FJP

I am about to fill a new tank, solely from my rainwater tank for the first time.

How do I establish a stable pH?

I would like to have soft water species (tetras) in my tank, in conjunction with HC and dwarf hairgrass. I believe the tetras prefer acidic water (apparantly ph 6.5 is ideal).

Should I use a pair of products such as Seachem Acid Buffer and Seachem Alkaline Buffer together?

Will my pH stabilise on its own from cabonates in the tank?

What can I do to establish a stable pH from the start, using rain water?

Thanks for the help.

Regards, Fraser.

Seachem

Since you will be keeping a planted tank, we highly recommend using our Acid Buffer in conjunction with our Alkaline Buffer to target a specific pH (as they are non-phosphate based buffers). To target a pH of 6.5, you would want to use these buffers in a ratio of 1:1.3 of Acid Buffer:Alkaline Buffer. Since you will be using rainwater, you may have to tweak the ratios (i.e., the amount of each buffer you would need to use). Once you figure out exactly how much you need to use of each buffer, it should be easy to keep the pH stable.