# A little test for lowering Ph



## JasonPolen (Dec 26, 2013)

:idea:So, its winter. Unfortunately i haven't been able to get a hold of any peat. But, i do have a few bags of dried Spanish moss, meant for frogs. I've scoured 4 pages of google, and all the threads are the same, people trying the Spanish moss they find in there yard, not the already dried stuff. _Will it lower my Ph? How long tell it rots?_ I've already got a bag of it in my sump, just looking for a heads up before something happens. Thanks a lot guys!
:fish:


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

It should last for several days before starting to rot or have any effect.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

By the way, if you replace some tank water with distilled water, you'll remove the alkalinity that keeps the pH high, which will lower it much quicker.


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## JasonPolen (Dec 26, 2013)

TheOldSalt said:


> By the way, if you replace some tank water with distilled water, you'll remove the alkalinity that keeps the pH high, which will lower it much quicker.


I can do that! thanks!


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

go to ebay and buy some Jiffy 7 peat pellets.....
http://www.ebay.com/itm/25mm-Diamet...4235287?pt=US_Hydroponics&hash=item3ccc37a017


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## JasonPolen (Dec 26, 2013)

lohachata said:


> go to ebay and buy some Jiffy 7 peat pellets.....
> http://www.ebay.com/itm/25mm-Diamet...4235287?pt=US_Hydroponics&hash=item3ccc37a017


I've tried those before, unfortunately my parents will not let me order things online anymore, apparently asking them to deposit my money in their account once every three months is just far too much to ask. I'm also trying to go for what I have lying around, my tarantulas love Spanish moss, but the bags of it last forever.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

you can buy milled peat at your local garden center or even home depot..

or......................run outside and grab up a bunch of dried oak leaves....we use them all of the time...grab a bunch...let them air so they will dry completely...then put them in a trash bag...they will provide food for tiny fish as well as cover and water softening and PH lowering qualities.....
and the best part............they are FREE.......


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## JasonPolen (Dec 26, 2013)

lohachata said:


> you can buy milled peat at your local garden center or even home depot..
> 
> or......................run outside and grab up a bunch of dried oak leaves....we use them all of the time...grab a bunch...let them air so they will dry completely...then put them in a trash bag...they will provide food for tiny fish as well as cover and water softening and PH lowering qualities.....
> and the best part............they are FREE.......


That's what I've done for years; however, I'm not in NorCal any more, and currently its 12 degrees outside without leaf in sight D: 
But, ill head on down to the garden center and see. Last time I looked they had 4 types of miracle grow and a cart of plastic cups, this town is a dump.


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## blindkiller85 (Jan 8, 2011)

JasonPolen said:


> I've tried those before, unfortunately my parents will not let me order things online anymore, apparently asking them to deposit my money in their account once every three months is just far too much to ask. I'm also trying to go for what I have lying around, my tarantulas love Spanish moss, but the bags of it last forever.


Watch that, having the anger and resent for them leads to a lot of problems. Believe me I know, I'm to stubborn to listen to what even I know is best, but what my heart feels and my mind is set against.


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## JasonPolen (Dec 26, 2013)

So, in 12 hours, 5in^2 of dried spanish moss dropped my Ph from a solid 8 to 5.5 Quite a jump! this is low, but i am happy with the speed of change. Tank is 30g by the way.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

WHAT? Never change your pH that much that fast, unless there are no fish in it. They can't often survive that much of a change in so short a time.


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## Guest (Jan 1, 2014)

It is always best to lower pH slowly because it can kill fish if it drops too quickly. Like with clown loaches, pH needs to change slowly otherwise it will kill them because it is a drastic change and clown loaches are not used to drastic changes in water conditions.


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## Ice (Sep 25, 2006)

Whoa! That was too fast!


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## JasonPolen (Dec 26, 2013)

TheOldSalt said:


> WHAT? Never change your pH that much that fast, unless there are no fish in it. They can't often survive that much of a change in so short a time.





Angelclown said:


> It is always best to lower pH slowly because it can kill fish if it drops too quickly. Like with clown loaches, pH needs to change slowly otherwise it will kill them because it is a drastic change and clown loaches are not used to drastic changes in water conditions.





Ice said:


> Whoa! That was too fast!


Sorry guys, this was in a tank full of sand and water! Only thing alive in there were the bacteria and one lonely java fern. but once i removed the peat i tested the water again (six hours after removal) an it read as a Ph of 7.5
Not sure why it would come back up.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Oh. Whew!
It came back up because water has an ability, called "alkalinity" to bounce back after pH drops. This is where the distilled water comes in, you see. It has zero alkalinity, so mixing it in lowers the overall ALK and lets the pH drop and stay dropped.


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## JasonPolen (Dec 26, 2013)

TheOldSalt said:


> Oh. Whew!
> It came back up because water has an ability, called "alkalinity" to bounce back after pH drops. This is where the distilled water comes in, you see. It has zero alkalinity, so mixing it in lowers the overall ALK and lets the pH drop and stay dropped.


Well that makes sense, sadly I don't really live near town, and the recent bout of storms has left me relatively stranded. I'll get that water eventually! thanks!


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