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Re: Reducing pH
> Date: Fri, 22 Sep 2000 20:43:38 -0600
> From: "Mortimer Snerd" <mortimersnerd at uswest_net>
> Subject: Reducing pH
>
> All,
>
> Well, I've gotten moved in, and the tank is back up and running again, but
> I'm having a bit of a pH problem. My pH is running over 7.4 for certian,
> and my CO2 controller is saying its at 8.4, but it may be on the fritz. I'm
> running about 15 ppm CO2, and have about 6 degrees kH. I'm wondering what I
> can do to get my pH down, and what could be causing the problem in the first
> place. Any help is much appreciated!
>
> Thanks,
> Justin Collins
>
I don't understand what you are asking, Justin. If you *know* the CO2 is at
15ppm, why do you care what the pH is? Mostly, we need to measure it, in
planted tanks, to combine it with the KH reading, the previous
(pre-injection) pH, and the charts to *determine* the actual CO2 level.
Most US domestic water is being treated with some form of pH-raising
chemical to reduce the amount of lead and copper in the water as delivered.
The exact one used seems to vary, and the persistence of the high pH (often
as high as 8) seems variable, too. Is that your "problem?"
The fish and plants don't care. All it means to us is that ammonia can be a
problem if our plants aren't using all of it and there is *no* biological
filtration. If you keep ammonia/ammonium at unmeasurable levels, you can
usually ignore pH.
If you are trying to use a controller with a dirty probe, my confusion
expands. How did you determine that you have 15ppm of CO2? Maybe that would
reduce my perplexity. Then maybe I could figure why on earth *you* want to
reduce your pH. ;-)
Wright
PS. I have frequently bred Aphyos, Apistos, Angels, and even Neon Tetras in
water with pH well above 7.5, so save those flames for others. OK?
--
Wright Huntley, Fremont CA, USA, 510 494-8679 huntleyone at home dot com
If it ain't broke, don't fix it -- and, especially,
don't let politicians fix it. ... Thomas Sowell
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