. I think from memory my last test was 4kH/gH, pH 7.5 It still bounces overnight after using acid buffers etc... In my Discus breeding days, I use to breed Discus in plain tapwater, but I use to lower the pH to 6.2-6.4 using Seachem Acid Buffer (strong stuff). I didn't add it directly to the tank, I prepared the water in barrels. You need to stabalize the water before it goes into the tank (apply buffer-overnight-retest-reapply buffer-overnight-retest etc..) It can be very difficult to maintain a stable low harness/low pH environment. Using R.O can be as much of a pain, first you have a 70% wastage of water from the R.O unit, then you need to add stuff back to the water to add stability because it's too soft. IMO, tapwater hardness and pH is fine for peps. My peps were breeding in african rift lake conditions, along side my Alto. Sumbu fry. So, plain tapwater IMO is the best compromise K.I.S.S HTH Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r.d.m Posted February 3, 2005 Share Posted February 3, 2005 imho if their orange spot ,peppermint or albino go for all the above ,if their normal id just prepare a drum of water with some ph down ,as posted above sydney water is soft so a bit of ph down should see you right ,with a 2 footer you only need a large bucket prepared 2-3 days before your water changes,but if they are of the exotic variety co2 injection may be the way to go ,but this is just my opinion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ant Posted February 3, 2005 Share Posted February 3, 2005 As Brett said, Adding peat moss lowers ph, i'm not sure how much or exactly how it works but this is the most common way of lowering ph and keeping it there. It is commonly used in discus tanks for this purpose. Anthony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeWs Fish Posted February 3, 2005 Author Share Posted February 3, 2005 Well i'll be goign to the fish shop to get some peat moss. Also isnt wood good for catfish? Maybe one or two pieces would be good? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ant Posted February 3, 2005 Share Posted February 3, 2005 Yes driftwood is good for Loricariidae species Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ged Posted February 3, 2005 Share Posted February 3, 2005 This is a relatively good explanation on pH and other water chemistry issues in the aquarium which may assist the discussion. Water Chemistry Gerard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brett4Perth Posted February 5, 2005 Share Posted February 5, 2005 Mike, I presume you are trying to get low pH and low conductivity. Adding buffers will lower your pH, but it will increase your conductivity. Wood has the same effect as peat, just slower. Cheers Brett ps Better to get the peat from a garden store, take care it does not have any additives. Some peat is better than others. The German black peat is difficult to get now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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