Path: utzoo!hoptoad!amdcad!pyramid!lll-winken!ubvax!unisv!vanpelt From: vanpelt@unisv.UUCP (Mike Van Pelt) Newsgroups: alt.aquaria Subject: Re: Lowering pH Message-ID: <349@unisv.UUCP> Date: 10 May 88 20:52:35 GMT References: <317@unisv.UUCP> <28007@yale-celray.yale.UUCP> <334@unisv.UUCP> <28712@yale-celray.yale.UUCP> Reply-To: vanpelt@unisv.UUCP (Mike Van Pelt) Organization: Unisys Silicon Valley, San Jose, CA Lines: 19 In article <28712@yale-celray.yale.UUCP> Ram-Ashwin@cs.yale.edu (Ashwin Ram) writes: >Does your pH tend to rise slowly but continuously, >or is this only a water-change-time problem? It's a water-change-time problem. As I recall, what my friend intended with the HCl was to partially neutralize the extremely alkaline water with it, then finish up with enough phosphate to act as a buffer. > >Peat bags may help both pH and hardness, although I don't really know if >they'll handle the extreme conditions in San Jose. > My experience with peat is that, though it may be healthy for the fish, it gives the water a urinous yellow color. Yeccch. Carbon filters help with that. Actually, that's a good way to tell if your filter is working -- if there's peat in the tank, the water turns yellow-brown when the filter is saturated. -- Mike Van Pelt Unisys, Silicon Valley vanpelt@unisv.UUCP Bring back UNIVAC! ...uunet!ubvax!unisv!vanpelt