ph question

[Adrius]

how do u maintain a neutral (7.0) ph without using any chemicals or alkalinizing corals...
the deal is i have a 185 gal. tank with alkalinizing corals and they make the water yellow, but it is the only way i found to maintain a 7.0 ph!
i have a heavy bioload, 2 eheim pro filters, 1 tetra u.v, enough oxygen, gravel substrate and the temp. is always at 82...

 

[jonahonah]

id love to know the same so i'll be watching this thread closely

 

[dragonfish]

What is the ph of the source water?

 

[Ozkar]

Baking soda will raise pH some, and more importantly, increase buffering capacity (kH) so the pH stays stable.

I had a problem with my tap water in that pH was like 7.5, but the kH was really low (like almost 0), so after doing a water change the pH would plumment back down to like 6 or below in a few days. (It was too low for me to get a precise reading with my test kit). The problem with this was that my fish were being subjected to a lot of pH swing with each water change .

I just saw this link on another thread. Check it out to learn more.

http://www.drhelm.com/aquarium/chemistry.html

 

[jonahonah]

well thats a thanks from me ozkar

 

[merc123]

Driftwood will bring pH down. May be too low though.

 

[id10t]

Better to let your fish get used to non-ideal water (ph and hardness, etc. wise) than to have it fluctuating wildly as you chase that magic 7.0 with chemicals...