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How to Lower pH in Your Aquarium with Vinegar: 3 Easy Steps

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By Lindsey Stanton

discuss fish in aquarium

Fish require a certain pH in their tank to remain comfortable and healthy. It’s very common for the pH level in an aquarium to raise well beyond the fish’s comfortability level because ammonia naturally raises it.

As the fish owner, it is your job to make sure that the aquarium remains the ideal pH for your fish. One way that you can lower the pH in your aquarium is by using vinegar. The vinegar method is not a great choice for maintaining pH levels, but it can be a great option if you are in a pinch.

In this article, we provide a step-by-step guide to lowering pH in your aquarium using vinegar. We begin by answering some key questions about aquarium pH levels and vinegar. Then, we explicitly list the steps for lowering the pH with vinegar and how to maintain the ideal pH levels. Let’s get started.

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What Is pH?

PH is a type of measurement that measures how acidic or basic water is. It ranges from 0 to 14, and 7 is neutral. If the pH level is below 7, the water is acidic. Conversely, water is basic if the pH is over 7. Fish aquariums typically need a pH around neutral. A wide range is between 6.8 and 7.6.

Why Does pH Matter in an Aquarium?

The pH level is highly important in your aquarium. The pH often tells you the quality of the water. Just as we cannot breathe in air if it is infused with other chemicals and toxins, fish cannot survive whenever different chemicals and pH levels change the water.

Lowering the pH levels of the water becomes important as you have a tank. As the fish release waste, different chemicals go into the water that naturally raise the pH. As a result, fish owners have to be diligent in lowering the pH as the fish remain within the aquarium.

Gold fish aquarium
Image by: Janelle Lugge, Shutterstock

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What Is Vinegar?

Vinegar is a type of acidic solution that is used for cleaning, cooking, and a number of other regular household uses. Most likely, you have white vinegar in your kitchen cabinets. If not, you could easily stop by just about any grocery store to find a bottle for cheap.

Vinegar is naturally acidic, and its pH is normally around 2.5. Because acids are lower on the pH scale than bases, adding some sort of acid to water with a high pH will naturally lower the pH. So, you can use vinegar to lower the pH level in your aquarium.

a jar of vinegar on the table
Image Credit: focal point, Shutterstock

Is It Safe to Use Vinegar to Lower Your Aquarium’s pH?

Using vinegar to lower your aquarium pH can be dangerous if done incorrectly. However, with the right steps and techniques, you can safely lower the aquarium so that your fish is more comfortable in the water.

Dangerous Uses of Vinegar

Even if you are changing the pH level to make it more ideal for your fish, sudden pH changes can be Catastrophic to the fish. For this reason, you can’t just pour vinegar into the water and expect your fish to thrive. Using vinegar in this way is very unsafe and often leads to death.

Likewise, the pH level when you first pour in the vinegar will differ from whenever the vinegar sets into the water and stays there for a couple of hours. If you measure the pH right after adding the vinegar, you could easily make the solution two basic or acidic for your fish. Once again, this is not safe.

Something else to keep in mind is that there are different types of vinegar. Apple cider vinegar and flavored vinegar are not safe for your fish. White vinegar is the only option for lowering the pH safely.

Generally speaking, most fish experts do not recommend putting vinegar in your fish’s water very frequently. Instead, this is a better alternative if you don’t have the resources or time to visit a pet shop for a specially formulated water conditioner.

What Should My Aquarium’s pH Be?

As mentioned above, most fish thrive whenever the waters are around neutral, which ranges between 6.8 and 7.6.

That being said, some fish are more flexible as the pH level changes, but certain fish can become sick and die if the pH changes dramatically. For example, some cichlids can only survive within a very narrow pH range. Neon Tetras often become sensitive and shocked when the pH moves dramatically.

You will have to research your fish’s ideal pH levels to create an aquarium most habitable and comfortable for them.

PH checking solution in aquarium tank
Image by: finchfocus, Shutterstock

What You’ll Need

Now that we have the most basic questions out of the way, it’s time to lower your aquarium pH using vinegar. This is what you will need:

  • Fresh water
  • Separate container
  • White vinegar
  • Stirrer
  • pH strips
  • Timer

The 3 Steps to Lower the pH in Your Aquarium with Vinegar

1. Getting Started

To begin, you need to know the current pH level of the water you intend to use in the aquarium. Take a fresh water source and place it in a separate container. Allow the fresh water to set anywhere from 12 hours to 18 hours. Letting the water set is crucial.

After the waiting period is up, take a little sample of the water and add a few drops of white vinegar. Then, use the pH strips to test the pH level of that sample water. You may need to add a couple more drops if you don’t see any difference. The point of this sample step is to get an idea of the ratio of water to white vinegar.

hand holding PH test
Image Credit: M-Production, Shutterstock

2. Add the Vinegar

Now that you know approximately how much vinegar you will likely need, it’s time to add the white vinegar to the entirety of the water that has been sitting out separately. Generally speaking, half a teaspoon of white vinegar lowers 10 gallons of water. If you have a larger tank, you will need to add more vinegar.

It’s always a good idea to start with lower quantities of vinegar so that the pH level does not drop too quickly. Once you think that you’ve added enough vinegar, stir the water up to evenly distribute the white vinegar throughout the water.


3. Wait to Add the New Water to the Aquarium

Make sure to let the mixture set for several hours again before testing the pH level. You may need to add more or less vinegar at this step. Once you have reached the ideal PH level, you can gently add it to your fish tank.

Tips to Keep in Mind

During this process, make sure that you do not add white vinegar directly to your fish tank. Sudden changes in pH can dramatically harm your fish, if not kill it. That is why we recommend creating the mixture in a separate container entirely.

Additionally, be patient when using this process. If you make the water too acidic, it will be dangerous to the fish. Going slowly with the vinegar additions ensures that the water maintains the correct pH.

Finally, there’s no point in testing the pH as soon as you add the vinegar to the water. Since the vinegar will not be thoroughly distributed yet, you will not get an accurate result. Instead, make sure the vinegar is distributed and let the solution sit before testing it.

Maintaining Your Aquarium’s pH

Once you have lowered your aquarium’s pH, it needs to be maintained. The best way to do this is to clean out your tank regularly. Fish have to go to the bathroom just like the rest of us. When this happens, ammonia gets into the tank, which naturally raises the pH. Cleaning out the tank regularly ensures that the pH level does not significantly rise.

Clean the aquarium at least once a week. Every time you perform the cleaning, remove the fish so that they don’t get particles and other gross sediments in their mouth or in their body.

Magnetic tank wall cleaners are a great place to start. These cleaners will remove algae from the tank walls. More so, make sure to replace 10% to 20% of the water with fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Don’t forget about the bottom of the tank either. At least 30% of the gravel should be cleaned to remove the ideal amount of waste. Clean the filters while you are at it.

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Conclusion

Vinegar can be a really affordable way to lower your aquarium’s pH. It isn’t necessarily the easiest method since you have to be so patient, but it is a great option if you are in a pinch. Follow the steps above to lower the pH using vinegar safely.

Remember not to use any flavored vinegar and do not pour vinegar straight in with your fish. If you don’t do these two things, the vinegar method will likely go over smoothly.

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Featured Image Credit: Piqsels

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