kiwiplymouth Posted October 20, 2007 Report Share Posted October 20, 2007 My water supply has a Gh of 5 dGh and Kh of 3 dKh. I want to increase these levels to improve my buffering without using chemicals. I was thinking if using either marble chips, limestone or shell grit. Is any one of these products better than the other and should i add it to the tank or to the filter. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PETEYPLECO Posted October 20, 2007 Report Share Posted October 20, 2007 I added crushed oyster shell in a media bag in my external filter to increase PH, this took about 1 week to go from 6.4 to 7.0 but after that it stayed very stable at 7.0. You may need to add more over time as it wears down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew129 Posted October 20, 2007 Report Share Posted October 20, 2007 Hi, try epson salt to raise the GH and sea salt or non-iodized salt to raise KH, you will have to play with the amounts to get the water testing how you want it. What have you got in the tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwiplymouth Posted October 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2007 My water supply has a ph of 7.2 and the tank has spiked to 8.0 today due to lack of buffering im thinking. Im not wanting to raise my ph, just stabilize it. Its a 350l community tank with angles,barbs,tetra's,cae, gae's, clown loaches, red tailed shark, gourami's, plecs, bristlnose and swords. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew129 Posted October 21, 2007 Report Share Posted October 21, 2007 put some drift wood in to help lower the PH also do a 50% water chance, You can go to your local fish store and get some PH 7.0 lock which will help hold the PH down make sure you don't have any coral, marble, limestone or anything else that will raise your PH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwiplymouth Posted October 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2007 Thanks Andrew129, I have just completed a 50% water change. ph is now 7.4 I have plenty of wood in the tank. I was wondering that as this is a relatively new tank and the nitrates are still low i.e approx 5ppm if this can cause ph spikes. I was still hoping that there was a way to increase my tanks buffering capabilities without chemicals. Is ph 7.0 lock a natural product? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted October 21, 2007 Report Share Posted October 21, 2007 If your PH has gone up it's likely due to thinks like shell or similar in your tank in which case they're also increasing your buffering. So, adding more would be kinda like trying to put out a fire with a flamethrower... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwiplymouth Posted October 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2007 There is no shell, limestone or marble chips in the tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaNs Posted October 21, 2007 Report Share Posted October 21, 2007 I use baking soda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwiplymouth Posted October 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2007 Cheers. Can you give me an idea of how much per 100L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaNs Posted October 21, 2007 Report Share Posted October 21, 2007 Cheers. Can you give me an idea of how much per 100L Google: Rase gh kh baking soda 2nd link has a calculator I just test as i go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwiplymouth Posted October 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2007 Thanks for that. Perhaps i'm thick but i still dont understand how i can put in water with a ph of 7.2 and have it rise to 8.0 within a few days. i have plenty of wood and no shell etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwiplymouth Posted October 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2007 try again. http://www4.snapfish.co.nz/slideshow/Al ... =109157068 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted October 22, 2007 Report Share Posted October 22, 2007 The pH of tap water changes once it's in the tank, as gasses like chlorine etc evaporate. Your buffer levels seem fine to me (kH and gH). Raising the buffer level (KH) also raises the pH. If your pH is 8, and the kH was at the level mentioned above, I'd suspect something has 'poisioned' the tank OR check your test kit, sometimes if the tubes aren't completely clean the previous test chemicals make a huge effect on the water. If your pH is 8 and kH/gH is also higher, then something is buffering the water up (like shells etc). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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