# Vinegar to Lower pH?



## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

IDK about vinegar being safe. Why dont you try some purigen, carbon, or peat?


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Peat... does this have to be special peat? I have some milled peat's moss around.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

Why are you trying to lower your pH? Most fish are adapted to local water conditions already, and will do fine at local pH.

Fooling around with the pH is usually worse, as you will cause pH swings, which are more detrimental to the fish than not having the "ideal pH".


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

I got shrimp, the pH was 6.5 after water change it was 8.0. That was the swing.


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## Harry Muscle (Mar 13, 2007)

Lil' Swimz$ said:


> I got shrimp, the pH was 6.5 after water change it was 8.0. That was the swing.


How was it 6.5 before the water change? Did you use something to lower it already?

Harry


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

The best way to deal with PH and GH issues are to add RO water instead. Adding vinegar or peat is really only cosmetic.


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## DarkCobra (Jun 22, 2004)

Aside from whether adjusting pH is useful; yes, vinegar can be used to lower pH.

But it's not just pure acid and water. There's a lot of other fermentation products in there too, and some people reported it caused cloudy water due to bacterial blooms. It's been years since I've heard of anyone using vinegar, people moved on to other solutions.

I suppose if you had some emergency situation that legitimately required lowering pH, and you had nothing else at your disposal, vinegar could come in handy.


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Lil' Swimz$ said:


> Can I use vinegar to lower pH? Our tap is super hard and I was just wondering if I could use small amounts of vinegar to lower pH? I'd play around with the amount, but would the vinegar itself be harmful?


Water hardness (kH, GH) are related to, but different things than water acidity (pH). You probably know that, I am just mentioning it here because sometimes folks think that by lowering the pH the water becomes softer. Not so.

Often a stable (high) pH is better for our animals than changes resulting from dripping (acetic or other) acid in it.

Also note that injecting CO2 lowers the pH (and gets plants to grow really well). Again, this does not soften the water. If you really want soft water because you want to breed Discus and Chocolate Gouramis then moving to a soft water area or using RO/DI water are your best options.

If you are concerned about pH fluctuations introduced by water changes, smaller, more frequent water changes could resolve the issue.


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## xJaypex (Jul 4, 2009)

I was told that really heavily diluted Muriatic acid can lower ph. It was advised by a pleco breeder in my local forum. Youd just have to be very careful.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Just because you can use an acid to lower the pH doesn't mean it is a good idea. In fact people often find that the pH goes back up pretty quickly after lowering it with an acid. And, if the high pH is caused by carbonates in the substrate, adding acid just speeds up the dissolving of the carbonates, raising the KH, the GH, and the TDS, but leaving a high pH afterwards.

Your 29 gallon tank would only need 10 gallons or so of distilled water to lower the pH significantly, as well as lowering the KH and GH. You can buy distilled water in most big grocery stores for about a dollar a gallon. That is a perfectly safe way to lower the pH and soften the water, plus pretty cheap.

But, I don't know of a good reason to lower the pH, unless you need soft water to breed certain creatures.


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Thanks for all the replies.

I have no idea what was running threw my mind. Its fermented alcohol right? I never did use it, thank gawd.

The driftwood and cured leaves in the tank seem to keep the pH low, but I did a 50% water change and the pH spiked. I had cloudy water so I did such a large one.

If the pH won't matter to crystal reds or cherries, I'm fine. I just want them to be happy


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