Today I added two new plants to my aquarium, Temple Compacta and Anubias Frazeri. I was happy to see that my new plants had healthy looking roots when I pulled them out of their Top Fin containers. Both are wonderful green leaf plants that you can just place in the gravel and let the roots thrive on the water. I love how water plants look, but I also love that they take in waste as a food source. In the picture above you can see the two new plants tucked into the corners on the right, and the flakes in the tank were added to help microorganism growth and lower pH levels.
I also found a fairly inexpensive pH test kit while I was out so I picked it up, too. The API kit showed that my water still has very high pH/alkaline levels, so I won’t be adding anything but plants until it lowers, because it can kill fish if it’s too high or low. Fortunately, plants help to lower pH levels by increasing CO2 levels.
Here are some ways to adjust the pH in an aquarium.
Ways to lower pH levels:
- Add peat moss, it does a very good job of lowering pH
- Add other plants to increase CO2 levels
- Add natural driftwood to soften the water
- Add living creatures which will add waste matter to lower the pH
Ways to increase pH levels:
- Add crushed coral
- Add rocks or substrate
- Add hard water, usually tap water will increase pH levels
- Add baking soda, 1 teaspoon of baking soda per 5 gallons works well
