Need help lowering PH naturally...

[tizzylizzy]

I know that baking soda raises PH when low, what lowers PH somewhat naturally without using PH decreaser chemical?
I have very soft water right now and my PH is high, say 8.5?
Sure hope someone can help!
tizzylizzy

[Rick]

You can use vinager or bogwood...

[Lynda]

Why are you concerned about a pH of 8.5?  If you have koi or goldfish, that's just fine if it's stable.  It can be much more hazardous to fish to "chase" a pH, trying to get your pond to a pH that you think may be "perfect."  If it's not jumping around throughout the day, just leave it alone.

[Rick]

Fish do like a stable ph...
Good point 

[Johns]

Lynda is right.  BTW, baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) will stabilize ph at 8.4.  If ph is above 8.4, addition of baking soda will lower it, but not below 8.4.  Conversely, if ph is lowerer than 8.4, baking soda will raise it but not above 8.4.  Because the natural action of a biofilter ordinarily lowers ph, it is a good idea to regularly add a little baking soda.  You want to avoid a ph "crash" at all costs.

[Esther]

I also worried about a very high PH when I first began ponding. I also asked the same question. I also received the same answer. LOL. I have never put anything in my pond to adjust the PH in 7 years. Everything seems to stay just fine, healthy fish and plants growing well.

Once I did put salt in the water. Big mistake. Floating plants all went to mush.  I do put a tiny bit of Algae Fix in once in a while to keep the String Algae under control.

[Bartman]

8.5 is perfectly fine as long as it is stable.  I wouldn't mess with it.  The pH here is 9.5.

Bart

[tranquility]

just depends on which pond I check it in...and what time of day but all of mine run between 8 and 9 also...I've never had any issues with it...
Lawanna

[Desertponder]

I wouldn't mess with it either. I fought that issue when I first started ponding. My water source is 9.5+ and I found that it was just too difficult to keep things stable so I just let it be. 

[karen J]

Mine is also high- off the charts, actually. I like what Lynda said about "chasing" pH. That's the perfect word to describe it.

One thing you might want to try is checking your KH (carbonate hardness). If the KH is high, it provides a buffering capacity to your pH which helps to keep it stable. Your water is soft, is that because you soften it or is it like that out of the tap? My softened water still has a high KH, even though the GH (general hardness) has been reduced. If your KH turns out to be low, baking soda (what Johns said) will add that buffering capacity and keep the pH from crashing.

[Julles]

I've never messed with ph, either. Now I don't feel so alone (or "bad."  )

I wonder if the powder I buy at PetSmart, to de-chlor the water, that also "magically" adjusts pond ph to just the right amount, I wonder now if I've been spending all that money on BAKING SODA??

[Rick]

Just to ad again 
I have never checked my ph 
but the fishes seem just fine 

[LeeAnne151]

I don't worry about my ph either.

[marla]

I'm with everyone else, mine is close to 9, and as long as it is stable I woudn't mess with it.