Problem with pH

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 >> Stay informed about: Problem with pH 

I got mine at the home depot on research and braker...like you say they sell
it is some kinda cubic feet bales...I wasn't sure at first but I've been
using it for many months now with no problems at all.

yeah it's just the spagnum stuff...real easy to do...just get a 3 gal
bucket, drill a few holes (just not huge ones...pencil size or smaller) and
put filter floss in the bottom of the bucket up to 1/4-1/2 full then add
peat/spagnum stuff from the bale you got at home depot.
then hang or balance the bucket above a big plastic barrell and pour
water...very easy.

I was resistant to the idea at first, but after the success I've had after
using the peat water, I wish I would have tried it earlier.

Bob

ps. as far as changing the ph to fast, you will just have to test..typically
they reccomend only a shift of .2 per day, but I bet you could change to .4
if you want to be risky...so it will take several days to take hard water to
soft water.

"animaux" <animaux.DeleteThis@hsgdfkjsdfh.net> wrote in message
news:mi3rqvc9si2kfthdm9nmbrrc8dfei1gv0k@4ax.com...
> On Sun, 09 Nov 2003 00:00:14 GMT, "Bob" <rbonham.DeleteThis@rREMOVETHISaustin.rr.com>
> opined:
>
> >consider using peat, is really easy and by the size of your tank, I would
> >say it is the easiest option.
> >
> >Bob
> >
>
> Yes, but can I use sphagnum peat moss? The kind I buy in 4 cubic foot
bales at
> the garden center? Or does it have to be the un-milled type used for paph
> orchids? How do you use it?
>
> Victoria
 >> Stay informed about: Problem with pH 

"animaux" <animaux.TakeThisOut@hsgdfkjsdfh.net> wrote in message
news:pntqqvghhh7csn8ci98vqbvkhlt8gm2c3c@4ax.com...
> We have a 150 gallon tank, Aqua Clear 500 with an additional under
gravel
> filtration system, which uses 4 air pumps housed in the garage.
>
> Okay, our pH is registering at 8.5. It constantly drifts up. We have
about 30
> or so tetras of different types, 2 cory cats and a few loches...oh, 3
sword
> tails, all female...and it seems one of them came pregnant and I've
seen two
> fry.

pH is something which slowly drops in an aquarium. If your pH is rising,
is it from your water changes or from something leeching calcium into
your water. If something is leeching (substrate, rocks, seashells,
corals, petrified wood etc) then remove it. If your pH is rising from
water changes, then treat or cut your water and age/aerate it for at
least 1 day before usage. Well water needs to be aerated to find it's
true pH. Rainwater is AFAIK, much lower than 7.4pH, so your
collection/holding system is probably not very clean, or your measurement
method is not accuarate. If you have a reservoir of rainwater and a
reservoir of aged well water, then mixing these two should give you
exactly what you need. You just need to do a little math to figure out
the ratios. A typical mix is 20% well and 80% rain water for a tetra
tank, ymmv.

> So, we don't want to use buffers, and do it chemically since it's
virtually a
> waste of time and the pH will rise up again. I've read some on using
peat, but
> we are both relatively novice and it seems that is for advanced
aquafiles.

Like everything else, it seems more complicated until you have done it,
and it's simple once you have an established recipe and a routine. It
does require some effort, so you might want to experiment with other
methods first. If your rainwater is readilly available (in a sistern)
then that might be easier to implement. In any case, pH adjustments with
large quantities of peat are best done off-line, so even if you mess it
up, your fish will not be exposed to it.

> We do have a rainwater collection system, unfiltered, and we are now
preparing
> to so a 20% water change using it. The pH of the rain water is 7.4
which would
> be good.
>
> Should we do a 20% change, or will that lower the pH too fast?
>
> All the fish look healthy. We had a few die, but the black tetra we've
had a
> while and two of the swordtails died overnight after we bought them. I
believe
> it's a combination of the incredible stress they underwent for the
clerk who
> scooped them, dropped them, etc...BTW, Aqua Tech is a great place. I
like it
> better than Amazonia. Maybe it's because it's cleaner? Who knows.
Anyway, the
> pH may have also contributed to that demise.
>
> So, the rainwater...can I or should I do a 20% change? We plan to
remove the 30
> gallons and put back one gallon at a time, slowly through the night or
tomorrow.

Starting with 8.5pH tank water, and adding 20% 7.4pH in a drip system
over an extended period of time will IMHO, not stress the fish, nor will
it have a tremendous effect on the water's parameters. Try it and see.
A lot depends on your water's kH, what mineral is creating your kH
balance at 8.5, and your gH, and I'm no chemical engineer.

In your situation, with well water & rainwater both readily available,
I'd bring the pH down as far as I wanted (targeting low-mid 7s), over a
period of a week, doing partial drip-water changes, while keeping the kH
between 3 & 5dkH. I'd then age pre-mixed rain/well-water to determine
the best ratio, and then I'd stick to that ratio for all future water
changes. The ratio will be a compromise between rainwater availability,
pH and maintaining sufficient buffer for stability. You might then find
a little peat filtering might still be in order, but it will not have
cost you anything up to that point. Please note that I have no academic
background in this subject, and I rely on my own research, intuition and
limited experiences in advising others, so ymmv.

NetMax

> Thanks,
> Victoria
 >> Stay informed about: Problem with pH 

Personally, I'd start hunting for the cause of the higher pH. Leaching
rocks, designer gravel, water supply, then decide a course of action for
correcting the problem. Otherwise could be chasing your tail.

"animaux" <animaux RemoveThis @hsgdfkjsdfh.net> wrote in message
news:pntqqvghhh7csn8ci98vqbvkhlt8gm2c3c@4ax.com...
> We have a 150 gallon tank, Aqua Clear 500 with an additional under gravel
> filtration system, which uses 4 air pumps housed in the garage.
>
> Okay, our pH is registering at 8.5. It constantly drifts up. We have
about 30
> or so tetras of different types, 2 cory cats and a few loches...oh, 3
sword
> tails, all female...and it seems one of them came pregnant and I've seen
two
> fry.
>
> So, we don't want to use buffers, and do it chemically since it's
virtually a
> waste of time and the pH will rise up again. I've read some on using
peat, but
> we are both relatively novice and it seems that is for advanced aquafiles.
>
> We do have a rainwater collection system, unfiltered, and we are now
preparing
> to so a 20% water change using it. The pH of the rain water is 7.4 which
would
> be good.
>
> Should we do a 20% change, or will that lower the pH too fast?
>
> All the fish look healthy. We had a few die, but the black tetra we've
had a
> while and two of the swordtails died overnight after we bought them. I
believe
> it's a combination of the incredible stress they underwent for the clerk
who
> scooped them, dropped them, etc...BTW, Aqua Tech is a great place. I like
it
> better than Amazonia. Maybe it's because it's cleaner? Who knows.
Anyway, the
> pH may have also contributed to that demise.
>
> So, the rainwater...can I or should I do a 20% change? We plan to remove
the 30
> gallons and put back one gallon at a time, slowly through the night or
tomorrow.
>
> Thanks,
> Victoria
 >> Stay informed about: Problem with pH