Kanata water & plants

[RoxyDog]

Hello all!  I have a question for all you plant people out there.  
I'm running a tank at about 1.3 wpg, have well stocked fish, a crypt, tiny java fern, ambulia and vals.  I wondered if I need to know anything specific about Kanata water and do I have to dose anything accordingly?  Also, does anyone know where I can find some decent sized java fern, I've checked the stores around here to no avail.  Thanks!

[darkdep]

Hi Roxy, I live in Kanata too.  The water here is pretty high in pH (7.8 for me out of the tap) but otherwise is pretty decent.  I add Baking Soda and Epsom Salts to my water to raise the ph and add  hardness (about 1 teaspoon each per 5gal).

[TBarb]

Hi Roxy, I live in Kanata too.  The water here is pretty high in pH (7.8 for me out of the tap) but otherwise is pretty decent.  I add Baking Soda and Epsom Salts to my water to raise the ph and add  hardness (about 1 teaspoon each per 5gal).

What can you add to lower PH? I think most of us (non-Cichlid owners) want a neutral PH?

[blueturq]

What can you add to lower PH? I think most of us (non-Cichlid owners) want a neutral PH?

Driftwood works.  So does Peat.

[RoxyDog]

for me, out of the tap it is also 7.8 ph but is about 7.4 in the tank, and all the fish are happy and healthy (gouramis, platys, mollies, pleco, ottos).  
in years past I worried about keeping the ph neutral, but this is the healthiest tank I've ever had so I don't touch it!  
I recently added driftwood for the pleco and it actually had no effect on my ph.  strange or maybe it takes a long time to change?

[BigDaddy]

Hi Roxy, I live in Kanata too.  The water here is pretty high in pH (7.8 for me out of the tap) but otherwise is pretty decent.  I add Baking Soda and Epsom Salts to my water to raise the ph and add  hardness (about 1 teaspoon each per 5gal).

What can you add to lower PH? I think most of us (non-Cichlid owners) want a neutral PH?

Having a neutral pH is not a requirement.  In fact, you are more likely to kill fish attempting to modify the pH than you would if you left it alone.

Don't attempt to adjust your pH unless you NEED to (i.e. spawning fish that like low pH, etc...)  Most of the fish people commonly keep are very tolerant of a large range of pH values.

Don't work against your pH... work WITH it.

[rockgarden]

I've had no problem with Kanata water straight from the tap (I age it for two days before using) and the discus and tetras that like lower pH are all surviving quite well.  The pH will tend to drop into the 6 to 7 range as the tank matures if you have any kind of wood in the tank (mopani adds more tannin than local drift wood but effect is similar).

[darkdep]

I agree with BigDaddy...stable pH is way more important than the perfect pH.  Most fish will adapt.  

I didn't touch my water params for over a year, I only recently started experimenting with the BS/ES combo.  It has had an effect (breeding, in my case) but not a major one.