Creating soft water

I am going to be moving my ember tetras and axelrod rasboras and shrimp into my 15 gallon soon. I will have the sera external filter with uv. I wanted to lower the ph and hardness etc using a product but don't know which is the best. I was thinking tetra black water extract would be good or maybe sera super peat filter media. Obvisouly I would lower it slowly so maybe start dosing small amounts of tetra blackwater then when it is low enough I will put in the sera super peat. I want to lower it to around 6 - 6.5, my current out of the tap ph is between 7.5 - 8.2 and I think the tetras will benefit from a lower ph. I know people say don't lower it but I think it would really help with their health and colour. Does anyone have an opinion on how I should lower it?

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Permalink Reply by Peter on October 27, 2012 at 12:01pm

Don't use chemicals to lower it they only help lower it for a short period of time. Try adding driftwood or actual almond leaves or use r/o water or even rain water to lower your ph

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Permalink Reply by Mrcos1997 on October 27, 2012 at 12:27pm

I thought that. I am going to try and use r/o more from my lfs, and I have a massive piece of driftwood soaking at the moment and I have some almond leaves already, I'm getting some peat balls on ebay soon that apparently last up to a year, I might put the sera super peat in the filter though because it can only do good, thanks

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Permalink Reply by ŦůRbö ۰ Ҏяѻ ۰ on November 6, 2012 at 4:55pm

RO water has no buffers and will start off as 6.0 pH but once exposed to air; the air will change the pH to 7.0 - 8.0 depending on pollution and such. Test it for yourself. Get two buckets filled with ro water, cover one air tight and leave the other open. pH test them the next day. Note the results.

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Permalink Reply by ŦůRbö ۰ Ҏяѻ ۰ on November 6, 2012 at 4:49pm

Soft water has more to do with GH than pH. Typical home water softeners soften water using a technique known as "ion exchange''. That is, they remove calcium and magnesium ions by replacing them with sodium ions. Although this does technically make water softer, most fish won't notice the difference. That is, fish that prefer soft water don't like sodium either, and for them such water softeners don't help at all. Thus, home water softeners are not an appropriate way to soften water for aquarium use. Stores also sell "water softening pillows''. They use the same ion-exchange principle. One "recharges'' the pillow by soaking it in a salt water solution, then places it in the tank where the sodium ions are released into the water and replaced by calcium and magnesium ions. After a few hours or days, the pillow (along with the calcium and magnesium) is removed, and the pillow recharged. The pillows sold in stores are too small to work well in practice, and shouldn't be used in planted tanks (freshwater plants do not like salt). Peat moss softens water and reduces its hardness (GH). The most effective way to soften water via peat is to aerate water for 1-2 weeks in a bucket containing peat moss. For example, get a bucket, then, get a large quantity of peat (a gallon or more), boil it (so that it sinks), stuff it in a pillow case, and place it in the water bucket. Use an air pump to aerate it. In 1-2 weeks, the water will be softer and more acidic. Use this aged water when making partial water changes on your tank. Although some place peat in the filters of their tanks, the technique has a number of drawbacks. First, peat clogs easily, so adding peat isn't always effective; second, peat can be messy and may cloud the water in your tank. Third, the exact quantity of peat needed to effectively soften your water is difficult to estimate. Using the wrong amount will result in the wrong water chemistry. Finally, when doing water changes, your tank's chemistry changes when new water is added (it has the wrong properties). Over the next few days, the chemistry changes as the peat takes effect. Using aged water helps ensure that the chemistry of your tank doesn't fluctuate while doing water changes. Peat can be bought at pet shops, but it is expensive. It is much more cost-effective to buy it in bulk at a local gardening shop. Read labels carefully; you don't want to use peat containing fertilizers or other additives.