Hi everybody! I have a tank with two discus and some angel fish, because of this I have to control the Ph level bu as a new person on this I couldn´t find something to reduce the P.h level. I have tryed the circus buffer, and the Api Ph down put they didn´t work, could you suggest me something to reduce the ph?

Thanks!

Since your goal here is to keep discus, you need to ignore the pH and get yourself a conductivity meter- which will actually tell you whether or not your water is at appropriate hardness for discus. Many, many things can influence pH readings. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...fm?pcatid=4485

If possible, also speak with the breeder of your discus to see what parameters they are used to.

You may need to invest in an Reverse Osmosis unit if your water is too hard.

I do not recommend using pH altering chemcials, as it is extremely difficult to maintain water parameter stability over time using these, especially with the weekly water changes you need with discus.

Discus and other soft water fish are really looking for the right mineral levels. The pH is secondary.

If you can test the GH, KH and TDS of the water then we can make more suggestions.

GH is General Hardness. It is a measure of calcium and magnesium. In the natural water of Discus and many other fish the GH is very low, and keeping them in an aquarium the GH should be not more than about 3 German degrees of hardness.

KH is a measure of carbonate hardness. If the KH is high then the pH tends to be high, and difficult to change. If the KH is low then the pH will be controlled by something else in the water, and can usually be easily changed. When keeping soft water fish the KH also should be quite low.

TDS is total dissolved solids. It is measured with a meter that usually reports the amount of all sorts of things in the water as if all the things were salt. More salt = the water conducts electicity easier. More stuff (minerals, salts) in the water and it will conduct electricity better, so the TDS meter reads higher.

The natural water that Discus and many other fish come from is almost pure rain water. So much rain falls that any minerals dissolved in the water are greatly diluted.
The rain falls through the trees and runs through the fallen leaves and decaying matter in the rain forest. It picks up organic acids from the plants, so the pH is usually quite low.

Here is how I make this sort of water:
Reverse Osmosis systems take out about 99% of everything in the water.
Then I add just a little bit of tap water back to the RO water so there is the very small amount of minerals these fish need.
The GH and KH of the water ends up at about 2 degrees.
Then I keep a stocking full of peat moss in the garbage can where I mix the water, and pump the water through the peat moss. A knee-hi stocking of peat moss is fine for 20-40 gallons of water and can be used several times.

The end result is
GH- 1-2 German degrees of hardness.
KH- 1-2 German degrees of hardness. It could drop even lower and that is OK. There are substrates out there that will remove the KH from the water.
pH between 6- 6.5, the actual number is not critical. If all the KH is removed the pH drops to the high 5s. Hobby test kits do not go this low.
I did not have a TDS meter when I was making this sort of water, but I think the TDS would have been about 100.

Thank´s for your help!

what is the ph of your water that you are wanting to lower it? most discus and angels that are tank bred are more than fine in normal tap water even if the ph is 8.0 and up.

unless your discus are wilds u prob dont need to worry about it id be more worried about how often u do wc

+1000 squared, discus don't care about ph as long as its steady and the water is changed regularly