so wood in the tank naturally lowers the PH. what can be put in the tank to naturally raise the PH back up with out using chemicals so the PH wont spike???
PH Question
- Thread starter PennReels84
- Start date
Use crushed coral to raise PH. Use 1/2 cup of crushed coral per 20 gallons.
Wash it THOROUGHLY before using it.
Put it in a bag/stocking and place it in your filter. At first it needs to be 'filtered through' flowing water to work well. Once your pH has balanced, you can scatter it through your substrate if desired or leave it in the bag. I have it in fine mesh bags in the filters of 3 of my tanks.
Check your PH daily, it may take a couple days to get desired level.
Good luck
Wash it THOROUGHLY before using it.
Put it in a bag/stocking and place it in your filter. At first it needs to be 'filtered through' flowing water to work well. Once your pH has balanced, you can scatter it through your substrate if desired or leave it in the bag. I have it in fine mesh bags in the filters of 3 of my tanks.
Check your PH daily, it may take a couple days to get desired level.
Good luck
Some people use a mesh bag with coral or crushed oyster shell in it.
I tried it, and it just stressed out my fish! The water would be changed, then it takes time for the pH to adjust after the fresh water is added. Maybe it's because my water is already highly buffered and the added calcium in the tank was just too much.
If you want to buffer your water, I would do so before adding it to the tank.
There are special formulas for how much baking soda to add to your water.
Here's the website with a neat calculator. If you need help deciphering it all, sign up at www.thegab.org and ask them there, I have no reason to retain that information, so...I really can't help you. My water is very highly buffered, and even adding driftwood to my tank, the pH doesn't change.
I tried it, and it just stressed out my fish! The water would be changed, then it takes time for the pH to adjust after the fresh water is added. Maybe it's because my water is already highly buffered and the added calcium in the tank was just too much.
If you want to buffer your water, I would do so before adding it to the tank.
There are special formulas for how much baking soda to add to your water.
Here's the website with a neat calculator. If you need help deciphering it all, sign up at www.thegab.org and ask them there, I have no reason to retain that information, so...I really can't help you. My water is very highly buffered, and even adding driftwood to my tank, the pH doesn't change.
putting wood in a tank wont generally lower the pH you have to have a low GH to do that first, a high GH will buff any affects that tannins have...but to raise the pH back up like the others said, add coral or there are african american mixes
Adding sodium bicarbonate would have a quicker response to bring ph up, be careful to let the ph rise slowly. coral chip added to the filter would raise ph and maintain it at a level. Some even use oyster shells to achieve the same effect.
BTW, what kind of fishes are you keeping?
I have found that African cichlids require hard and alkaline waters, and a salt mix is the best way to keep the ph and gh high.
Whereas Central American cichlids do well in medium hard waters, with a ph of about 7. South American cichlids thrive in a lower ph environment with softer water. Tank bred fishes are not as sensitive as wild caught ones, but I've often seen colleagues keep SA cichlids in CA water with the result that the fishes get stressed and combined with poor water management end up with lateral line erosion or "hole in the head".
My Asian arowanas are all kept in ph neutral waters (ph of 7) but I don't use any coral chip because I don't want the hard water it creates because the additional calcium carbonate (we believe) damages the beautiful scales.
BTW, what kind of fishes are you keeping?
I have found that African cichlids require hard and alkaline waters, and a salt mix is the best way to keep the ph and gh high.
Whereas Central American cichlids do well in medium hard waters, with a ph of about 7. South American cichlids thrive in a lower ph environment with softer water. Tank bred fishes are not as sensitive as wild caught ones, but I've often seen colleagues keep SA cichlids in CA water with the result that the fishes get stressed and combined with poor water management end up with lateral line erosion or "hole in the head".
My Asian arowanas are all kept in ph neutral waters (ph of 7) but I don't use any coral chip because I don't want the hard water it creates because the additional calcium carbonate (we believe) damages the beautiful scales.