buffering

[jonahonah]

whats the easiest way to buffer a low ph. the tapwater in vancouver is soft and the ph out of the tap can be 5.0 when i last lived there i kept suffering ph crashes almost weekly, going back there in summer and im worried the same will happen again and make my fishkeeping a boring chore of resolving problems

any advice?

 

[sweeTang21]

i would try an RO unit, and then just rais the pH with a alkaline buffer or rift lake buffer. and then use RO right for mineral replacement. im not sure if adding straight buffer to tap water would do anything!! good luck and thats all i can think of at the moment.

 

[jonahonah]

i thought about that but shelling out for an ro unit is beyond me at the moment as have rent to pay and im the only one earning in my relationship missus is doing her masters at the moment

 

[sweeTang21]

ahh ic ic. do you have a local store that can sell you the water? only other option i can see that would be a for sure fix would be buying some of the cheap deionized store bought water. wait for other ppl to post, maybe theirs another way that you can mess with water to get it were you want it!! good luck

 

[Mr Pleco]

What types of fish are you thinking of keeping? The LFS's by you what is there PH at the store?

 

[Dr Joe]

I take it you couldn't get the pH adjusted satisfactorily last you were there?

Raising the pH is a little easier than lowering it. You will also be raising the hardness to stabilize the pH level.

You are going to have to do this with each water change too, so I suggest a container for aging the water ahead of time to stabilize the W/C's.

Try crushed coral or limestone in the filter or limestone rocks in the tank. (this is a slow process). Even marble chips (rocks not glass ) work but are slower yet.

Aerate the water to reduce co2 levels.

I hesitate to go into this because it is for advanced aquarists... Great care needs to be used with this action, It would be better to try the above first.

To raise both GH and KH simultaneously, add calcium carbonate. 1/2 teaspoon per 100 liters of water will increase both the KH and GH by about 1-2 dH.

To raise the KH without raising the GH, add sodium bicarbonate , commonly known as baking soda. 1/2 teaspoon per 100 Liters raises the KH by about 1 dH. Sodium bicarbonate drives the pH towards an balance value of 8.2.

Avoid wild pH swings as the not only harm fish but the Bio-matter in the filter too.

I know someone here is going to say 'get fish that live in that water' .

Master's huh, (it's not in biology is it?) Boy then you can sit back with your feet up and watch the fish like a properly 'kept' man

Keep us posted,

Dr Joe

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