8Gal Long Bow Front

[Qs Evolution]

It is okay, this is some useful information anyways!!! And I need all of I can gather, lol

[LordBarron7692]

Wow I never got water any lower than 6.5 but never used to either just a lot of peat moss

[mnemenoi]

Yeah, PH, GH, KH, and TDS are all connected. Mineral content is what raises PH and all the other parameters. It buffers the PH back up at any amount and gradually raises. Only through using mineral devoid water (Destilled or RO) can you achieve ridiculously low PH and maintain it. Peat just adds tannins (as do Alder cones and IAL) and can be a cool affect, though visibility is limited. By using a Ph reducing substrate that is avoided entirely and clear water with a crazy low Ph. CO2 can reduce Ph as well, but it does not eliminate the mineral in the water column, it just creates carbonic acid, which reduces it while being added. At night it buffers back up as the acid is dissipated. Thus the rebound effect at night in CO2 tanks if hard tap water is used.

[LordBarron7692]

Makes perfect sence now. I wondered why the pH wouldnt get any lower than 6.5 but that makes sence now. Hmmm may give the soft water tank another shot although my discus are quite used to the hard water now so that would probably be a future project.

[mistahoo]

I was able to accomplish pH of 6.0 with just alder cones and tap. I wouldn't recommend it if you were trying to lower pH on a 55g+ tank. Best option is to use low pH substrate. Careful with using low pH and pure RO water with shrimp. Because the water is devoid of minerals, shrimp can have a hard time molting. A lot of bee shrimpers use remineralizer to bring back the GH in low pH water without affecting the pH much.

Aside from all the mumbo jumbo, your tank looks like a good start. Maybe swap some plants around for smaller ones.