Water Problem

[Deaths Sting]

The tap water here has 0 Alkalinity and 0 Hardness, which is slowly killing my fish.

i am not sure if crushed coral would provide me with everything i need to sustain life in the long term?


how much crushed coral would i need for a 120 gallons?

would i just need to add it once?

thanks.

 

[SteveR]

What is the actual pH?

 

[fishman61]

My pH was always very low, we have well water, around 5, I added crushed coral to the gravel and it brought the pH up to 7.0. I suppose I added about 6 lbs to my 150g tank. I got lucky for adding enough but not too much. When I do my weekly water changes, I don't add anymore because in a couple hours my pH back to 7.0

If you choose to add crushed coral I would add a pound then check it the next day, add more if needed the following day.

 

[Bre]

If your problems are that big I really don't know if crushed coral will fix the problem. It may help some but you may need to use some sort of buffer to raise and stabilize your PH. Like I said the crushed coral may or may not be enough depending on how bad your water is. A good product to add some hardness is wondershells. These replace all the minerals and electrolytes that your fish need.

 

[Werbs]

Sodium Bicarbonate aka baking soda will raise you kH, gH and pH, but i dont know how much to add, ive never had to use it before.

 

[SteveR]

What are your readings for amm and nitrite. It could be that, start with the basics if you haven't already.