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How to bring down PH fast and cheap?

Channa Marulioides most time need a super low PH to thrive and show off the best of the fish. Usually I keep them in the range of 4PH - 5PH. It could be lower but my tester can only go as low as 4PH. And how do you know that you've gone below 4PH? when you start seeing poo stays the same and wont break down thats when you know you've gone too low.

When you're bringing a new maru home make sure you checked the PH that the fish was being kept at. Most of the time maru perish due to PH shock than from diseases. PH shock is the no.1 maru killer. If buying from a fellow hobbyist always request the seller to bring the PH back to at least 6PH or better at 7PH before collecting the fish.

How do you keep maru in low PH unintentionally?
Usually hobbyist keeps maru at very low PH. Some do it intentionally some do it unintentionally.
Traditionally everyone tells you not to do water change too frequently.  Even when nobody tells you this you'll soon learn by experience when you keep maru in dirty tank, the maru shows strong yellow color. And when you are too hardworking by keeping the water change frequency your maru becomes black color. Hence you quit changing water and just leave the fish as it is and the fish becomes beautiful. What actually happens is by not doing WC your tank PH starts dropping from the over decomposing food and that was the reason the fish shows strong coloration.

So now you know that PH is the main reason, you can actually keep the fish in low PH and still keep the water tip top quality. Remove all coral chip and anything that raises the PH. Start doing weekly wc by 10%. Yes No more than 10% and your PH will still be low and your water quality will be pristine. Or you can start keeping plants in your tank, Even better terrestrial plant like Pothos and you can lengthen the frequency.

How do you bring the PH back up?
When buying a new maru from a fellow hobbyist, request to have the fish water PH back up to 6 or 7 before transferring the fish. How do you bring it back up? throw in a bunch of coral chip, start daily water change by 10% or 20%. In a weeks time the water should be back to 6 or 7PH and now it is safe to transfer the fish.

How do you bring the PH down fast?
Distilled white Vinegar, try buying a branded one instead of those offered without label or only chinese writing on the label. Just 20ml:500liter can lower the PH by 0.5 depending on the hardness of your water. this is how potent the white Vinegar is. So use with care.

Best to adjust with some feeder fish in your tank, they are your canary in the mine. Try not to go more than 0.5PH in a day. But personally I've done 1PH in a day by doing small dosing of 0.3PH every 6 hours.

So there you have it. And how do you maintain at a certain PH? first you remove all your coral chip and when your tank hit a certain PH for example at 4PH then you start adding some coral chip back in the tank. Keep monitoring the water until your PH wont go up or down and you've got your bufferzone fixed.

Happy Fish keeping.

BTW Distilled white Vinegar is also damn good in getting rid of snails!



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