Portland water?

[B192734]

Hello everyone. Question:

If you live in Portland, how do you keep your PH lowered? I'm in Southwest, and the water that comes out of my tap is pretty high. I looked it up, and they say that Portland tries to keep its water around 7.8 or so to keep from corroding pipes. I know it's to high, and my entire tank would do better having it lower, but I didn't know if there was a way to deal with it, without continually buying supplements to lower it. Most say not to use with plants, anyway. So any thoughts would be greatly appreciated! Thanks, and everyone have a great rest of their day!

[brainwavepc.com]

I use tap ph with all my tanks no problem. My planted 125 grows great. Remember that co2 injection will lower ph as will wood in the tank so it helps to have a higher ph because it will level out. Mine stays stable around 7.2 after a few hours of doing a water change

[jkan0228]

In my shrimp tank it stays at 5.5-6 because of the Manzanita and Fluval Plant Stratum. You can use peat moss to lower your ph.

[B192734]

So if I were to use peat moss, do you put it in the filter, or just bound up in the tank? I think I'll try getting some wood to put in as well. I need a few more plants in there as it is, so just another stop at the store is in order I believe. I'll see what happens. I just need to get the PH down a bit to get some better growth and everything.

[jkan0228]

You would put the peat in the filter.

[B192734]

So if I go out and grab a few pieces of driftwood from around the area, I assume they would need to be soaked and boiled a bit first to get them to sink?

And with the peat moss, if I put a cupful or so in a cheesecloth bag in the filter that should help? I assume it will also darken the water somewhat? And can I have it in the filter with carbon, or is that a no-no?

Thanks for the help by the way!

[jkan0228]

Personally, I would get some Manzanita driftwood from sellers here on the forum. I got mine from Plantbrain(Tom Barr), a powerseller. Both shipping and the wood are very cheap considering on what you get. If you're not happy with what you get, he keeps on helping you. Here is his current thread. If you look at my 11.4G Mr. Aqua, you'll see the manzy I got from him.

If you already have manzanita in your tank, it will buffer your water, so you won't need peat moss. However, eventually your manzanita will stop buffering your water so you could then add peat moss if you didn't have anything else buffering your water. I haven't used peat so I don't know how it'll affect the color of your water. With the amount of peat, I'm not sure but you can start in a small amount and slowly add more every few days while monitoring your ph. Adjust accordingly to achieve your desired ph. I'm sure the cheesecloth bag should work, or you can use a media bag which should be sold at your local LFS.

In a planted tank, I wouldn't use carbon because it will strip your nutrients out of the water.

[B192734]

So I went and cleaned out my filter yesterday, and took the carbon bag out. Had never heard that before, so we'll see how that works. I am going to look into getting some wood first. The manzanita looks really good, just a bit $$. So we'll see what I can find. I may also look into a CO2 system, since I'm not actually injecting any right at the moment. That would probably help to lower it a little.

I just have a horrible time getting much to grow. I have 3-4 large Anubias right now that have all come from the same plant, but everything else slowly just melts away. Amazon swords, grass, moss, nothing but algae. So I am at the point of trying many different things to figure out how to keep things growing.

Thanks for any and all the help!

[jkan0228]

Trust me, the extra money is worth it.

What are your parameters? Light? Ferts? CO2 will help. But they are very expensive initially. But eventually in the long run, pressurized is cheaper. And just think about all the time you spend making the DIY CO2.

[B192734]

I have an old homebrewing co2 canister, but I don't think that the regulator will allow the pressure to get low enough.

Lights, I have a CF 65w, and a CF 75w on it for about 12 hours each day. I am not dosing anything right now, but I am headed to the store today to grab ferts, so that's done. Water is pretty good though. I do use the cheap tests once a week, and change a couple of gallons out each week, so those params are good. Just want to get that PH down. Overall the tank is healthy, but I think it's currently not THRIVING. That's my aim.

[jkan0228]

What are the dimensions of the tank?

[B192734]

Sorry, It's a 37g. I'm not 100% sure of the actual dimensions, but I believe it's about 30X12X22 or so. Standard style of tank, so they should be close on the size.

[jkan0228]

I would say reduce your lighting to about 8-9hrs. And maybe have an hour of no lights in between. Get a real CO2 system and your set to go. What ferts do you plan on using?

[B192734]

So you think it may be getting too much light? Ferts, I'm not sure. I'm doing a little research right now to see what looks like the best option, then pick it up later on today. Assuming they have it in stock, otherwise it's internet ordering time! How hard are the pressurized co2 systems to set up and take care of?

[jkan0228]

Reducing your lighting period will always help with algae. Maybe even raise the lights up a bit to reduce intensity. With gets I would dose PPS-Pro or EI. And dry ferts are much cheaper than the ones say from seachem. They're the same thing but seachem is basically a diluted form.

With CO2 you could buy a system from Green Lead Aquariums. But the initial cost of those is pretty high, 300-400$ but they are the top of the line. Great customer service. You won't be disappointed. Easy to setup.