Ph help - to basic, and won't change....

[jd]

Hi folks,
I've got a large tank set up (well, actually, I'm trying to set it up) as a
community tank (south American). My problem is that the water here has a Ph
of 7.8, and I can't get it to budge. I've tried puttng a bunch of the Ph
lock type products in (all targetted at a Ph of 7.0), and it hasn't moevd a
bit.

My guess is that for some reaon, the water contains a good load of something
that is keeping the Ph up. I can't figure out what though - I've run a ton
of water tests, and haven't got anythign out of the ordinary (except the
ph). Gh and Kh are the next set of kits I plan to try....

I'm thinking about adding some peat to the system to see if that works....

My question is: from what I've read, Peat should acidify the water a bit,
and should help soften the water (I assume that means it will remove
whatever salt/mineral/whatever is locking the Ph up at 7.8).... Does this
make sense? is there some other method I can use to bring the Ph down (that
doesn't cost an arm and a leg).....

I'm hoping to get some low light plants going (maybe some amazon swords?),
but mostly I'm just trying to get a stable tank set up.......


thanks for any advice or recomendations....

-_JD

[Dick]

On Sun, 16 Jul 2006 10:31:11 -0400, "jd" > wrote:

>Hi folks,
>I've got a large tank set up (well, actually, I'm trying to set it up) as a
>community tank (south American). My problem is that the water here has a Ph
>of 7.8, and I can't get it to budge. I've tried puttng a bunch of the Ph
>lock type products in (all targetted at a Ph of 7.0), and it hasn't moevd a
>bit.
Why is 7.8 a problem? I have 5 freshwater tanks setup for over 3
years. My local water is also 7.8.

>My guess is that for some reaon, the water contains a good load of something
>that is keeping the Ph up. I can't figure out what though - I've run a ton
>of water tests, and haven't got anythign out of the ordinary (except the
>ph). Gh and Kh are the next set of kits I plan to try....
>
>I'm thinking about adding some peat to the system to see if that works....
>
>My question is: from what I've read, Peat should acidify the water a bit,
>and should help soften the water (I assume that means it will remove
>whatever salt/mineral/whatever is locking the Ph up at 7.8).... Does this
>make sense? is there some other method I can use to bring the Ph down (that
>doesn't cost an arm and a leg).....
I tried to maintain 7.0 in my 75 gallon tank when I got it and went
through a yo yo cycle requiring at least daily attention. I gave up
and today am glad I did.

>I'm hoping to get some low light plants going (maybe some amazon swords?),
>but mostly I'm just trying to get a stable tank set up.......
Are you sure Amazon swords are low light. My tanks are all low
light. I recall I tried Amazon swords, but they died shortly.
Annubias are very stable, in fact I have to trim them every 6 months.
Crypts are another hardy low light.

dick
>
>thanks for any advice or recomendations....
>
>-_JD
>

[Victor Martinez]

jd wrote:
> I've got a large tank set up (well, actually, I'm trying to set it up) as a
> community tank (south American). My problem is that the water here has a Ph
> of 7.8, and I can't get it to budge. I've tried puttng a bunch of the Ph
> lock type products in (all targetted at a Ph of 7.0), and it hasn't moevd a
> bit.

Why do you want a pH of 7.0?

--
Victor M. Martinez
Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM)
Send your spam here:
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[Cheryl Rogers]

Dick wrote:

> Are you sure Amazon swords are low light. My tanks are all low
> light. I recall I tried Amazon swords, but they died shortly.
> Annubias are very stable, in fact I have to trim them every 6 months.
> Crypts are another hardy low light.

Many times Amazon swords are grown emersed -- above the water -- because
they grow faster that way and can be turned around faster from the
growers to the store. Unfortunately, the normal routine for a sword
grown emersed that is suddenly submerged is to lose all its leaves and
grow new ones that are better suited to underwater photosynthesis. The
new leaves are shaped differently than the old leaves.

If the roots or rhizome is mushy and brown, the plant is dead.
otherwise, it might just start growing new leaves.