Help PLEASE!! PH to high

[talsfishies]

HI all i'm a newbie here,
I have just started to keep discus, i have been breeding cichlids for years, but decided to try something new.
I live in Brisbane, i've found the PH levels to be to high, what is the cheapest and easiest way to keep it down, at present i am using Seachem liquid discus buffer, and it takes a 500ml bottle to do one water change..
Please can anyone help or give advice
all comments are greatly appreciated

Thank you for time.

[jim from sydney]

HI all i'm a newbie here,
I have just started to keep discus, i have been breeding cichlids for years, but decided to try something new.
I live in Brisbane, i've found the PH levels to be to high, what is the cheapest and easiest way to keep it down, at present i am using Seachem liquid discus buffer, and it takes a 500ml bottle to do one water change..
Please can anyone help or give advice
all comments are greatly appreciated

Thank you for time.

Welcome Pal.....better to give us some numbers i.e. the water parameters that you have, that way it is easier to advice...thanks

[DR.V]

What is your pH ??

Peat moss and some driftwood in the tank can help reduce pH.

HTH

[Nathan]

i think peat may be your best option if your lookn for a cheap one

[FishLover]

Seachem discus buffer powder is cheap enough for me. Cheaper than peat for sure.

I can get the powder for about $15 a kg, which can treat about 1400 g of water. That should last me about 5 months. $3 a month is nothing compare to the peat I used to go through.

[taksan]

HI all i'm a newbie here,
I have just started to keep discus, i have been breeding cichlids for years, but decided to try something new.
I live in Brisbane, i've found the PH levels to be to high, what is the cheapest and easiest way to keep it down, at present i am using Seachem liquid discus buffer, and it takes a 500ml bottle to do one water change..
Please can anyone help or give advice
all comments are greatly appreciated

Thank you for time.


What do you call too high? Give us levels !
Perhaps its your substrate thats raising the PH?
Do you have any rocks in there?

[talsfishies]

Seachem discus buffer powder is cheap enough for me. Cheaper than peat for sure.

I can get the powder for about $15 a kg, which can treat about 1400 g of water. That should last me about 5 months. $3 a month is nothing compare to the peat I used to go through.

Where on earth do you get it that cheap? Seachem discus buffer powder costs me $39 for 500g and it takes 250g just for one water change and i want to change water 3 times a week (is that the best thing to do?)

My Ph is 8, my water is very hard. I have no rocks in the tanks, just normal gravel on the bottom, in one tank i have plants and Co2 to keep the plants happy and healthy, which helps keep the ph down in that tank. Is that ok for a breeding tank, is it it best to be bare?

[FishLover]

e-Bay, As a matter of the fact, I just bought 1kg few days back and it arrived today. I think there are still 5 kgs abaliable on E-Bay from the same saller. Go check it out. It sells at $7.99 per kg and S&H cost is about $8. They only ship to USA address.

I don't know where are you located. I'm in USA.

You may want to check your gravel to see if it is inert or not. If not, it will increase your pH for sure.

Why do you use so much Discus Buffer powder for WC? 7g could treat 10 gallons of water. Are you using 350 gallons of water per W/C? Something does not sound right. My water is 8.3 and I only have to use about 7 g per 10 gallon to bring it down to 6.8. Are you talking about the powder or liquid?

[samir]

whats the kh

[taksan]

Brisbane water is much softer then that I'd bet its your gravel.

[talsfishies]

the water straight out of the tap has a Ph of 8 i have tested it.
My KH is 4-5 after using the discus buffer

Im in Australia so unfortunately i can't get the discus buffer from email, thanks for your help though, i'll have a look see if anyone does it cheaper here.

[taksan]

Forget Discus Buffer use Netrual Regulator power @ 1 teaspoon per 40 litres.
It will drop your PH to 7 and also act as a normal tap water conditioner.
A 4kg bucket of Netrual Reg runs about $150 though reputable mail order places like APW. You don't need to run it lower the 7 anyway for discus so this solution will easily save you time and money.
If its coming out of the tap at 8 then I'd be calling your water company as you have a problem in your pipes.

[RichVic]

I'm in Rural Victoria and our water ph fluctuates with seasons - not sure why this would be? We have 'town" water plumbed to the house, but It comes out of the river - originally. It has come out of the tap here close to 8 on the digital tester and then dropped to 7.2 over 48hrs in the Water ageing drum. Other times it comes out at 7 and stays there!
I've developed a habit of testing it before I do w/c and adjusting a bit with a
miracle leaf teabag, when higher than 6.8

[FishLover]

Here is some interesting reading about Soft, alkaline water. Maybe that's your case? In that case, you may not need to use Discus Buffer. Age your water for a period will drop the pH down.

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/blog.php?blogid=41