Lowering ph

[KLKelly]

my ph has jumped - now its at least 8.3/8.4 (tanks normally stable at 8.1).  I did look into lowering ph last year but decided not to touch it.  I cart city water for my 10 gallon rainbow tanks instead.

I'm on a well.  Water is trickled for 24 hours before water changes.  Ph now at 8.3/8.4+
Ammonia of .25 out of the tap - in the winter this jumped to .50.
kh of my well water is 14 - so lots of buffer there grrr.

For any of you that have tried or researched this - how quickly would peat moss affect ph?  If its recommended - where would you buy it? And how much would you pt in the tank?

I've also read about acid treatments but this scared the hell out of me.

(I had to start a 10G QT tank and have to use antibiotics.  Since I can't keep it cycled.. the combo of high ph and ammonia right off the bat is bad.  I might have to cart city water for the QT tank).

[BigDaddy]

It is much easier to make soft water hard than hard water soft.

So, I am assuming you want a lower pH for your QT tank so that any ammonia you introduce via waterchanges will have the least impact on your fish until the biofilter can deal with it?

[kennyman]

I have found peat does little for ph with respect to my well water. I am sure it has added tanic acid to the tank but not enough that all the calcium and magnesium cant keep the ph way up there. Getting the buffer down is the only way I can see to achieve a lower ph and to do that you need to remove Ca and Mg.

I tried a product that converts Ca into CO2 but I think I messed with my Ca:Mg ratio and ended up creating a mess with nutrient uptake in my plants. Even without plants I don't know that it is really worth the hassle. I have also read about someone dripping vinegar for this but thats not someting I can recommend as I don't fully understand it.

For ph reference that you asked about I filled the media basket of my canister filter with 2" of saturated peatmoss in the form of peat pellets from Canadian tire's garden centre. About 10 of them. I used the pellets because the chopped peat is wrapped in mesh to keep it from floating around making a mess. As I said it seems to have had NO effect on my ph of 8.3

[KLKelly]

Good to know.

I'm using maracyn plus so the biofilter won't be in place. After the treatment I'll put in carbon and put in cycled media.  That is the reason why I was asking - I was worried about the ammonia toxicity with high ph - no bacteria to convert it.  I think switching to city water for the QT tank is my only option.

I wonder why the ph changed?  Ammonia increased in the winter but why a change in ph in July?  Some sites are like reading a foreign language when they explain the relationship with ph and all the variables.

Muratic acid was recommended to me last year.  Just doesn't sound fish friendly.

[charlie]

I was worried about the ammonia toxicity with high ph - no bacteria to convert it

Karrie have you thought about using Prime water conditioner.
http://seachem.com/products/product_pages/Prime.html
Regards

[BigDaddy]

I would agree with charlie.  Prime would be a cheaper alternative to transporting city water all the time, and will neutralize the ammonia until your filter can deal with it.

Buffers are an expensive short term solution.