johnwilly1000 Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 hey guys i've heard theres a cheaper alternative to bringing the ph down. i waas told a long time ago by a guy who owned lots of tanks and kept discus. he used some form of acidic liquid from i think bunnings or something. do u guys know of the name? would it be 100% safe to use for arowana? i have 8x2x2 tank otherwise who sells the cheapest ph down powder in large quantities in brisbane? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emp1re Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 you can try Peat moss. this is a cheap alternative And you need to loew your Ph very slow or it will have a derimental effects on your fishes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnwilly1000 Posted January 22, 2005 Author Share Posted January 22, 2005 i cant use peat moss cause i heard it can cause hole in head to aros Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 Hydrocloric acid brings the ph down in my pool ... but you better get some more advice regarding affects on your fish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnwilly1000 Posted January 22, 2005 Author Share Posted January 22, 2005 i've decided to buy hydrocloric acid. i've also asked around shops and they say its fine if u just premix the acid in about 10L of water before pouring into tank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r.d.m Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 id use either bogwood or far safer than hyrchloric acid (which will release free chlorine into the water) ion exchange resin , which should be available from any lfs that do discus-"the king of aquarium fish" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeW Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 John - Whats the starting pH of your water? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nannat Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 'hydrogen chlorine"? how about sodium biphosphate?if your not sure and need to act quickly.i dont recommend water being allowed to get too soft either.rock salt for this. i know zip about aro's but i read on here the other day that acidic water will burn its sensitive skin easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onlyme Posted January 23, 2005 Share Posted January 23, 2005 CO2 maybe? it will bring down pH! I too have thought about HCl but have been warned off it by people who have never used it. I would like to know why the ion in NaCl is different from the ion in HCl ? I believe in using HCl it may introduct choride based impurities which may cause problems. THe funny thing is everyone who has ever said no to this has never ever actually tryed it. Glendale Chemicals sell a "chemically pure" grade of HCl, I reckon its about time I tryed it. My suspicion is that only tiny amounts of this stuff will be used anyway. bi sodium phophate works but particularly with discus I worry about the adverse effect of introducing all that sodium, its deffinitaly no good for Neons. When I get around to it I will report back, unless of course I kill all me fish? Craig. Geeeeeeeeeezz I wish I had of done chem at uni !!!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnwilly1000 Posted January 23, 2005 Author Share Posted January 23, 2005 my starting water is ph of 8 i've used it and each day i put in about 5ml to slowly change my ph down to 6.5-7 so far into my second day so good i'll report back as to any effects Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
efc01 Posted January 23, 2005 Share Posted January 23, 2005 Hey mate from memory I can remember you saying that in your tank you have some frontosa as well. If this is true the frontosa need a ph well above 8 say closer to 9. Correct me if wrong! Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ppanther Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 Sorry for the late reply but I've done a little more research... Auburn Aquarium - one of the sponsors - sells large bottles (they didn't have them out the front so make sure you ask) of liquid PH down for $30 that is much much more effective than sodium biophosphate (5ml per 50gal) which uses Sulfuric Acid (H2SO4). Sodium biophosphate sends your sodium and phosphate levels through the roof so it's not really an effective means for dropping your ph for soft-water aquariums. Sulfuric Acid on the other hand (this product is called "API pH DOWN and is advertised as being for soft water aquariums) disassociates into H+ ions and SO4 - which only increases your sulphates. I wouldnt reccomend dropping down to the hardware and grabbing a bottle of Sulfuric acid, as unlike other pHdown products it isnt as expensive "per dose" anyway. Make sure you check out Auburn Aquarium as he has a few boxes in stock that he specially ordered in. Dosing on the bottle is: 5ml per 190L = 1tsp per 50 gallons Just as a guideline, a single dose was enough to neutralise the pH of the tap water we get here in North Sydney (I imagine its the same water as the rest of Syd). Hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parkap Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 Dosing on the bottle is: 5ml per 190L = 1tsp per 50 gallons Just as a guideline, a single dose was enough to neutralise the pH of the tap water we get here in North Sydney (I imagine its the same water as the rest of Syd). Hope this helps ← ppanther, What's the starting pH of your tap water? (Wollongong is basically neutral straight out of the tap.) p. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saudukar Posted March 18, 2006 Share Posted March 18, 2006 What about citric acid you can buy that in power form, cheap as from food product processing places. I know you can buy it from Bunnings. Apart from that peat moss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johno Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 i new an old guy a few years ago that ran about 1000 breeder tanks in a big shed and all he would use was good old bi-carb-soda about 2 bucks at coles or woolies he bought like 30 or 40 packets at a time ,girls must of thought he did a lot of cooking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fixem Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 i new an old guy a few years ago that ran about 1000 breeder tanks in a big shed and all he would use was good old bi-carb-soda about 2 bucks at coles or woolies he bought like 30 or 40 packets at a time ,girls must of thought he did a lot of cooking ← Um, Bicarb RAISES the PH. Another old guy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johno Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 oh woops that what he did with , anyway i was close it changes ph and its cheap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wui39 Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 Buy a lot of driftwood and soak it in a tub and take the water. I suppose it would make your water brown though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 I read a guide on koi ponds that suggested white vinegar?! Anyone know if this is a safe option? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wui39 Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 Forgot to add, when building concrete ponds hydrochloric acid is often used to get rid of the high pH initially. Of course they tell you to empty the pond later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snoozie Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 Plants and CO2 will do it. When I was keeping Cichlids I had terrible trouble trying to keep my PH high!...Now I have a community tank with most of the fish preferring a softer PH and don't have to add anything. My plants and CO2 do the work for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ppanther Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 Dosing on the bottle is: 5ml per 190L = 1tsp per 50 gallons Just as a guideline, a single dose was enough to neutralise the pH of the tap water we get here in North Sydney (I imagine its the same water as the rest of Syd). Hope this helps ← ppanther, What's the starting pH of your tap water? (Wollongong is basically neutral straight out of the tap.) p. ← We are on the outskirts of Syd (Hornsby Area) and water comes out at about 7.4. Most of our tanks I adjust to around 6.8. Citric acid is a weak organic acid - so the amount you would have to add to shift the pH by an equiv amount would be much greater - and results in a much greater polution of unwanted ions vs H+ ions (what makes the solution acidic). Sulphuric and Hydrochloric on the other hand are stong acids (note strong and weak acid is scientific terminology and not just loose comparisons) and provide a great deal more H+ ions more readily than Citric. As mentioned - its best to stay clear of hydrochloric as this will add unwanted chlorine ions into your water, however sulphurics 'polutant' (at least from the scope of reducing aquarium ph) is sulphate - which is not particularly harmful to your fish, especially in the concerntrations that would be apparent after lowering your ph this way. It has been a while since I studied chemistry but I'm sure you could find more information in a textbook even if I cant provide you with the specifics. Hope this helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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