Re: Playing With Water - Low Ph
Pat,
They do blow on the peat looking for pellets and worms. I have some live black worms living in the sand/peat. The 4th discus in the tank (largest) is actually a male Heckel crossed that gets bullied by one of the wild all the time. He is usually pushed to the left side of the tank by this wild. Earlier this summer, I had some plan to play with these Heckel with some cobalt flora but that didn't work out (I found out I only have male cobalt). I still think these 3 heckle are all male.
I do add RO right to tank but not on every water change. There is another additives that I use (forgot the brand off the top my head) that is in liquid form. The EC was around 80 before I messed up my adjustment by using the wrong calibration fluid.
Re: Playing With Water - Low Ph
Pat,
If I remember correctly, it's this that I use.
http://brightwellaquatics.com/products/blackwatert.php
This may also be contributing to the low pH changes as well.
Re: Playing With Water - Low Ph
Quote:
Originally Posted by
DiscusOnly
Interesting Van, sounds like a mix of rooibos tea and Discus Essentials.
Pat
Re: Playing With Water - Low Ph
Nice wilds, DiscusOnly. How big is their tank, what do you feed them and what is theri wc regime?
Re: Playing With Water - Low Ph
So when I started this thread the ph in the Cuipeua tank was 7.18. It is now 6.57. :)
Pat
Re: Playing With Water - Low Ph
Pat,
Do you have decaying plant matter in the tank that might be contributing to the lowering pH, or do you think it is just the switch from tap mix to RO Right + discus essentials. If you are now using water prepared at 50 TDS for the Cuipeua tank, what TDS did you target with tap mix prior to this for that tank? I think it may have been 70ppm from another thread, but I'm not sure.
Re: Playing With Water - Low Ph
Hi Dan, just two large pieces of driftwood. The exclusion of tap is definitely responsible for the ph dropping. Remember I observed this in my altum tank first and that tank only has a bit of sand, a sponge filter and a AC 110. I am targeting a TDS of 50 in the WC water. The TDS in the tank is currently 76.
Pat
Re: Playing With Water - Low Ph
pat do you have a current vid of your previous batch of altums? wondering how those are turning out. and to me it looks like your previous batch of altums had longer fins and more red it seems.
Re: Playing With Water - Low Ph
Quote:
Originally Posted by
nikond70s
pat do you have a current vid of your previous batch of altums? wondering how those are turning out. and to me it looks like your previous batch of altums had longer fins and more red it seems.
nikond70s, the best way to compare the two batchs is with vids showing both batches at the same age. On the first batch I had company for the month of December and that stressed the first batch so badly they hide for three months. That really put the fish in a state of decline and the few I have left are culls.
Pat
Re: Playing With Water - Low Ph
Any updates on this Pat? How far did this method successfully lower ph?
Re: Playing With Water - Low Ph
Quote:
Originally Posted by
zchauvin
Any updates on this Pat? How far did this method successfully lower ph?
Works great Zach. The ph drifts slowly over time. You do need to weight your water changes with your ph drift. My water has more buffering capacity then yours I think.
Pat
Re: Playing With Water - Low Ph
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Second Hand Pat
Works great Zach. The ph drifts slowly over time. You do need to weight your water changes with your ph drift. My water has more buffering capacity then yours I think.
Pat
Are you using the powder form or liquid RO Right. I will be going pick these two up tomorrow to see how it helps.
Re: Playing With Water - Low Ph
Re: Playing With Water - Low Ph
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Second Hand Pat
Power form Zach.
Thank you Pat, my order is in. What Kh do you try to obtain to not have large fluctuations between water changes. With my kh so low right now using tap, my ph has ranged from 7.11 to 7.52 over a 24hr period.
Re: Playing With Water - Low Ph
Not sure Zach, I suggest you play with different ratios of RO and tap to determine a substrainable kh while maintaining your desired ph. A slow drift of the ph is ok which you will need to offset with water changes.
Pat