RE: Buffering PH for ray tank

[Tor-Eriik]

I also uses crushed oyster shell. Have an 720L, ph would drop from 7,5(tapwater)-6 very quick, so i added 3-4 kg of crushed oyster shell to the substrate, and now it is at constant 7. If it goes under betwen waterchanges i add a little more til i get the balance..Adding it to the substrate is fine since the motoros is working in it all day long, so it gets consumed into the water.

 

[maxon88]

Thanks for all the reply. I've did a minor clean up on my filteration and added in 3kg of coral chip. Now my PH starts to stablise..

 

[Just Toby]

This is a question, not advice: Could you use the re-minerisation additive that is added to RO water in your normal water change as surely that would add beffering?

 

[sam buckle]

I used to use the tmc discus mineral for ro. Like you said it does work. But I found I still got ph crashes without having a constant buffer. That plus it was costing me a fortune! I still add a smaller dose though as I beleive it has other positive benefits for the fish.

 

[T1KARMANN]

I'm having the opposite problem to keep my ph down

the water from my tap is 8.2 and if i run the 24/7 water change it doesn't tank long for the water to go back up to 8 from 7.4

I'm hoping once the sump is more mature this wont be a problem

 

[Just Toby]

I'm having the opposite problem to keep my ph down

the water from my tap is 8.2 and if i run the 24/7 water change it doesn't tank long for the water to go back up to 8 from 7.4

I'm hoping once the sump is more mature this wont be a problem

If it is 8.2 out of the tap what is making it 7.4? I would expect it to run a constant 8.2 the whole time with 24/7 drip? Surely that would also be better, I would guess that acclimated to 8.2 is better than a fluctuating PH of any sort?

 

[Zoodiver]

Another thing to look at is why yout pH drops so fast. Aside from chemical additions (like bicarb), you can make changes to get rid of excess CO2 (which is most likely the cause of the drop). Adding a degas tower or column of some kind will really help with that. If you don't have room for something like that, get more aggitation at the surface by directing your filter returns horizontally across the top.

 

[T1KARMANN]

If it is 8.2 out of the tap what is making it 7.4? I would expect it to run a constant 8.2 the whole time with 24/7 drip? Surely that would also be better, I would guess that acclimated to 8.2 is better than a fluctuating PH of any sort?

I'm bring it down to 7 with seachem neutral Ph

i know its not the best option but i find when the Ph is high the sand sticks to the rays disk more-meaning the slim coat is not at full strength at a high Ph

 

[Just Toby]

I'm bring it down to 7 with seachem neutral Ph

i know its not the best option but i find when the Ph is high the sand sticks to the rays disk more-meaning the slim coat is not at full strength at a high Ph

That is interesting to know...thanks for the answer. My PH is around 7.5 at tap and very hard so hopefully they will be ok in this.