I'm in the process of creating a 29G non-CO2 tank that will house mainly tetras -- probably cardinals for the most part, but may add in a few others.
I would like them to be in a comfortable environment and feel that I should reduce my local water pH from 8.1 to somewhere around 7.0, since most tetras prefer more acidic water. I've read up on reducing pH and figure I can do one of 2 things: 1) put peat pellets in the filter or 2) get some pH reducer, along with some sort of buffer. My local water GH is typically around 20, and my KH is usually around 3 or less. I'll be cutting down on GH with RO water -- maybe to between 8 and 12.
I like the idea of the peat pellets, as long as they don't need to be replaced every couple of days. I would like to get to the point where I won't have to monitor pH very often. Perhaps with a non-CO2 tank and the lack of water changes, that won't be a problem. Any recommendations for reducing pH would be appreciated. Or, perhaps 8.1 pH is no big deal and the tetras will be perfectly fine -- I wouldn't mind that one, either!
I would like them to be in a comfortable environment and feel that I should reduce my local water pH from 8.1 to somewhere around 7.0, since most tetras prefer more acidic water. I've read up on reducing pH and figure I can do one of 2 things: 1) put peat pellets in the filter or 2) get some pH reducer, along with some sort of buffer. My local water GH is typically around 20, and my KH is usually around 3 or less. I'll be cutting down on GH with RO water -- maybe to between 8 and 12.
I like the idea of the peat pellets, as long as they don't need to be replaced every couple of days. I would like to get to the point where I won't have to monitor pH very often. Perhaps with a non-CO2 tank and the lack of water changes, that won't be a problem. Any recommendations for reducing pH would be appreciated. Or, perhaps 8.1 pH is no big deal and the tetras will be perfectly fine -- I wouldn't mind that one, either!