High Ph..

yesterday i noticed that my kenya tree closed up and the polyps on my toadstool werent out..so today I tested my ph and it is at 8.8. I did add buffer on Friday, but used less than the recommended amount..anyways how would I go about lowering it....thanks

 

add a bit of seltzer/soda water, wait then retest. the C02 will bring the pH down.

 

any specific brand?

 

Get one with no sodium, sugar and no caffeine added. Just plain old carbonated water, no added ingredients. I get mine at "Stater Bros." which is a So Cal grocery store. When you open the bottle, open it with it submerged in the tank. Plain seltzer water is under very high pressure and will fizz and squirt when you crack it open.
To give you an idea of how much you need: My 150G has also been at 8.8 this past week and I dumped 6 2-liter bottles into it on Saturday night and my tank is still at 8.5 now as of last night. It may be lower today, I have to check when I get home tonight.

 

An update my ph is still about 8.6 even after dumping in another 2-liter bottle of seltzer water in the tank. You will probably need at least 6 bottles to do any change in a 90G tank. I'm going to have to go pick up more tonight. I even tried 1 cup of distilled vinegar and nothing.

 

yea I put in about 5 liters in my tank and no change whatsoever... so I think I'm just gonna resort to some water changes and see what happens..

 

Mr too, I'm going to do a 20G change this weekend and see if it makes a difference. Good luck with that. Sorry it didn't make any change for you either. From what I understand, our dKH must be high to not sway the pH with the addition of the CO2.