How to reduce pH without CO2 injection for CRS tank?

[williamng]

Hi

My current ph is 7.0. Is there other way to reduce ph to 6.0-6.5 without co2 injection? I intend to keep CRS. Thanks

[leeruisheng]

You could use ADA soil or pH down solution. Not pretty sure if the pH down solution have any harmful effects on the crs. Majority will go for ADA soil based.

[Shadow]

put some drift wood or ketapang leaves

[jiahe88]

i think there another soluation is putting sera peek. i don't know i got spell wrong anot.

[leeruisheng]

It's Sera peat. ya these are alternatives but ketapang leaves and peat extract will brown your water.

[jiahe88]

oh i see. . what if have everything but without chiller but replace a fan okie for CRS?

[Puffer]

Hi

My current ph is 7.0. Is there other way to reduce ph to 6.0-6.5 without co2 injection? I intend to keep CRS. Thanks

IMO, to make your water slightly acidic, the most reliable way is to have good substrate base i.e. ADA soil, Mr Aqua etc. Adding peats not just make your water tainted, you have to also watch out for drastic drop in ph after prolonged use. Adding liquid ph down is a no-no for me cos you have to faithfully making drops to make the right ph & crs and other creatures down there would not like it. A change in 0.1 in ph measurement means alot to them.

[Puffer]

oh i see. . what if have everything but without chiller but replace a fan okie for CRS?

I feel it's ok, at least to me. However, the disadvantages of having fan are noise and constant topping up of water, unlike chiller.

[Aquaculture]

I agree that topping up of the water is really a burden! Does anybody how much much would the electriciy bill be if a chiller is set to kick off at 25 degrees?

My other concern is the heat generated by the chiller. Heard that it is so hot that the whole room other than the tank can feel the heat... is this true?

[zenscape]

There was a detailed calculation on PUB bill for chiller somewhere. It all depends on the brands, the cut in and off temperature, the ambient room temperature, the kicking on timing, light heat etc. For example, different brands of chiller will have different timing to cool down the same temp in the same volume of tank. It is the kicking-in that cost $ and it depends how long it runs before it reached the kick off temp. By saying only the desired temp will not help in the calculation.

I have a 4ft running with arctica chiller in my living room, unless you come close to the chiller and feel the warm air at your feet, generally, we dont feel anything. The room air is large enough will cool down any warm air from the chiller.

Back to the thread starter's topic. To lower PH, use moderate amount of Peat in your filter and monitor the PH level in the tank for a couple of days,to add or reduce. Wash the peat before you do so to avoid browning of water. On the other hand, commercial LFS peat seldom creates brown water issues unless your tank is small and you put in large amount in your tank.

[sunnydaze]

I am using Lapis sand in my 80cm tank and have tried lowering PH without CO2 with limited success. You see, most peat derivatives will color the water by the time your desire PH is reached. Your best bet will be ADA soil.

[PLee]

i use ADA soil for both my tanks and the PH is at a constant 6.2 after 3 to 4 months of usage. It serve me pretty well and I am happy

[ranmasatome]

isn't there some kind of orange coloured jelly like substance that can be used in CRS tanks to lower ph?? i may be wrong but i remember seeing it some time back in the stores.

[skysky]

isn't there some kind of orange coloured jelly like substance that can be used in CRS tanks to lower ph?? i may be wrong but i remember seeing it some time back in the stores.

oh really ? what is that...i would hate to rescape my whole tank with ADA...

[leeruisheng]

I've only seen those blue jelly balls in crs tank but thats for oxygen purpose i think.