Re: keeping pH as low as 4.5?

[henshawm@ruf.rice.edu (Mike Henshaw)]

I used to breed Nanochromis transvestitus (a west African dwarf cichlid) at
a pH around 4.5.  I used heavy peat filtration to maintain the pH.  In a 20
gallon, I used a backfilter (a medium sized aquaclear I think) filled with
a lot of peat.  I prepared the peat before hand by briefly chopping it up
in a blender.  The blender prep. makes the peat more effective, more
quickly.

Another alternative is to use 2 products, put out by Kent I believe, called
Neutral Regulator and Discus Buffer.  By combining these buffers in
different ratios, you can achieve a wide range of stable pH's.

Mike
- ------------------------------------
Dept. of Ecology & Evol. Biology, MS-170
Rice University
135 Anderson Biology Lab
6100 Main
Houston, TX. 77005-1892

Ph: (713)527-4919
fax: (713)285-5232
e-mail: henshawm@ruf.rice.edu