How do you lower pH in new tank?

gus6464

I ended up exchanging the Eclipse 6 gallon for a 10 gallon. I finally set it all up and started the cycling. So far I have 0 ppm Ammonia, 5 ppm Nitrate, 0 ppm Nitrite, and 7.6 pH.

I want to keep a 6.9-7.0 pH and was wondering if the method that is listed on the API test kit is the one you guys use.

And here is a pic of the setup. Water is a little cloudy because of the eco-complete.

Picklee

A good long term solution is to put a piece of driftwood in there. The wood will release tannis and as a result, will keep the pH down.

gus6464

Ahh ok I already have a piece of driftwood in there. The pic doesn't show it pretty well but it has a Java Fern tied to it.

Lupin

There is no need to lower the pH. Keeping the pH constant is much more important. Fish can adapt to various water conditions very well provided they are acclimated to water conditions properly. Depending on your KH and GH, the pH may not go down to what you exactly want although the addition of driftwood will not harm the fish.

mgamer20o0

agreed. no need to mess with the ph. stable ph so much better. 7.4ph isnt bad at all.

King Arthur

Think 6.8-7.0 is much better. You can always use clorhidric acid (in very little quantities) and I think it'll do.

beetlebz

I added a bunch of wood to my tank to get my ph down. after WEEKS, its gone from 7.4 to 7.2... and the fish dont really look any happier than they did ;)

mattyphilly

ure ph is good. best to keep it stable.
filtering over peat will get the kh down and the ph too. water will be brownish tho

mgamer20o0

with out even any clue to whats in the tank or will be in the tank i dont see how a blanketed statement like that can be true.