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Re: Hydrochloric Acid or Another way of Lowering pH

Marky,

If you told me that you added peat, pH down or CO2 to your tank 
(hopefully not all at once) and it moved the pH by only .1, I'd say 
you have another problem.  Your KH is way too high (high 10's, maybe 
even 20's?). Peat should have fixed it eventually, but it would have 
taken time, and it depends on your change water and gravel. I had
this problem a while back, and it turned out that my gravel had
bits of limestone in it.

Check your pH kit first...if it's alright, check your gravel and 
ornaments for anything that has limestone or other "chemically-active" 
rocks.  You can test gravel with vinegar.  Measure your aquarium water 
and your tap water with a KH kit. If your aquarium water has a higher 
KH, you need to make more frequent water changes and/or replace the 
offending gravel and ornaments. You could add muriatic acid to kill 
the KH, but you'd be fighting an uphill battle against your change water 
and your gravel.  

In the end, a pH of 7.4 isn't so bad.  The only fish I wouldn't 
be comfortable with at 7.4 are wild-caught Apistos, and for those it 
wouldn't be the pH so much as the osmotic pressure of the hard water.  

My tapwater came out (in my old apartment) at 10 and slowly settled back 
down to 7.5 as it re-absorbed CO2 to atmospheric levels.  Because it was 
hard water, I never really had to test the pH...I *knew* it was going to 
be 7.5 (7.2 when I added DIY CO2).  Some people on this and other lists 
have mentioned in the past having problems keeping their pH from crashing 
to 5 or below with soft (near 0 KH) water.  Harder water has its benefits.

Carlos E. Munoz
Austin, TX
<cmunoz at crystal_cirrus.com>

>>>>> <MarkyTkd at aol_com> (here: "MT"),
>>>>> on Thu, 17 Sep 1998 03:48:01 -0400 (EDT),
>>>>> pondered the meaning of life, then wrote down:

    MT> I remembered that someone had mentioned using Muratic (Hydrochloric 
    MT> Acid) to lower pH. I believe it was Wright. Where do I get this acid 
    MT> and how to I add it? I have tried peat, pH down, CO2 injection, adding
    MT> about 10 gallons of RO water to my 100 gallon tank (making it 90 
    MT> gallons of tap water and 10 gallons of RO water), and none have worked.
    MT> I might see a drop of .1 or so but by the next day, it is gone. I have
    MT> a pH of 7.4 and I need it around 6.8. My fish start losing color when
    MT> the water is alkaline. Does anyone have a way of lowering pH? 

    MT> Mark