# Hey, its been a long time



## TigerBarb12 (Jan 7, 2007)

Hey everybody, its been a few years, but now I got my own place, no more mom tellin me what aquariums I cant have. I cant upload any pics right now, but heres the tank inhabitants 

38 gallon: 
6 Tiger Barbs
3 Zebra Danios
3 Pearl Danios
A dwarf gourami and a pleco

36 bowfront: 
5 Serpae tetra
5 Bloodfin tetra
a pleco

10 gallon: 
my girlfriends betta for now


One quick question, since its been a while since I've kept aquariums, I bought Ammonia and pH tests, and the ammonia in all my tanks is absent, so they are all good to go there, however, all the tanks have pH levels over 7.6, and I was wondering how I should go about lowering the pH in all my aquariums, the test tube should be at least slightly greenish to be around 6.8-7.5 but 7.6 and above comes out blue and they all came out obviously blue in the vial. By the way, could I be using too much conditioner to cause these pH levels to be so high?


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## TigerBarb12 (Jan 7, 2007)

I dont have internet, I'm at the library, but I have to go, if anyone can help me lower my pH levels, you can text me if you'd like (513)226-1714, I'd like to get these levels under control, thanks


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## Obsidian (May 20, 2007)

Well I am not apt to text you but when you get back to the library you can check this out. Ph can be lowered with peat moss in the filter and with wood in the tank. It will take a little bit but you want it to be a gradual lowering that will hold rather than a quick one that will swing.


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## Obsidian (May 20, 2007)

What does molly breeding experiments have to do with Ph? and989 you need to keep it on topic please.


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## Obsidian (May 20, 2007)

Sigh. If you are bored then don't alleviate it by making random posts. Keep on topic, answer questions, see if there is anyone in chat etc. Don't make random posts all over the boards.


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## TigerBarb12 (Jan 7, 2007)

So I'll just find some driftwood or something, boil and prepare it, and gradually lower my pH levels, thanks obsidian


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## TigerBarb12 (Jan 7, 2007)

Nevermind, I don't want to boil it, lol, I need the tannic acid to lower the pH, but I will soak it to eliminate debree


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## Obsidian (May 20, 2007)

Soak it some and scrub it to get the little pieces off. You might want to soak it long enough to waterlog it too, that way when you put it in the tank it will sink.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

who on gods green earth would want to live in milford ohio...where the heck is that anyhow...i have a friend in milford connecticut...
hi tb...welcome back...you live in ohio...your water should be pretty decent...i am in cleveland and our water comes out of the tap at 6.8-7.4 all the time...if anything it should go down a little after being in the tank....try stopping the conditioners and see what happens...just hose off the wood..dump it in the tank..


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## TigerBarb12 (Jan 7, 2007)

haha, it's near cincinnati, I've been soakin it and washin it in the tub, still a lot of debree and pieces coming off


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## TigerBarb12 (Jan 7, 2007)

Well, got both pieces of driftwood fully prepared and in the tanks, posted some pics in a pic thread, i think they look good, best my 38g has ever looked, guess being 19 beats the old 15 year old that didn't know anything haha


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Why do you want to lower it? The barbs, bettas, and platys will like it high.


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## TigerBarb12 (Jan 7, 2007)

no, the 38g has 6 tiger barbs, 6 danios, a gourami and a pleco. The reason I want it lowered is because the tests I have, any reading over 7.6 comes out blue, so I dont know how high it is exactly, I'm tryin to simply get the sample to look greenish, just slightly, even 7.5 is ok


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## MagPie (Mar 2, 2012)

I actually just put in some mopani wood for my tank on Feb 22nd. My tap water is both hard and high PH. I don't have a test kit for hardness but my PH was reading 8.2 and today it is reading 7.8. So it's a little bit of a wait but the wood does add a nice touch to my tank.

Another option (which people says works better) is mix your tap water with RO water. You'd have to make sure you mix it the same way each time and that the change is slow. So it's a bit tricker than sticking wood or peat moss in there.


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## TigerBarb12 (Jan 7, 2007)

Okay, the pieces of driftwood have been in the tanks for 2 days now, and my pH is still reading over 7.6. If the wood is helping, my pH has to be over 8. By the way, where did you get a pH test that reads 8.2, mine measures between 6 and 7.6? Also, is it possible that the test solution is stale and expired? My ammonia test solutions both say they expire in december of 2016, but maybe the pH solution is expired? Or maybe I'm being impatient lol


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

you are older now...time to learn how to be patient weedhopper.....lol
go to the dollar store and buy a pair of pantyhose or knee highs...then go to the garden center and buy some untreated milled sphagnum moss..
cut a section of the hose and put some moss in it and place in your filter...that will gradually and naturally reduce your PH...


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

API makes a test called "High-Range pH". It is usually included in the API Freshwater Master Test Kit.

http://www.amazon.com/API-FRESHWATER-MASTER-TEST-KIT/dp/B000255NCI


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## TigerBarb12 (Jan 7, 2007)

Oh ok, petsmart wants $29 for it, which I cannot afford right now, but thanks. And I'll have to run to the garden center and see if they have any, since I refuse to buy a pH correction product, don't trust any of those products, unnatural, drastic and hastened changes like that aren't good for aquariums, lol, but thank you for the info, I'm gonna look around near my house for a garden store


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## TigerBarb12 (Jan 7, 2007)

One more thing, I tested the pH of the water coming from the tap, and it still came out blue, and the fish store tested it with a wide range at 7.8, so the tap has a high pH too


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## MagPie (Mar 2, 2012)

Aaah someone beat me to it  but I did get my API high range PH test with the fresh water master kit. Hahaha but yes patient is the key, it took a good couple of weeks to go from 8.2 to 7.8 ... which is fine with me. Don't want to make drastic changes on the fish.


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