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Thread: Lowering the pH

  1. #11
    Members aquaarche's Avatar
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    Re: Lowering the pH

    well I am not sure. the plastic drums are supposed to be clean there is no smell to them. There was one that I had it did have a smell of fabric softener so I didn't use it. but the rest cleaned up well and no smell or taste from the drums that I can tell.

    you know I haven't lost a single fish all the fish are fat and healthy no diseases. the pH test kit I have I bought from a pet store for checking the pH in your fish tank. 5cc water add 7 drops and the blue color chart tells you the pH. when I did it the day I changed the rock it was 7 to 7.5 two days later 9

    It may be to sometime is takes a while for the whole system to stabilized and seeing I just changed the rock it could take a while before the whole thing come down again.

    if it wont come down by the end of December. I could remove the rock and put a plastic sheeting liner in it and try again. if that doesn't work I give up on using barrels. and try making everything from other materials I know for sure are not contaminated.

  2. #12
    Moderator badflash's Avatar
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    Re: Lowering the pH

    It isn't the barrels. Set up another barrel with no rock and circulate water as if you were going to grow plants and test the water, then move some of that rock over and see what happens. I put 5 pounds of coral gravel in a 1000 gallon system and the pH went to 8 in 24 hours.
    The best fertilizer is the farmer's shadow

  3. #13
    Members aquaarche's Avatar
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    Re: Lowering the pH

    all the new rock is from a river in the mountains, no coral there.

    no dead fish.

    it came down to around 8.5 yesterday which is better than nine.

  4. #14
    Members aquaarche's Avatar
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    Re: Lowering the pH

    hey everyone,

    If you didn't know Travis Hughey has a web page with 10's of thousands of pages of info on all sorts of stuff to do with Aquaculture, Aquaponics and more. under the technology button he has all sorts of info on how to buffer your water, change pH and hardness. there is a vast resource there.

    here is the link. I have found it helpful and I know you will too.

    http://www.fastonline.org/content/section/4/29/

  5. #15
    Members aquaarche's Avatar
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    Re: Lowering the pH

    well we discovered the problem.

    It was our deep well water though it tested 7pH it was had a high kH and gH which when mixed with the nitrates it shot the pH up to 9. the minerals dissolved in the water was 568ppm which means our deep well is liquid rock.

    in an attempt to lower the pH I added Muriatic acid and it worked. but I didn't check the pH and added another cup 24 hours later and killed the fish. only one cup was need apparently. I took 60% of the water out replaced it with rain water and no chlor treated tap water. bought new fish the pH has remained at 7. and all my new plants are doing well.

    Thanks for all your help

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