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substrate and lowering pH


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Hey so we have a killiscape.

anyway clown killis similar to wilds are often stimiulated to spawn by a drop in pH

the substrate in our tank regulates the pH so that without using any buffers the pH sits stably at 6.4

would it be advisable to drop the pH knowing we use a pH regulating substrate already

(ideally we want to lower the pH to 5.5 short term)

and if so is there a preferable way to do it?

Proper pH, pH down, IAL, peat....

the reason i ask is we used a similar pH stabilising substrate in friends tank and after 6 weeks of cycling the tanks ammonia was continually sitting at 8.0 and pH was swinging wildly even afrer a full water change and im worried playing with pH could be tricky with the substrate and have a similar result.

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i know some of the shrimp soils buffer the pH around 6 something, but i've never used it myself so i can't offer any experience there. i've always been advised against the magically changes ph chemicals so i haven't ever touched that either- in my setups i use IAL, peat and the like to lower the ph naturally and slowly with a thin layer of gravel to buffer. Rain water and RO water is sometimes used to bring down pH even further

how similar is your friend's set-up? if the substrate and stuff in it is the same then it would most likely be a water problem?

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well i dont like using chemicals much either

we use IAL and peat for the wilds.

but i worry if i put it in the tank and the substrate or water quality goes nuts well.... there goes my nicely cycled tank.

the friends tank was a fluval spec with shrimp soil and it went nuts even after 6 weeks and daily water changes only had driftwood a few plants and a super hardy tetra in it.

ours is a fluval flora with fluval substrate its been cuycling for about 2 weeks with plants and tetras and stabilised (both pH and ammonia) so i dont want to risk mucking it up....

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Honestly, your clown killies should readily spawn even without a pH drop. Just stuff them full of live foods, do a water change with slightly cooler water and stick in some java moss or a spawning mop and they should go and spawn. Mine used to spawn all the time and I never fussed over the pH.

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Ours have Been together and haven't spawned at all

Plus they've Been exclusively on live brine and daphnia cause they won't touch pellets :(

And they've had spawn mops and water changes

That's why I was thinking of trying pH

Maybe I'm just not supposed to have baby killis haha

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