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best ph for breeding macs?

Ben Rhau

Apisto Club
Messages
566
Location
San Francisco
Are your GH and KH readings really ppm, or are they degrees? It doesn't make sense to me that your TDS can be that low with a pH that high.
 

Ben Rhau

Apisto Club
Messages
566
Location
San Francisco
That makes more sense. OK so I would guess your TDS is at least 100, which is OK, but you either have buffers or a base in there holding your pH up. Cutting with RO would likely help. Organics will help more. Peat's really the most effective, but I try to avoid using that if other solutions work. You don't need to dry the organics if they are dead. They will go in water anyway.
 

Aquaticloch

Active Member
Messages
153
Location
Canada eh
the TDS reading i got from someone reliable with the same water as me. I am getting a TDS meter later this week, so I hope to have more accurate readings.
The water suppliers readings were 2.6-6.31 mg/L (This may have changed) another thing to note is that my water is extremely soft, probably the most so in my country (CAN).
 
Last edited:

MacZ

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,959
Location
Germany
another off topic question: how can I lower my ph without using chemical additives?

GH: 3ppm
KH: 5ppm
TDS: 2-5ppm
ph: 7.2

I just cannot get my ph low at all, what do I need to do? thanks for any help

So if those are 5°KH, the 3°GH is likely an error, as besides with a water softening unit GH is never lower than KH. The TDS reading could be in µSi/m, neither ppm or milli-Siemens/m.

Anyway if we take the KH-reading as a secure reading, that means with botanicals like leaves and alder cones the pH won't go down much more than maybe by 0.3 and will only be maintained if you add a growing amount of leaves to build a leaf litter bed.

I'd use RO water, at least 50:50 ratio mixed with tap. That would get you in the KH range below 2° where botanicals can do something significant with the leaf litter bed method. Then you might get down to 6.5. To get further down, peat would be the last resort before using chemicals and peat will likely get you to around 6.0. But it will have to be replaced regularly.
 
Last edited:

Mike Wise

Moderator
Staff member
5 Year Member
Messages
11,202
Location
Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
The best - and probably most expensive - option is to reduce your carbonate hardness first by about half. Then leaves, cones, or peat are more effective. If it is for domestic strains of A. macmasteri your water values should work as they are now.
 

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