Safest, most stable way to raise pH between water changes?

[knifegill]

Wait if it's a wild caught Oscar why would you want your pH to be 7.0 or higher?

I don't really care where it is, as long as it is stable.

Baking soda would probably change it too fast. I might use just as little, though.

I've heard terrible things about limestone. I forget what it was I read, but I'll need some convincing on its safety.

I'm about to check the pH of some day old water...

Edit: Had already tossed old water. Drew a new bucket and waiting. 7.4 off the bat. WIll update soon.

Hey, I have a bag of cleaned and baked eggshells. Too reactive or workable?

 

[knifegill]

Two hours later, it is still 7.4. So I'll soak and rinse some coral gravel...

In case anyone is wondering, this is about his eyes which get cloudier and cloudier as the pH drops throughout the week.

 

[DaveB]

What is causing the pH to drop? If it's 7+ out of the tap and you have no noticeable nitrates, it ought to stay constant, even if it's super soft without any dissolved solids, right?

Usually pH drops happen because of increased waste without any dissolved solids. If you harden your water (I forgot if it's baking soda or epsom salts that does this part - I use both together in my african cichlid tank) it ought to make the pH less vulnerable to drops, without actually raising it. But I don't quite get why it's dropping to begin with.

 

[knifegill]

I don't know either, except that I've been told it is common. I think the total biology of the tank uses minerals present in the water for building new cells, bacteria and so forth. As these minerals are depleted, the pH drops.
There isn't enough waste in the tank to do it, so I know it's not decaying matter. I've got a bare-bottomed tank and I net the poo out. This thing is almost sparkling....almost.
I went through my fish junk and found a bucket of saltwater gravel. I picked through it and pulled out the white, chalky stuff and some shells. I found a tiny fossilized sand dollar in there, too! Anyway, I boiled it for a few minutes in water with some vinegar to reduce the intensity of reaction once it is in the tank. Now I just have to wait until water change day and confirm that my pH really is dropping through the week.
If it isn't pH, what else might cause his eyes to cloud over every week?

 

[gobucks1]

Draw a bucket of water from your tap, throw an airstone in there, and wait a day or two, or longer, then test it again.

Sometimes the water will just drop on its own with time.

 

[knifegill]

I'll recheck the same bucket now...

It's 7.2 now. Is that a significant enough shift to warrant a reconsideration of my strategy?

I'll have better data on water change day, with tests from the tank before and after.

Sometimes the water will just drop on its own with time.

That still makes for an unstable environment, right?

 

[ButterFlyChild68]

Hello all just wondering the fellow im buying a tank from says its a 90 gallon. But the mesurments are 48" long by 13 inches wide but 18" wide in the middle its a beveled tank and 23" high. Doesent sound like a 90 gallon to me but then im not sure could it be a 90 gallon or is it a 55 gallon? Please let me know aswell how many community fish could i put in it.?

 

[knifegill]

Hello all just wondering the fellow im buying a tank from says its a 90 gallon. But the mesurments are 48" long by 13 inches wide but 18" wide in the middle its a beveled tank and 23" high. Doesent sound like a 90 gallon to me but then im not sure could it be a 90 gallon or is it a 55 gallon? Please let me know aswell how many community fish could i put in it.?

I think you wanted a new thread, didn't you? There is a tank volume calculator on pretty much every fishkeeping website. You just punch in the dimensions and it tells you how many gallons your container holds. Good luck!